EducationSelf-Improvement

More Than Dance

Krissy Phillipino

Dance. Mindset. Motivation.
More Than Dance is where real life meets the dance floor.

Hosted by Krissy Phillipino, a dancer, choreographer, and studio owner with over 30 years in the industry. This podcast dives into the mindset reframes and quiet magic that take shape in the choreography, inside the studio, and through the work of showing up for yourself over and over.

Expect episodes packed with storytelling, dance wisdom, raw truths, and the kind of pep talks you didn’t know you needed.

This isn’t just about dance.

It’s about who you become when you let yourself go all in, even through the ugly stages, the moments when nothing feels like it’s clicking yet, and the times when you question yourself.

From confidence and self worth to mindset shifts and breakthroughs More Than Dance is where movement meets transformation.

Whether you're a seasoned dancer, brand new to movement, or simply someone who craves personal growth and deep, honest conversations, this space is for you.

Because this was never just about dance.
It’s about who you become while dancing.

It’s more than dance.

Follow:

@krissyphillipino

@kdfstudio

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20 episodes
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#156
Thursday · 12 min
Is Dance Really Worth It? | Ep 156
Is it really worth it? The time, the money, the vulnerability, the discomfort of trying something new, and even getting yourself out of the house on a cold day when you'd rather stay home? In this episode, I talk about what makes something worth doing, especially when you don't know what the experience is going to be like until you actually do it. I share how planning my wedding with Josh has made me think about this question in a completely different way. When something feels scary, overwhelming, or uncomfortable, how do you know it's going to be worth putting yourself through it? We talk about why we choose dance in the first place and how much it actually gives us. The movement, the music, the friendships, the confidence, the self expression, and having something that's just for YOU. Dance checks off SO many boxes, but when you're brand new, you haven't experienced any of those benefits yet! I also talk about finding a teacher you trust, looking at the experiences of their students, and allowing yourself to lean into the discomfort of being new when you're surrounded by people who already know how incredible the experience can be. And then I ask a different question. What if you never gave yourself the opportunity to experience any of it? What if you never got to discover how dance could make you feel, the people you could meet, or the person you could become? Would you regret not trying? I know my answer. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#155
Tuesday · 22 min
Finding Your Own Unique Dance Style | Ep 155
One of the coolest things about dance is that you can give two people the exact same choreography, and it’s going to look different on both of them. And I think that’s something we should be celebrating! In this episode, I’m talking about developing your own sense of style as a dancer, learning to recognize what makes your movement unique, and why you don’t have to dance like anybody else. We talk about how easy it is to compare ourselves to other dancers and start thinking we need to move the way they do instead of appreciating what we bring to the dance floor. I also get into how your style is constantly evolving because YOU are constantly evolving! Your body changes, your mobility changes, your experiences change, and all of those things can influence the way you move. We talk about being open to trying new styles, learning from different dancers, and allowing yourself to explore movement without feeling like you need to fit into a certain mold. You can be inspired by other dancers without needing to become them. And you can continue learning, growing, and changing without losing what makes your dancing yours. Your style is unique to you... embrace it! Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#154
October 29 · 14 min
Why Making Mistakes Makes You A Better Dancer | Ep 154
This episode is all about changing your relationship with making mistakes! Can we skip to the good part? The part where dancing is fun! How many of you have started dance or something else and asked yourself "why isn't this fun?" We want to become so good so fast but we somehow want it to be easy? Think about how you apologize when you make mistakes. We don't treat it like part of the process but rather we get embarrassed... We feel like we're doing something wrong when we don't get choreography right away. Great dancers get excited about making mistakes! Every mistake gives us information. Every time something doesn't work, we get another opportunity to figure it out. Great dancers don't have time to be embarrassed about a mistake, they welcome them because they know its part of the process of learning and perfecting the craft. When you become a better dancer you are also becoming someone who isn't afraid to mess up. This teaches up to create a different relationship with mistakes. So instead of shying away from being wrong we get to say bring on the mistakes! Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#153
October 27 · 9 min
Why Dance Doesn't Need A Finish Line | Ep 153
