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32. Breaking Stereotypes in the Ballet World: Kathryn Morgan's Impact on Ballet and Beyond
Episode 47 • 22nd September 2024 • Your Sexyfied Life 🇬🇧/🇫🇷 • Dr Fanny Leboulanger
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What do you do when what brings you joy and runs your life falls apart? That's what happened to Kathryn Morgan, a professional ballerina from New York City Ballet who reinvented her ballet career to Youtube, mentoring and changing the ballet world from within. Because in the end, it's all about helping dancers find their joy (and a Sexyfied Life is a life with joy 😏)

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02:09 Kathryn's Ballet Journey and Health Struggles

04:35 The Birth of a YouTube Channel

07:06 Finding Joy in Teaching and Sharing

19:38 The Importance of Music and Movement

24:48 Breaking the Cycle: Changing Ballet Culture

28:52 Advice for Finding Joy and Final Thoughts

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Let's welcome Kathryn Morgan, a former professional ballerina who now inspires thousands of dancers through her YouTube channel. Kathryn shares her journey from dancing with the New York City Ballet at a young age to facing and overcoming a thyroid condition and Hashimoto's disease. Amidst health struggles, she turned to YouTube to share makeup tutorials and later, ballet guidance, which blossomed into a successful new career. She shares with us the joy she finds in teaching and helping others rediscover their love for ballet, emphasizing the importance of finding joy in movement and music. She also touches on breaking cycles of trauma in the ballet world and offers advice for those struggling to find their joy.

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Where to find Kathryn :

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ7v_GfFQaVoaPak9_SwR5A

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathryn_morgan/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathrynMorganBallet/

KM and Friends Instagram (my programs): https://www.instagram.com/kmandfriends

Website: https://kathrynmorganonline.com/

KM and Friends Website: https://www.kmandfriends.com/

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Loved today's episode? Check these out, because you deserve to have fun and learn something useful :

✨ 28 - The Architects of your personal SM Dungeon

✨ 14 - The Map of who you are

✨ 29 - Why pleasure should be your new best friend

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

If you’re new here, hi, I’m Dr Fanny Leboulanger, French Doctor and Sassy Sex Coach, nice to meet you 😏 My mission? Helping people (like you ?) reignite theri alivness by stepping out of life auto-pilot, sexual boredom and self-hate. So that you can reclaim your own Lifegasm. Through 1:1 coaching and magic tools (food for thoughts, sexy education, reclaiming pleasure and inner healing), with a zero bullshit tolerance, we embark together on our journey towards your most Sexyfied Life. 

If you like my work, you can offer financial support on Paypal here.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

If you found that episode interesting, feel free to share it with a loved one (inviting them into our Sexy Family) and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform, it's the number one way to support the spread of the Sexyfied Magic to the world. For extra-support, leave a review on your favorite podcast platform, it helps the show become more and more visible.


And if you want to discover other amazing shows from podcast friends, here is a selection of amazing podcasts & interviews :

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This podcast is for educational purposes only. The host claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the information presented herein.

Transcripts

Fanny:

Hello, my friends, and welcome back to another episode.

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If you're new here, welcome.

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And if you're already part of the

Sexified family, welcome back.

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Today, we're trying something new on

the podcast, which I'm super happy

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and super nervous, excited about.

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I have one of my favorite people on the

internet joining me for an interview.

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So, you might get me into 100 percent

fangirl mode, we'll see about that.

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This woman transformed her career as

a professional ballerina to inspire

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hundreds of thousands of people on her

YouTube channel, helping all of us ballet

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lovers follow our love for dancing,

whatever dance background we have, body

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type, goal, or just life history, with

this big goal overall of helping people

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find joy in their ballet practice.

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And since sexifying your life is about

igniting your aliveness and reclaiming

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the pleasure and joy of being alive, I

really wanted to have a conversation with

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her and bring you her amazing wisdom.

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Told you, 100 percent fangirling.

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This is the amazing Kathryn Morgan.

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Kathryn welcome to the show.

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Kathryn: Hi, thank you

so much for having me.

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I'm so excited.

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Fanny: Yeah, me too.

