{"podcast":{"title":"The Brainy Ballerina Podcast","slug":"the-brainy-ballerina-podcast-6926194","podcast_index_feed_id":6926194,"rss_url":"https://feeds.zencastr.com/f/8eetcbDq.rss","website_url":"https://thebrainyballerina.com","image_url":"https://media.zencastr.com/image-files/65e9ecbdad8337c985a311c2/c74b191a-d40c-4b25-88b6-e1e09731b3b9.png","author":"thebrainyballerina@gmail.com","episode_count":114,"summary":"The Brainy Ballerina Podcast is a podcast for aspiring professional ballet dancers who want to learn what it really takes to build a smart and sustainable career in the dance industry. Former professional ballerina turned Dance Educator and Career Mentor Caitlin Sloan peels back the curtain of the professional dance world with open and honest conversations about the realities of becoming a professional dancer. Along with sharing her industry knowledge, Caitlin interviews top dancers, educators and experts in the dance industry who share their stories to inform, motivate and inspire you to pursue your dance career with confidence. Tune in each week for actionable tips and advice to empower you with the tools and knowledge you need to succeed in a professional dance career on your terms.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-29T18:18:01.511393+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-brainy-ballerina-podcast-6926194"},"episode":{"title":"98. Ballet Shoes for the 21st Century with Seth & Sarah Orza","slug":"98-ballet-shoes-for-the-21st-century-with-seth-sarah-orza","published_at":"2026-04-13T09:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-brainy-ballerina-podcast-6926194/98-ballet-shoes-for-the-21st-century-with-seth-sarah-orza","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-brainy-ballerina-podcast-6926194","url":"https://zencastr.com/z/GtgiaO2D","audio_url":"https://redirect.zencastr.com/r/episode/69cc1bfaca9e15620b40f30b/size/54306477/audio-files/65e9ecbdad8337c985a311c2/f8498a55-8413-4748-82e4-3f793d5824f7.mp3","summary":"In this episode of The Brainy Ballerina Podcast, I'm joined by Seth and Sarah Orza - former principal dancers with Pacific Northwest Ballet and the founders of ORZA. Seth and Sarah share their incredible journey from meeting as teenagers at the School of American Ballet to building careers together both on and off-stage. We dive into the realities of dancing through pain, the lack of innovation in ballet footwear, and how their personal injury experiences led to a groundbreaking solution. Seth takes us behind the scenes of developing the first-ever patented shock-absorbing ballet shoe, designed to better support dancers' bodies without sacrificing the aesthetic demands of the art form. We also explore the bigger picture: how dancers are often underserved when it comes to proper equipment, the long-term impact of training on inadequate flooring, and why the \"suffering for your art\" mindset needs to change. Whether you're a student, professional dancer, or someone navigating life after dance, this episode is full of practical advice and inspiration for what's possible beyond the stage. Key \"Pointes\" in this Episode: * The injuries that sparked the idea for a shock-absorbing ballet shoe * Why traditional ballet footwear hasn't kept up with athletic innovation * The process of designing and manufacturing a completely new kind of dance shoe * What dancers actually feel when wearing shock-absorbing shoes * The impact of poor flooring and training environments on dancers' bodies * Transferable skills from dance that translate into entrepreneurship * What dancers should know as they prepare for life after their performing careers Connect with ORZA: WEBSITE: www.orzabrand.com [http://www.orzabrand.com/] (use code BRAINYBALLERINA for 10% off your ORZA shoes) INSTAGRAM: instagram…","meta_description":"In this episode of The Brainy Ballerina Podcast, I'm joined by Seth and Sarah Orza - former principal dancers with Pacific Northwest Ballet and the founde…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2262,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-brainy-ballerina-podcast-6926194/episodes/98-ballet-shoes-for-the-21st-century-with-seth-sarah-orza/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-brainy-ballerina-podcast-6926194/98-ballet-shoes-for-the-21st-century-with-seth-sarah-orza.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}