In this episode, Megan is joined by Ricardo, a professional dancer and creative working across stage, film and commercial performance, for an honest conversation about sustainability, authenticity and care within a demanding freelance dance career.
Ricardo shares his journey into dance, from early training and time on the Centre of Advanced Training Programme at The Place to performing in Wicked and creating his own short dance film, Shattering Conceptions. Together, they explore what it means to stay connected to joy and self-expression in an industry that often prioritises output, speed and visibility.
The conversation moves through themes of self-care and mental health, including journaling, therapy, emotional regulation and taking intentional breaks to prevent burnout. Megan and Ricardo reflect on empathy in creative work, the pressure to prioritise others, and how sustainable practices can look different across seasons of life.
They also discuss navigating freelance structures — finding the right agent, managing multiple projects, and building supportive professional relationships — alongside broader reflections on the commercialization of dance and the importance of returning to its roots.
Throughout the episode, Ricardo speaks candidly about vulnerability, resilience and showing up authentically, offering a reminder that longevity in dance is built not just on discipline, but on care, presence and honesty.

In this episode, Megan is joined by Alethia, a British Caribbean choreographer, performer, teacher and researcher based in the UK, for a wide-ranging conversation on sustainability, authorship and care within contemporary dance practice.

Together, they reflect on their respective journeys into movement, from early training to their current work across choreography, teaching and research. The conversation moves through questions of balance — between rigor and rest, planning and intuition, holding space for others while tending to one’s own capacity — particularly within freelance life.

Alethia shares candidly about navigating burnout, energy management, and how living with ME has reshaped the way they approach creation, rehearsal structures and long-term projects. Megan and Alethia also explore dancer empowerment in the studio, the value of trust and risk-taking in process, and the often unseen labour behind choreography.

The episode closes with reflections on inhabiting dual identities as choreographer and performer, the grief and growth that come with changing physical capacities, and a shared call for greater accessibility and inclusivity within dance spaces and theatres.

In this episode, Megan is joined by Rose, a Dutch–Senegalese independent dance artist based in London, for a rich conversation on training, creativity, and navigating constant change as a freelance artist.

Rose shares how practices such as Kalaripayattu and other movement forms have shaped her relationship to discipline, devotion, and artistic freedom, and how she balances rigorous technique with poetic expression.

Together, they explore routines and solitude as anchors while touring, the dialogue between training and creativity, and how cultural exchange, risk-taking, and embodied presence continue to inform Rose’s evolving practice as a performer, choreographer, and teacher.

In this episode, our host Megan, is joined by Megan Castro, a freelance dancer originally from South Carolina and currently based in Utah.

Megan shares an intimate reflection on improvisation as both a creative practice and a way of listening to the body through sharing insight into a daily movement journal practice that she began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together they explore how the practice has evolved into a personal archive that continues to shape her relationship to dance, documentation, and self-trust.

The conversation explores authenticity in movement, navigating time constraints in choreographic processes, and using improvisation as a tool for stripping away habit and expectation. They also explore the difference between letting the people involved shape the work and adhering to strict choreographic structures that may reduce individual expression.

Megan discusses how sharing her personal movement journal practice on social media has informed her approach to the platform as a reflective space, and how this connects to cultivating a more sustainable relationship with the body as an artist.

In this episode, Megan is joined by dear friend Emma Poyer, a Réunionese multidisciplinary dance performer and choreographer based in the UK. Emma’s practice weaves contemporary dance, ballet, global forms, improvisation, ritual, and storytelling, drawing from her multicultural roots and a deep commitment to co-creation, collective rhythm, and embodied leadership.

Together, they explore what it means to freelance sustainably while navigating constant shifts in work and location, and what Emma is learning along the way. The conversation also unpacks identity in and out of the studio, the value of leaving things open to be discovered, and reflections on teaching practice—touching on seasons of learning, unlearning, and ongoing transformation.

In this episode, Megan is joined by contemporary dance artist and choreographer JJ for a reflective conversation on queerness, care, and making work within systems that often resist softness. Beginning with a gentle catch-up, they speak about daily rituals, studio time, and the small structures that help sustain a freelance artistic life.
JJ shares the ideas behind Copters and Hearses, a work that sits inside the tension between self-care and capitalism. Together, they explore how care becomes commodified, how movement and cultural practices are taken up and discarded, and how artists are asked to continually optimize themselves in the name of wellness.
The conversation turns toward the studio, where JJ reflects on trust, honesty, and genuine connection in collaboration — leading without certainty, caring without performance, and creating spaces that feel both held and open. The episode closes with JJ sharing their upcoming performance at the Resolution Festival, grounding these questions in embodied, lived practice.

In this episode, Megan is joined by Irish theatre maker Kevin Keough for a thoughtful conversation on movement, sustainability, and care across an artist’s career. Speaking from a period of creative dormancy after completing a three-year project, Kevin reflects on rest as an active and necessary part of artistic practice, sharing how slowing down and engaging in quieter, hands-on projects has helped him recover from burnout.
Together, they trace Kevin’s journey into theatre — from a formative early experience of live performance to training as an actor and evolving into a theatre maker and director. Kevin discusses his commitment to making theatre more accessible, questioning traditional hierarchies while also acknowledging the role of structure, leadership, and discipline in collaborative creative processes.
The conversation expands into the realities of freelance artistic life: funding pressures, collaboration, emotional labor, and the often unseen movement involved in planning, administration, and sustaining a body and mind under long-term creative stress. Megan and Kevin explore how care, listening, and adaptability are essential tools for maintaining longevity and integrity in creative work.

Episode 11 Summary — Season One Reflection

In this solo reflection episode, Megan takes a moment to pause and look back on the conversations, themes, and questions that shaped Season One of CMS.

She reflects on what emerged across the ten episodes — love as a creative practice, the value of presence and listening, and the courage it takes to stay connected to why we create.

Megan shares how hosting these conversations has influenced her own relationship to movement, collaboration, and artistic integrity.

The episode serves as a gentle closing to Season One and an invitation to carry these reflections forward into future practice.