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So I could go on and on about your

history, but I would love for you to

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introduce yourself and tell your story

in a nutshell to all of the listeners.

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I have tons of friends who know

you already because we are all

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ballet lovers, but for those of

you who don't know you yet, can

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you tell us a little bit about you?

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Absolutely.

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I started dancing before

I mean, I knew anything.

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I wanted to be a ballerina from

the time I was three or four,

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my mom put me in dance classes.

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She tried other things.

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We tried soccer, we tried gymnastics,

but it was just always ballet...

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and so I worked really, really hard.

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And, um, Up until I was 15, I was

in Mobile, Alabama, and I just

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was at my local ballet school.

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And then the summer I turned 16, I was

accepted into the School of American

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Ballet for the year, in New York City,

which is the official school of the New

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York City Ballet, was there for two years.

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And then at 17, the summer I

was turning 18, got offered an

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apprenticeship with New York City Ballet.

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And it was very, very

young when I was there.

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And I kind of didn't realize

what a big deal it was, and was

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just kind of like, "Yep, this is,

this is what's happening to me".

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Great.

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I'm actually glad I didn't

realize how big of a deal it was.

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But, um, then fast forward a

few years, I was fast tracked.

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I was dancing Juliet and Sugar

Plum and Aurora in The Sleeping

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Beauty all by the time I was 20.

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I got promoted to soloist at 21,

and it was like a dream career.

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What could go wrong?

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You know.

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As it does.

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And so, I started to randomly

gain a ton of weight.

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My hair started falling out.

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My muscles started, um, disintegrating.

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I would go up to pointe

and I would collapse.

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I couldn't even hold myself.

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And I had been doing this my entire life.

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And dancing almost 8 hours a day,

putting on the amount of weight I

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was in the amount of time I was,

just made absolutely no sense.

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And so, It was just kind of this bizarre

situation, you know, the ballet masters

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were looking me up and down and "Are

you aware that you have put on weight?"

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I'm like, "no, I had no idea, you know,"

um, being sarcastic, but so it turns out

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a couple years into this process, I was

diagnosed with a thyroid condition first.

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Hypothyroidism.

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And then once I decided to leave New York

City Ballet because it was just it was

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too hard for me, it was the pressure of

being on stage in New York with putting

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on the weight that I did, feeling the

way that I did, my muscles not working...

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I did end up deciding to not renew my

contract and leave the company to get

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better About a year after that, I was

diagnosed with Hashimoto's, which is an

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autoimmune condition that does affect your

thyroid and it affects your entire body.

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So, during many of my tests, to get

to this disease diagnosis, you go

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to the hospital I remember doing

a test where I was giving blood

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every 20 minutes for four hours...

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just to check all my levels and

I would just started watching

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YouTube videos to pass the time.

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YouTube was fairly new

at this point, this.

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Was in 2014 so 10 years ago actually.

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And While I'm sitting there it occurred

to me that there were no ballet dancers

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For all the makeup tutorials, for all

the yoga people, there was no ballet.

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If there was, it was, you know,

a questionable 12 year old giving

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advice that might not be so great.

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So I was like, there are no

professional dancers on YouTube.

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So I thought, "well, I'm here.

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I'm not dancing a lot of rumors had

circulated that I was fired or, you

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know, things, bad things had happened.

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So I thought, well, it's

a way to stay relevant.

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It's a way to tell my story.

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And just try out this new platform.

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Let's see what happens".

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Cut to, you know, 10 years later

I'm still doing YouTube, my

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channel did really, really well.

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I teach now.

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Workshops.

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It just kind of blossomed into

this whole different career path

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that I never saw for myself.

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Because most dancers, it's like you're in

a ballet company or you're not successful.

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And that's such A stigma

that I want to get rid of.

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So I also thought "well, I don't have a

real career", but it turned into a real

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career through being on the internet,

doing guestings, because I did eventually

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get back dancing, and teaching, and

giving advice, and so that's where this

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whole, brand stemmed from was me just

trying to stay relevant and thinking

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"well, you know, I was the 14 year

old that didn't even know what to do.

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So let me give advice

to my 14 year old self.

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Let me give advice to my younger self."