In this episode, I’m talking about slowing down and learning to enjoy the process of dance instead of always trying to get to the next step. I started thinking about this through sewing and videography. When you’re working on a project, there’s usually a finished product you’re working toward. You make something, you complete it, and you get to enjoy what you’ve created. Dance is a little different, especially when you’re taking weekly classes. There’s no finish line! There’s always something new to learn, something to work on, and something to discover. We talk about how easy it is to get caught up in wanting to learn choreography faster, get everything right, or move on to the next thing without actually enjoying what we’re doing. Dance is a hobby! It’s something we choose to make time for because we enjoy it. So why are we putting so much pressure on ourselves to get it done? What if we stopped treating dance like another thing on our to do list and started enjoying the fact that there’s no rush? You don’t have to finish something for the time you spend doing it to be worthwhile. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#152
October 22 · 17 min
Why Beginner Dancers Are RICH | Ep 152
Beginner dancers are rich in so much: opportunity, experiences, progress, and all of the things they get to discover for the very first time. Think about how much you have to gain when you’re learning something new. One class can completely change the way you move. One correction can make something click. And something that felt impossible a few weeks ago can suddenly become something you know how to do! We talk about being rich in FIRSTS, rich in PROGRESS, and rich in PERMISSION. Permission to not know, to ask questions, make mistakes, and try things without feeling like you should already have the answers. There’s something really exciting about being brand new to dance and thinking, “I’ve never done this before. Teach me EVERYTHING!” You haven’t decided what you’re good at, what you’re not good at, or even what styles of dance you love yet. There is SO much available to you! What if instead of focusing on everything you don’t know, you started looking at everything you GET to learn? There is so much opportunity in being a beginner! Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#151
October 20 · 13 min
Making Actual Progress: Effective Vs Efficient | Ep 151
This episode is all about being effective and efficient when it comes to learning dance and understanding that sometimes doing MORE isn’t necessarily going to make you a better dancer. We talk about technique, practicing, and how much you’re actually asking your brain and body to do when you’re learning something new. You’re trying to remember everything you’re learning while also figuring out how to execute it, and that can be HARD. I talk about how important it is to embrace the learning process and how the way you think about that process can actually affect the dancer you’re becoming. If you’re constantly thinking something is too hard or that you’re not getting it, that’s going to change your experience. We also get into the difference between practicing effectively and practicing efficiently. You can do something over and over again, but what if you’re doing it wrong? Now you’re getting all of those repetitions in, but they aren't efficient. Sometimes it’s not about doing more. It’s about the QUALITY of what you’re doing, the strategy you’re using, and even finding a dance teacher who knows how to help you learn in a way that works for you. And then there’s everything else that goes into it. Are you feeling shy? Are you in your head? Are you actually allowing yourself to learn, or are you so focused on what you’re doing wrong that it’s getting in the way? This episode is about looking a little deeper at HOW you’re learning, not just WHAT you’re learning, and understanding that you can be efficient without necessarily being effective. Getting better isn’t about working harder. It’s about understanding what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#150
October 15 · 23 min
Embracing The Messy and Forgetting the "All or Nothing" | Ep 150
Do you ever get stuck in that all or nothing thinking where something either has to be 100% or you’re not doing it at all? This episode is all about embracing messy action and learning how to keep moving forward even when things aren’t going exactly the way you planned. I talk about how easy it is to get caught up in wanting everything to be perfect, wanting things to be within our control, and waiting for the circumstances to be exactly what we need them to be before we do something. Plans change and sometimes we have to figure out how to do the thing anyway, even if it’s going to be messy. Messy action can be uncomfortable, especially when you’re used to wanting things to be a certain way. Embracing that messiness is actually the secret to getting things completed. This episode is about getting out of that all or nothing mindset, allowing yourself to do things imperfectly, and recognizing that sometimes the best thing you can do is keep going, even when it’s messy. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#149
October 13 · 13 min
Why Dance Is The Best Exercise You Can Do | Ep 149
This episode goes into ALL the reasons why I think dance is one of the best forms of exercise you can possibly do. Dance is all encompassing. Your body is working with gravity, you’re using spatial awareness, balance, agility, coordination, weight transfers, reaction and timing. Your brain is processing SO much information while your body is trying to actually execute it. You’re training endurance, but you’re also invested in the song, the choreography and what you’re trying to express. And then there’s this whole other part of dance that you don’t necessarily get from a workout. You get to express anger, sexiness, joy, power, emotion. You learn things about yourself. You find your weaknesses. You work through them. You’re practicing confidence throughout the entire process, not only waiting to feel confident once you get a certain result or your body looks a certain way. It takes confidence to even LOOK at yourself in the mirror and work with the reflection you see. Then there’s the social part. You’re meeting people. You’re laughing together, learning together, being vulnerable together and building relationships with people through dance. And maybe one of the biggest differences is that you actually WANT to do it. There’s a difference between saying, “I have to go work out,” and wanting to go to dance. You show up differently when you’re there because you want to receive something from the experience instead of showing up to check something off a list. It’s not three sets of this, three sets of that and okay, workout done. You’re exercising. You’re learning. You’re thinking. You’re feeling. You’re connecting. You’re creating. Dance is the BEST Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#147
