# Ep. 38: Rising through rejections, with Samantha Hope Galler

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-leadership-dance-7102140/ep-38-rising-through-rejections-with-samantha-hope-galler
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-leadership-dance-7102140/ep-38-rising-through-rejections-with-samantha-hope-galler.md
Podcast: [The Leadership Dance](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-leadership-dance-7102140)
Published: 2026-03-30T17:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://b41db787-e5e6-4a3e-9e61-ff750a24b66c.libsyn.com/ep-38-rising-through-rejections-with-samantha-hope-galler
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/b41db787-e5e6-4a3e-9e61-ff750a24b66c/Copy_of_TLD_-_Samantha_Hope_Galler_-_Highlight_-_Transferable_Skills_-_AUDIO_ONLY_-_022526_v1.mp3?dest-id=4801357
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-leadership-dance-7102140/episodes/ep-38-rising-through-rejections-with-samantha-hope-galler
Duration seconds: 2335

## Resource

What does it take to rise to the top at one of America's leading ballet companies, after dozens of rejections, a serious injury, and a recession? Samantha Hope Galler, Principal Dancer at Miami City Ballet, joins host Alissa Hsu Lynch to share the resilience and self-belief that carried her through 30+ auditions and years of setbacks, including a near career-ending injury. She also reflects on founding Fifth Position Path, a mentorship platform for dancers, earning her Master of Science from Northeastern University while performing professionally, and navigating pregnancy as a dancer. Don't miss this honest conversation about processing rejection, betting on yourself when no one else will, and building a career on your own terms. 💡 Key Takeaways: Why rejection is often the best teacher and how to process it without losing momentum How discipline, visual learning, and problem-solving skills from dance translate to any career Why mentorship matters and how Fifth Position Path is filling a critical gap for dancers and their families Photo credits: A Iziliaev, Daniel Azoulay, Danny Cardoza, Jonathan Taylor, Juliet Hay, Melissa Dooley, Philip Galler Connect with Samantha: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-hope-kunstadt/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeisadebut/ and https://www.instagram.com/fifthpositionpath/ Website: www.fifthpositionpath.com ✅ Sign up for the newsletter: https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance 👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

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## Transcript

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