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And what I didn't realize was that

half of my audience was going to be

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adults, who either did ballet as a

child and came back to it or wanted

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to start ballet as an older adult.

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So that happened totally naturally and

organically, I had no idea that there were

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so many people who just loved ballet that

wanted to do it, but never had a career.

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So that's where that whole platform

started as well and that developed

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further through COVID, and the lockdown,

and us dancing in our living rooms.

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So it kind of all just happened

through circumstance and me going

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"Alright, well, this isn't working.

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What can we do differently?

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Okay, well, I can't be in New

York City Ballet right now.

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So let me make lemonade out

of lemons, essentially".

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I love listening to that story.

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I love how you tell us about it.

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My first question would be, So, When

I'm only guessing in here, but when you

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were in on that hospital bed I would

guess that you wouldn't feel that great

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at the time, like pretty miserable.

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So there is this idea in your head about,

"hey, I'm gonna make a YouTube channel".

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So I guess my question has two parts

is first, "how did you find the

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energy to do that, to start that?"

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And then, "when did you

find your joy in it?

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How?,"

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Kathryn: Very good question.

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I, the reason I actually felt comfortable

starting the YouTube channel is because

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I started with Makeup tutorials...

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and apologies, my yard man just

showed up as we are doing this

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podcast So if you hear any like yard

work going on literally as we like

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to record he showed up real life.

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Here we are.

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So it was just makeup tutorials.

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So I thought "well Here's a way for

me to get back out there and only

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show my face" Because I was very self

conscious about my body at the time,

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I did not feel good at the time.

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But I thought "well I can work from from

clavicle up, you know, I can do that."

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So that's actually how the YouTube

channel started: I started with

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stage makeup tutorials and then

I did a couple other videos...

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and then once I was feeling a

little bit better, it was probably

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a few months into the process, I

recorded my first ballet class.

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And I think I did this whole, I look

back at it now, this whole disclaimer

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of like "I'm not in my best shape and I,

and I don't look like I'm supposed to.

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And I was a soloist with New York City

Ballet and I'm sorry that my technique

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isn't as", you know, So I did this

whole disclaimer before I even did the

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video, but it just happened gradually.

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And I think, um, for me,

it was all about sharing.

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And that's where the joy came in.

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It wasn't about how I looked on

stage in the moment, in the lights,

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in the tiara, it was a fulfilling

for me to be able to give back.

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And instead of putting the

focus on, look what I can do.

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It's like "here's this advice.

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Here is what helped me.

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Here is the advice I wanted

when I was learning how to tie

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my pointe shoes because no one

actually helped me do that".

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So, there was that kind of joy and it

took the pressure off, because ballet is

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such a career that is so in the moment,

they tell us all the time "you're only

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as good as your last performance".

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You can't rest on, you know "Oh,

I did this role four years ago".

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Like, it just doesn't work.

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Every time you're on that stage, you are

being judged for your next role, and it's

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just this constant scrutiny and fight.

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And so for me, with YouTube,

I could put whatever I wanted,

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I didn't need permission.

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I wasn't told "you're doing this

role with this person on this date".

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You know, it was me totally

being in control, which was very

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odd for me, but it was also my

way of sharing and giving back.

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Fanny: That's so interesting.

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You are only as good as your

last performance, I feel.

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This is kind of something that's

very common in the artistic world.

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I feel about that, like the MUAs

and makeup and things like that.

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And so getting back

this joy from sharing...

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I guess you don't pursue a career

without feeling some joy during it.

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So did you have that first?

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Kathryn: Yes.

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Oh, absolutely.

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I mean, I was a very shy child.

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And so my only way of expressing myself

was through ballet, through music.

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I wanted to become the music.

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Um, and I love being on stage.

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I love performing.

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I love telling a story.

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My favorite roles are always the ones

that have some sort of story to it.

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Um, I didn't connect so much

with the non story ballets, so

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that joy, that love, that..

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Is worth the 90 percent of the time

work in the studio, and the blood sweat

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and tears and the mental games, and the

this and that That's why we all do it.

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None of us become ballet dancers for

the fame or the money, because first

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of all dancers aren't famous, second

of all dancers don't get paid Well.