October 8 · 15 min
The Secret To Becoming A Better Dancer | Ep 147
This episode is all about positivity and how positivity is one of the secrets to becoming a better dancer. I talk about what you’re feeding your brain when you’re in class because your brain is listening to you. If you keep telling yourself all the things you’re doing wrong, eventually you’re going to believe that. But the same thing can happen when you start pointing out the things you’re doing RIGHT. Dance is interesting because we’re constantly thinking about everything we want to be better at. What didn’t I get? What do I need to work on? Why can’t I do that yet? So in a way, we’re almost training ourselves to look for everything that’s wrong. And then we leave dance class and somehow remember the three things we didn’t do instead of the 25 things we DID. In this episode, I talk about finding the positive facts too. What DID you get? What felt better? What did you remember? What did you do today that you couldn’t do before? Recognizing these things creates momentum. You feel better about dancing, so you dance more. You get more reps. You keep showing up. And ultimately, that helps you become a better dancer. We also talk about how positivity spreads. It’s an energy in the room and something that we can give to each other. You can still want to get better without making everything you’re not good at yet the only thing you see. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#148
October 8 · 6 min
The Reminder You Need To Hear | Ep 148
This episode is all about reminding yourself that you are a bomb a** b*tch. Because sometimes we forget. Sometimes you’re having a tough day, something isn’t going the way you wanted it to, or you’re questioning whether you can do something. And yes, you can call your friend and have them remind you who you are OR you can be that person for yourself. You can be the one who says, “I’m a bomb a** b*tch. I can do this.” I also talk about how I use this at the dance studio because when you’re dancing and something is HARD, sometimes you need to change the way you’re talking to yourself. Instead of immediately going to “I can’t do this” or deciding you’re not good at it, remind yourself who you are. You're a bomb a** b*tch You don’t always need someone else to convince you that you can do something and you can be your own hype person.. Remember that you’re a bomb a** b*tch and then act accordingly. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#146
October 1 · 9 min
Find Your Community Within Dance | Ep 146
This episode is all about finding your community of people and how dance can help you do that. The dance studio is such a great place to become part of something that is SO much more than dance. You’re around like minded women, you’re seeing the same people every week, you’re learning together, and you’re going through a lot of the same things together. And I talk about this from my own perspective too and recognizing the times when I’m isolating myself and maybe I actually need MORE relationships and more connection in my life. Because the more relationships you have, the more opportunities you have to find people you connect with over different things. Maybe one person understands one part of you and someone else understands another. And when you dance together, you already have this thing that connects you. You’re going through similar things. You understand what it feels like to learn something new, be uncomfortable, struggle with choreography, finally get something you’ve been working on, or walk into class after having a crappy day. And maybe you’ve been feeling lonely or like you haven’t found your people yet. Make your community what you want it to be. Call people in. Put yourself in places where connection can actually happen. aka go take the dance class! Because there might be people waiting for you that you haven’t even met yet. And dance might be the thing that brings you together. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#145
September 29 · 14 min
Changing Your Goals For Who You Are Today | Ep 145
This episode is all about shifting your goals and giving yourself permission to change them. When you set a goal, you can have every intention of doing it, but you also don’t necessarily know what’s going to be realistic for you that year. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know how you’re going to feel. You don’t even know if you’re going to want the same thing six months from now. Goals shift because WE shift. Life shifts. Things happen. And the same thing happens in dance. You might walk into dance class thinking, “Today I’m really going to work on my facials.” And then you get there and you’re in a sh*tty mood and you don’t want to work on your facials. Maybe the goal for that class becomes being present. Maybe it becomes moving your body. Maybe it becomes staying in the room and taking class. That doesn’t mean you failed at the original goal. You got new information and you adjusted. This episode is permission to change the goal. Shift it. Adjust it. Make it fit where you actually are now instead of forcing yourself to stick to something you decided when your life looked different and do it without the guilt. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#144
