# 21. building a dance career in nyc (and finding love along the way) ft Grace Hilarides Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kicking-it-real-7560311/21-building-a-dance-career-in-nyc-and-finding-love-along-the-way-ft-grace-hilarides Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kicking-it-real-7560311/21-building-a-dance-career-in-nyc-and-finding-love-along-the-way-ft-grace-hilarides.md Podcast: [Kicking It Real](https://stenobird.com/podcast/kicking-it-real-7560311) Published: 2026-02-25T09:10:00+00:00 Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kicking-it-real-podcast/episodes/21--building-a-dance-career-in-nyc-and-finding-love-along-the-way-ft-Grace-Hilarides-e3f9bpr Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/10ad936d0/podcast/play/115698939/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-1-18%2F418361527-44100-2-d13c4a9eadb0f.m4a Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/kicking-it-real-7560311/episodes/21-building-a-dance-career-in-nyc-and-finding-love-along-the-way-ft-grace-hilarides Duration seconds: 4234 ## Resource Come hang with us as I sit down with my college roommate and best friend Grace to talk about what it was really like building a dance career in New York City. We dive into moving to NYC fresh out of college with no savings, working multiple jobs to survive, navigating the contemporary dance world, and what it actually takes to make it in a small, interconnected industry. Grace shares how traveling to teach choreography shaped her career, why technique and artistry still matter more than tricks, and what she wishes she had known before moving to the city. We also get into the more personal side... how our love stories unexpectedly intertwined, what it was like living together during some of our biggest life transitions, and how relationships, roommates, and real-life responsibilities shape you just as much as dance does. If you are a dancer thinking about moving to New York, balancing multiple jobs, or trying to figure out your next step in the industry, this one is for you. Stay in the loop with me πŸ‘‡πŸΌπŸ€ Instagram: @kickingitrealpod @potentiallygabby TikTok: @potentiallygabby Episode requests: kickingitrealpod@gmail.com Find Grace hereπŸ‘‡πŸΌ IG: @graciehilarde ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/kicking-it-real-7560311/episodes/21-building-a-dance-career-in-nyc-and-finding-love-along-the-way-ft-grace-hilarides/transcription-requests` β€” Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/kicking-it-real-7560311/21-building-a-dance-career-in-nyc-and-finding-love-along-the-way-ft-grace-hilarides.md` β€” Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.