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So it was always because of that joy and

I tell my students all the time "don't

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go into this career unless you love it.

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If you don't love it, if you don't Find

this immense joy on stage to get you

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through the other 90 percent of the

time, you're not going to do well".

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Because that's why we all

do it, is to be on stage.

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Fanny: And I'm curious...

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has there been times, where this

joy might have fled a little bit?"

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Kathryn: Yes.

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Especially when I was getting ill,

because I wasn't dancing my best,

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I was being taken out of parts.

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Um, You know, because as a dancer

too, the person in the front of the

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room dictates your life, essentially.

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So, um, yeah.

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I also didn't want to look

at myself in the mirror.

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There was this point where I would, with

the amount of weight I gained in the time

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that I did, with the hair falling out,

I started to not even recognize myself.

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And ballet is a career where you

have to be able to deliver under

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pressure, and put yourself out there

in a leotard, in a costume, and do it.

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And when you're not mentally

there, it is so difficult.

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And so for me, that joy completely

disappeared once I got sick.

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I didn't want anything to do with ballet.

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I didn't want to be in the studio.

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I didn't even want to be on

stage, which was very rare for me.

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Um, so yeah, it was, it was tough.

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Fanny: And so you find the joy of

ballet in sharing what you learned

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and your experience and in teaching.

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Yes.

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Yes,

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Kathryn: it's because you're also

getting the joy of other people.

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One of my favorite things is when

I'm teaching and I say a correction

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or a different way of thinking about

it and the light bulb goes off.

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Or somebody completes their first

pirouette, and it's just you

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see like it click in their face.

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That is such a rewarding experience

because you're helping somebody else too.

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They you know, it's such a

cliche thing, but it's so true.

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There's so much joy in helping

other people, rather than

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just fulfilling yourself.

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Because ballet is a very selfish

career, and it has to be.

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You have to take care of yourself.

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Everything is about the next day, the

next performance, the next rehearsal.

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"Oh, I can't do this because

I have such and such".

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I remember being in Paris on tour,

and we went to the Eiffel Tower, and

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we were all like "Yep, there it is.

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Okay, we have shows tomorrow.

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Like, we can't.

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Like, we have to go to bed for the show".

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So when you also are able to help

someone else and have them find

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the joy with something that you

gave to them or said to them, that

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is twice as fulfilling, honestly.

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Fanny: It's so interesting you

actually got that from the courier

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that you had in the selfish part.

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Selfish in a needed way.

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So interesting to get that connection.

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I also.

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Yeah.

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maybe protecting in here, but I think

when you get a health condition,

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suddenly you learn some humility, that

you have no control about anything.

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Yep.

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Kathryn: Absolutely.

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I, you know, it's like "I

can't do this right now, so I

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have to just do what I can".

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And yeah, it's so true.

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It's so true.

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It really puts things in perspective.

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And then when I did finally go back to

performing after being, You know, kind

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of getting through the health condition,

it'll always be there, but managing

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it, I appreciated it so much more.

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I really did.

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Fanny: I love that.

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I really love that idea.

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, so I understand the joy from

seeing people's face clicking when

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they finish their first pirouette

or first double, in my case.

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I'm just going to put out there

that your retreats are amazing.

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I did my first double this summer.

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So I'm so glad.

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So my next question is, there

is this in person part, but

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you have 10 years on YouTube.

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How do you keep The aliveness?

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It's as basic as how do you not

get bored first, teaching the

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combinations and things like that?

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Kathryn: Yeah, well, it's funny because

there are days where I'm like "I don't

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want to teach people how to do another

tendu, like, you know what I mean?

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Like, it's a tendu, point your foot."

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But I think for me, again, it's always,

it's always people coming to the, Videos.

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I still have comments on old videos.

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"Hi, I just found your channel,

hi I'm just coming to you" There's

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always the new audience, especially

with YouTube, because it's evergreen.

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YouTube is evergreen.

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People search something

and the video pops up.

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It's not like Instagram

where you constantly have

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to like be doing new things.

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YouTube, it's there.

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So I'll get, I had somebody

comment on my first ballet class

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video I ever did ten years ago.