September 24 · 23 min
What To Do When You Feel Pain While Dancing | Ep 144
Remembering that dance is athletic is really helpful because when you dance, at some point, you’re probably going to experience some kind of pain. In this episode, I go through the steps of working through what’s happening in your body and figuring out what to do with it. There are different kinds of pain, different reasons for it, and different ways we need to respond to it. The idea isn’t that you should expect to dance and NEVER have pain. It’s learning how to dance with pain when you can and understanding what your body is actually telling you. I talk about defining the pain, doing the research to understand what might be going on, and how learning even a little bit about anatomy can be SO helpful when something hurts. The automatic thought of , “I’m in pain, so I can’t dance" doesnt have to be the only thought, you can have something going on in your body and still find ways to dance. Maybe something needs to be modified. Maybe you need to move differently. Maybe you need more information about what’s actually hurting before deciding what you can and can’t do. This episode is about knowing your body better, understanding the pain instead of immediately being afraid of it, and figuring out how dance can still exist while you work through it. *I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. I am not a physical therapist and this is not physical therapy advice. Consult your doctor for your pain. This is not a substitute for that. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#143
September 22 · 22 min
How To Declare That Something Is Worth Celebrating | Ep 143
In this episode I talk about declaring that something is worth celebrating. I talk about my journey with celebrating the studio’s anniversaries and how every year I would create a party and a theme, but I don’t know that I ever really felt like anyone could understand the magnitude of what I was actually accomplishing. And it got me thinking about celebration and validation and why sometimes something feels even bigger when somebody ELSE sees it too. There’s a reason words of affirmation are one of the five love languages. It feels good when someone recognizes something you did. It feels good to get the compliment. It feels different when somebody else sees what you’ve accomplished too. Nothing is automatically going to be celebrated unless you decide to celebrate it and make it a big deal. People will celebrate something however big you decide to make it. I talk about DJing weddings and how I’m not DJing for just one person in the room. I’m helping create the energy for ALL of the people in that room to celebrate. Someone decided this day was a big deal, planned the celebration, invited everybody, and now everyone is there treating it like the big deal that it is. And sometimes we hit these really big milestones and they don’t FEEL as big as we thought they would. We accomplish A LOT and sometimes we actually need to create the moment that allows us to recognize it. Things feel more special when you make them special. I challenge you to plan the celebration.... I am going to too! Happy 15th Birthday to my dance studio Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#142
September 17 · 15 min
How To Be Discouraged In Dance Without Accepting Defeat | Ep 142
That night you struggled you actually did a lot more. Sometimes its not about the exact dancing and getting it exact that is why or how you enjoy a dance class In this episode I give you my best tricks for not accepting defeat and how to take control before it controls you. I teach you how to make it a place of ease and not a place of stress with examples like: 1. Living in the moment, being present and grateful that you are able to move and dance or that there is something like this in your town. 2. set and intention and make updates throughout the class to lower the pressure. 3. Adjust the thermometer - lower intensity, lower endurance, understand your body and energy levels to preserve your stamina so that you can do your goal 4. Find out whats realistic for you, realistic goals - goals are a rough draft. Micro goals are great too and more! Listen so that the next time you are on the verge of throwing the towel in, you can stop and take your power back! Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#141
September 15 · 30 min
Signing Up For Your First Dance Class | Ep 141
This episode is to help get you READY for what your first dance class is actually going to be like. Dance will challenge you physically, mentally AND socially. I don’t want you walking into your first class thinking it’s going to go perfectly. Because that’s delusional. And I know you KNOW that, but there’s still this little part of us that wants to walk in, pick everything up, look like everybody else and feel like we belong immediately. You probably won’t. And that does NOT mean dance isn’t for you. You cannot walk into your first class and expect to dance like the people who have been putting hours and hours into learning how to do this. And I say that as ENCOURAGEMENT because I don’t want you to take one class, look around and think, “I didn’t look like them. I didn’t feel like them. Maybe dance isn’t for me.” It could absolutely be for you AND be really hard at first. We talk about keeping your expectations in check, the stories you might already have about yourself like “I don’t have rhythm,” and even how every single night of dance can be different. You can have an AMAZING class one night and come back expecting the same experience the next time and… nope. Welcome to the dance roller coaster. Some people put off starting because they think they need to prepare to dance before they learn dance. You don’t need to lose weight first. You don’t need to study dance first. You don’t need to already be athletic or flexible or have danced when you were younger. Dance is for everyone! Nobody loves acclimating to something new. It’s uncomfortable. It’s hard on your brain AND your body. But then your brain starts figuring it out. Your body starts figuring it out. The thing that felt SO hard starts getting easier. GET IN THE CLASS and then you can ask yourself would you rather the hard of dancing and learning or the hard of spending the rest of your life wishing you had started. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#140
September 10 · 11 min
Finding The Joy In Being A Beginner Dancer | Ep 140
There is something really special about being BRAND NEW at something. In this episode, I talk about the joy of being a beginner dancer and how freeing it can actually be to walk into a room where nobody expects you to have it all figured out yet. Dance gives us this really cool opportunity to play again. To make time in our lives for something that is literally just FUN, meet people who are figuring it out right alongside us, and build confidence simply by being willing to try. The more we grow, the more we’re going to find ourselves in rooms where we don’t have all the answers. Being a beginner lets us practice that. It lets us ask the question, try the thing, mess around with it, and realize that not knowing what you’re doing isn’t actually as scary as we make it. We also talk about how being new at dance can pull you into the moment because you HAVE to be there. You’re paying attention to your body, the movement, the music, and what’s happening right now. This episode is really an invitation to enjoy the part where you don’t know yet. There is plenty of time to get better and for now, you get to be a beginner. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#139
September 8 · 13 min
When You Feel Like You Are Doing Everything And Nothing At The Same Time | Ep 139
This episode is all about when you feel like you’re doing EVERYTHING, but somehow it feels like you’re doing nothing. This happens in dance all the time, especially when you’re learning something hard or trying to achieve a new skill. It might look like you don’t have it yet. You didn’t get the move. You didn’t memorize all the choreography. So it feels like nothing happened. You’re working on SO many things. You’re getting the building blocks. You’re making corrections. You’re remembering more than you did last time. You’re figuring out what doesn’t work. All of that is progress, it just doesn’t have that satisfying “I DID IT” moment yet because you’re not done. I talk about how I’ve been feeling this way with a bunch of projects I’m working on too. I sit down to work on something and I don’t finish the whole thing, so I move on feeling like I didn’t really get anything done. But I DID. The project moved forward. There was progress. It’s just harder to see when there isn’t a finished product to show for it yet. And I talk about finally getting my kip in gymnastics. One day, I finally did it. But I didn’t magically learn a kip that day. I had already been building all of the skills I needed. Every attempt, every correction and every time I didn’t get it was giving me more information until eventually all of those pieces came together and I got it. Sometimes progress is happening way before you have anything to show for it. Just because you haven’t gotten to the “I DID IT” part yet doesn’t mean you’re doing nothing. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#138
September 3 · 19 min
How To Gain Control Through Pivoting | Ep 138
This episode is all about pivoting, gaining control, letting things go, and really asking yourself if you’re able to release something and trust the process. We have expectations. We think something is going to go a certain way and then when it doesn’t, we immediately want to figure out how to gain control again. But we aren’t necessarily meant to gain control. We’re meant to learn how to pivot and adapt ( the more elite skills) Can you take what’s happening, even if it’s not what you expected, and figure out what to do with it? Can you let go of what you thought it was supposed to be and work with what you actually have? Dance gives us SO many opportunities to practice this. You forget the choreography. You’re in the wrong spot. Your body isn’t doing what you thought it was going to do that day. Something changes in class. You mess up. You have to figure out what to do next instead of getting stuck on what was supposed to happen. The more you dance, the more you get to practice pivoting, adapting, and continuing anyway. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio
#137
September 1 · 18 min
Do The Easy Thing First And Get A Lot More Done | Ep 137
This episode is all about why you should do the easy thing first (contrary to what doing the easy thing first and how doing something easy can actually help you get A LOT more done because it creates momentum. Especially if you’re feeling stuck with dance or maybe you’re trying to get back into it, do what’s easy first. It could be taking the easier class level. Maybe it’s taking a shorter class. Maybe it’s going to the class you already know you like. Whatever it is, make it easier for yourself to actually DO the thing. Once you do it you create momentum for yourself and then you do more things with the motivation thats created. Follow: Krissy: @krissyphillipino KDFSTUDIO: @kdfstudio

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