The Dance Room: Backstage with professional dancers

The Premise (from Apple Podcasts):

Renowned veteran dancers / choreographers Heather (GLEE) and Ava (aka AVA FLAV) have worked with the likes of Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and many more! Join them each week as they share their stories, chat with guests and recap So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With The Stars, World of Dance and ALL your favorite TV dance shows!

Series or standalone:

Standalone

Begin listening to:

Any episode

Format:

Chat/discussion and interviews

Host(s):

Professional dancers Heather and Ava

Sound/production quality:

Good

Rating/age suitability:

Best for older teens and adults

Approximate length of episodes:

60 minutes

Curricular ties:

Probably none unless you're a dance teacher and your students are interested in interviews with choreographers or behind-the-scenes stories of professional dancers

Similar recommended pods:

n/a

Podcast Librarian’s Review:

Fun Fact: I’ve been dancing since I was 3 and never really stopped dancing recreationally, so that’s about 28 years that I’ve been a dancer. As such, I was really excited to see this new podcast all about dance—and on a major network, no less. Professional dancers Ava and Heather catch up each week to talk about the highs and lows of their week (which often have to do with auditions/booking jobs), recaps of TV dance shows like So You Think You Can Dance, and an interview with a dancer/dancing couple. It’s really fun to hear their behind-the-scenes take on auditions and working with major artists like Beyoncé and Britney. Ava and Heather are surprisingly natural at podcasting and interviewing, and they sound like genuinely sweet, funny, nice women, which makes for a fun, easy listen. As a larger dancer myself, I love that they featured body-positive dancing phenom Amanda Lacount so early on in their show—that tells me that they appreciate the diversity of the dance world. Dancers (recreational and professional) will probably find the most enjoyment out of this pod, but you may also want to listen if you watch dance TV shows or if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to tour with a major pop star; that makes for some good celeb gossip every now and then. I’m really impressed with the great start to TDR, and I’m looking forward to many more episodes to come!⠀⠀⠀⠀