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"Hi, I just found your channel

and you're really beautiful and

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please don't put yourself down".

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And I'm just thinking like with

that disclaimer that I did.

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Wow, I've grown so much since then, but

people are still finding my old videos.

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So there's always a new audience.

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Um, there's always new students,

whether they be young or adult.

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And I think for me, I have had

lulls in my YouTube channel.

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I had one recently where

I do get burned out.

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But now I'm starting to, like,

get excited about it again.

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Do kind of different content.

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Actually, my new plan is to go back to

some of the original content that people

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fell in love with in the first place:

ballet lifestyle, that kind of stuff.

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So, it does come in waves.

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But because YouTube, it all

just always lives there.

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There's always a new

audience being generated.

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Fanny: I understand that idea of, like,

maybe losing the joy at some point

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and then getting the excitement again.

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I think it's so important to feel

it and also acknowledge that we

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won't feel that way all the time.

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And that in the end it's The question,

at least it's my totally biased and

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100 percent personal opinion, it's

about living the waves and trying

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to do your best with the waves,

with the peaks and the valleys when

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you will fall flat on your face.

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It's really interesting to just hear

from behind the scene that even if this

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is one of your goal to help people get

back their joy in ballet, it's something

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that you are also going through.

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I love these behind the scene peeks.

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Yes.

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Kathryn: Yes, exactly.

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And I have had so many people say to me,

this is one of the reasons I do what I do,

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"I was traumatized by ballet as a child.

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Because there are many teachers

who are not joyful and who are not

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kind, and traumatize these kids and

then they quit and they hate it".

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I had one woman write to me and

say "I have had an eating disorder

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since I was 12 and now I am 55."

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And you know, those people who have come

back to ballet through my videos, one

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commented recently: "you are literally

saving my relationship with ballet,

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because you're showing me it can be

happy and joyful and not traumatic".

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Um, so for me, that is the most important

thing, is just finding the joy in it.

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Finding, you know, if you

had a rough experience, being

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able to see the beauty in it.

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Um, or finding it for the first time.

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So, that's more important to me.

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And I've had a lot of people say to me, I

love that you're somebody I can relate to.

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You know, I do post fails.

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I do tell you, yeah,

well, that wasn't good.

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You know, I'm not sitting there

going, I'm perfect and I'm wearing my

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tiara and look at me do my 8 million

pirouettes, like, that's not relatable.

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:

So, for me, I like showing the

rough times, too, because it's

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:

something people can connect with.

336

:

Um, and that's important.

337

:

Fanny: Thank you for saying that.

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:

I really want to come back to what you

said about the pleasure of being on stage

339

:

and how this is the fuel that you need if

you want to be successful in that career.

340

:

Um, what I love talking about in your

sexified life or in the work I do is

341

:

to bring the somatic reality in it.

342

:

Because I think it's time to get over the

mindset thing that has served its time

343

:

and now it's time to do something else.

344

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And I was curious, I think the

easiest way to ask this is, "do

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:

you find pleasure in movement?"

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:

There is a pleasure of being in stage,

but I guess there is the mind part

347

:

of, I want to do this tendu to have

the most beautiful lines . But also do

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:

you find pleasure in movement as well?

349

:

Kathryn: Oh, absolutely.

350

:

Um, again, it's such a form of expression.

351

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When I was younger, I didn't

enjoy rehearsals or class.

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Now, as I've gotten older, I really do

enjoy working at the barre, and working my

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:

body and feeling my muscles because it's

like, when it's right, it's so satisfying.

354

:

And when it's not right, it's

like, I want to make it right.

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So, it's Yeah, and move it like I

get at home if I'm sitting at home

356

:

too long I get antsy so for me It's

like movement is so important But I

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:

think for me even more important than

movement is the movement to music.

358

:

Music is always what inspires me if

there's a beautiful piece of music, it's

359

:

like I have to dance to it It's not even

so much about listening to it is like

360

:

I have to move to this So I think that

for me is where it comes from because

361

:

the ballets that I've done here where I

don't like the score, I can't get behind.

362

:

I really can't.

363

:

I'm just like "uh, I hate this music".

364

:

Um, or if somebody's used, like in

ballet class, if it's the same, I

365

:

even try when I'm teaching to use

different pieces because I get bored

366

:

with the same stuff over and over.

367

:

So for me, yes, there's pleasure in

the movement, but the bigger element

368

:

to it for me is the music element.

369

:

There has to be that connection.

370

:

That's why, like, I've never

been good at, like, running.

371

:

Or going to the gym, or, you know,

like ballet has that musical element,

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:

um, and that's really important to me.

373

:

Fanny: That's so interesting.

374

:

I didn't think about that.

375

:

Like, one of the basic exercises I give

to my coachees and that we do together

376

:

is like basically senses reclamation.

377

:

Allowing yourself to feel the,

the texture of your clothing or of

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:

the feather or things like that.

379

:

Like eating, I call that the five

minutes date with a piece of chocolate.

380

:

But bringing the idea of the

connection to music really, um,

381

:

brings much more depth to that.

382

:

And also it brings like good

material to do amazing somatic works.

383

:

Kathryn: And it's, it's been

like that since I was in my crib.

384

:

The only way my mother could take a

shower and get ready for the day when

385

:

I was four or five months old, she'd

put on classical music And I would just

386

:

sit there just like enthralled with it.

387

:

And she was like, great.

388

:

I can take a shower now.

389

:

That was it.

390

:

So from a young age, I was always

something about the music for me.

391

:

Fanny: Awesome Thank

you for saying that...

392

:

there is one more thing that I wanted

to, before asking you the big the the

393

:

last question, there is this thing

that I love talking about and that I

394

:

love helping people get out of it's

what I call autopilot autopilot.

395

:

Are Emotional Numbness.

396

:

And I would guess that this is something

that you know, whether it's from

397

:

the traumatizing experience that you

mentioned, or just maybe escaping the

398

:

health condition that you have as well.

399

:

And, um, I just, I guess I

wanted your thoughts on that.

400

:

Is that something that you've

seen in yourself and or in others?

401

:

And is there something else that what you

mentioned that helped you get out of it?

402

:

Kathryn: Yes, and I try

and do that in life too.

403

:

And that's actually one of the reasons I

love what you do is that so many people in

404

:

their day to day life, we get up, we walk

the dog, we do the dishes, we dadada....

405

:

And it becomes this sort

of monotonous routine.

406

:

And that's sometimes what

happens with dancers.

407

:

Okay, I go to class, I roll out my

calves, I do my plies, and da da da.

408

:

And so it's trying to be

really present in the moment.

409

:

It's like, again, the muscle connectivity

or listening to the music that's playing.

410

:

Um, or finding a different way to do it.

411

:

A trick I use with some of my students,

particularly my younger ones, because

412

:

they have less inhibitions, is I'll say

"Okay, take class as a character today.

413

:

Don't tell me what your character is.

414

:

Like, pick Giselle or Juliet

or Black Swan or Sly".

415

:

And that character would take class

differently Then the other one would

416

:

like Juliet's not going to take class

the same way as the black swan will.

417

:

So it's how you know, so it

gets you out of autopilot.

418

:

It gets you out of just a second arm

this that pirouette great And so yeah,

419

:

it's it's being able to really connect

with what you're doing And I think

420

:

for me to like if ever in my life I

was having a bad day, or things were

421

:

not good being in the studio, can kind

of that's your You escape from it.

422

:

So it's also, I hope, yeah, right.

423

:

I hope students can use ballet as their

kind of, again, let's reset our mind.

424

:

Let's, you know, oh, I

was having a bad day.

425

:

Now I feel so much better.

426

:

So there's different ways to

look at it, but absolutely.

427

:

Fanny: I love that.

428

:

It's so interesting to hear this

in coming from a world of, so much

429

:

self hate and even if you're working

with your body, sometimes being at

430

:

war with it, whether you wanted to

look differently I just love that

431

:

idea of how it's actually possible.

432

:

And I'm curious how you feel about

being one of the first doing that,

433

:

like really bringing the joy of

ballet to people and saying, like,

434

:

screw you to the company model,

435

:

Kathryn: yeah.

436

:

I think.

437

:

I just wanted to bring something

different and I, I know I'm, I still

438

:

have an uphill battle and a lot of us

have an uphill battle because ballet is

439

:

so institutionalized and it's been this

way since da, da, da, da, da, and that's

440

:

how they did it in 1925, you know, and

oh, in the, in:

441

:

it's, Because you're up against these huge

institutions, it's going to take a while.

442

:

I think it's going to be generational

for ballet to fully change.

443

:

It's not going to be overnight.

444

:

But in those companies

defense, and in those directors

445

:

defense, that's all they know.

446

:

So it takes somebody to break the cycle.

447

:

It takes somebody to break

the cycle, the pattern.

448

:

Um, mean directors.

449

:

I just tell people all the time, I'm like

"mean directors are mean because they were

450

:

also traumatized by their own directors.

451

:

Well, I lived it, so this is how it is

because this is how I had to live it".

452

:

And I'm not the only one, so there

are a lot of us trying to do this,

453

:

but you have to break the cycle.

454

:

You have to go against the stereotypes.

455

:

And it's going to take a long time.

456

:

It's going to take a while for

people to, you know, it's like

457

:

Testing what you've been taught...

458

:

challenging your own thought pattern,

challenging "okay, this is how it's been.

459

:

Does it have to be that way?

460

:

Who said it has to be that way?"

461

:

So, it is, it is a lot.

462

:

Um, and sometimes I do feel like,

well, I'm not doing anything.

463

:

But then I'll get the stories from people.

464

:

Um, how it has been

life changing for them.

465

:

And that's, that's what helps

me continue to do what I do.

466

:

I don't know if that answered

the question, but that's

467

:

Fanny: what just came to me while I

was listening is how similar this is

468

:

to patriarchal bullshit dismantling.

469

:

Like I call myself an activist for self

love and pleasure and against patriarchy.

470

:

And when I heard you say it was so

institutionalized and how you need to

471

:

break the cycle, and because there are

more and more of us against patriarchy,

472

:

or of you in the ballet community,

suddenly the change can occur.

473

:

And also what I like to do in those type

of moments is acknowledged that, I don't

474

:

know how it works in the ballet world, but

at least from the patriarchy perspective,

475

:

we have tons of work to do, 100%.

476

:

And I also, a few years ago, I

was in Indonesia and the guy that

477

:

we had said he couldn't wait to get

his wife so that he wouldn't have

478

:

to take care of his chores at home.

479

:

And I was like, you We still have a lot

of work to do, but also let's acknowledge

480

:

what we've, what we've already overcome.

481

:

So, right.

482

:

Kathryn: Yeah.

483

:

Yeah.

484

:

And it's just, it is, it's

challenging the thought pattern.

485

:

It's like, well, who said

it has to be that way?

486

:

You know, who said that

women have to be that way?

487

:

Who decided this, you know, and why

are we still going along with it?

488

:

So it's sort of the same with ballet.

489

:

Fanny: Yeah, or in the medical

field too, like what you shared

490

:

about, "I'm treating people that way

because I've been treated that way".

491

:

That's what's happening to

us in hospitals as well.

492

:

And in so many places, I love hearing

how your ballet history and how you

493

:

see ballet is also, a microcosm for

what's going on as a society as well.

494

:

And this evolution, I really feel This

convergence of things going together

495

:

and how we can take part of the same

journey with each of our lights.

496

:

I'm not gonna go 100 percent light

and love and fluffy, but each of

497

:

us bringing, bringing our path

meeting that would not look alike,

498

:

when you just take them separately.

499

:

So

500

:

I think my last big question

would be if someone is struggling

501

:

to find their joy right now.

502

:

If it's for about dancing, I would

say go to Kathryn's YouTube channel

503

:

and her membership, they're amazing.

504

:

Told you 100 percent fangirl, but

overall, because I know you also give

505

:

amazing lifestyle advice and things like

that, what would be your advice about

506

:

someone struggling to find their joy?

507

:

Kathryn: I think the way I put it in

with ballet, which this kind of does with

508

:

normal life, no matter what career path

you're in, no matter where you are, why

509

:

did you start doing it in the first place?

510

:

Again, nobody takes ballet to A become

famous, B) become rich, see any of that.

511

:

Like, why, why did you start ballet?

512

:

Was it the movement?

513

:

Was it the music?

514

:

Was it the, you know, the idea of it?

515

:

So no matter where you are in

life, whatever you're doing.

516

:

Why did you start what you're doing?

517

:

And if you can't come up with an

answer, then you have to flip it and

518

:

go "Okay, what would make me happy?"

519

:

If money wasn't an issue, if what

everybody else thought wasn't an

520

:

issue, both very difficult I'm aware,

but like what would bring you joy,

521

:

if what you're doing right now is

not bringing you joy, what would?

522

:

And how can you slowly

start to work towards that?

523

:

How can you slowly start

to have your dream job?

524

:

How can you slowly start to, you

know, get to where you want to be?

525

:

Um, and again, it's not

an overnight process.

526

:

I'm not saying go quit your job and like

fall, you know, there's practical reasons,

527

:

but it's like, what can I start doing?

528

:

What would make me happy?

529

:

And I think you have to dig deep.

530

:

Journaling has helped me a lot.

531

:

Um, journaling helped me a while ago, and

it's certainly helping me now with things.

532

:

I think, yeah, you have

to go back to the why.

533

:

You have to find your why.

534

:

And if you can't find a why for what

you're doing, what would give you the why?

535

:

Fanny: I love that.

536

:

I also love to add the, when we can feel

so disconnected that what makes me happy

537

:

is unaccessible, I really love the idea

of what will soothe me a little bit.

538

:

What would help you feel a

little bit more comfortable?

539

:

And I think it's kind of related with

what you shared about the movement and

540

:

the pleasure of movement, just helping

yourself be more comfortable in your body.

541

:

Because also, the sexified life is

so basic in the end, it's about loving

542

:

yourself and stepping out of a auto-pilot.

543

:

Yay!

544

:

And then I love the depth of, finding

your why is something that you can hear

545

:

a lot, but also, um, So, getting back to

what would help you feel happy and flip

546

:

the question, I love that, that idea.

547

:

Kathryn: Yeah.

548

:

Fanny: So, before I let you go, can

you tell the listeners, even if I told

549

:

a lot of things already, but are there

any things that you would like to

550

:

share with the listeners regarding your

events, regarding where to find you?

551

:

Kathryn: Yes, you can find me two places.

552

:

You can, um, find me on YouTube.

553

:

Just type Katherine Morgan, K A T H

R Y N M O R G A N, it comes right up.

554

:

Um, also my, events and my other

business is kmandfriends.Com,

555

:

just "km" the word "and Friends".

556

:

com.

557

:

We do have an event coming up in Southern

California, october 12th and 13th, a

558

:

weekend workshop for adult dancers.

559

:

All levels, and then my online membership,

which you can find at kminfriends.

560

:

com.

561

:

Um, you get live classes, you get

pre recorded classes, there's a

562

:

ballet glossary, there's a whole

foundational course in there.

563

:

So there's a lot of things on there.

564

:

I believe we're over 150 videos

now on just the membership.

565

:

That doesn't even include YouTube.

566

:

So those are like deep dives

into ballet, great for beginners,

567

:

um, some exercises in there.

568

:

So yeah, it's all there.

569

:

Fanny: Yeah, and I can tell you from

experience, it's amazing., and I'm

570

:

going to stop fangirling from here.

571

:

So thank you for your time.

572

:

Thank you for being here.

573

:

Is there any last word that you

would love to share with the

574

:

listeners before I let you go?

575

:

Kathryn: Just, yeah, just keep

finding your joy, finding your why.

576

:

Um, yeah, and I do love

what you do, Fanny.

577

:

I think this, what you're doing

is incredible and I want to like

578

:

binge listen to your podcast now.

579

:

I really do.

580

:

Awesome.

581

:

I'm excited.

582

:

Fanny: Yeah.

583

:

Thank you so much for saying that.

584

:

So thank you for your time, my friends.

585

:

Thank you for tuning in today.

586

:

Thank you so much for sharing your

precious time and energy with us and

587

:

I'll see you in our next episode.

588

:

Kathryn: Bye.

589

:

Bye.

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