"The first time you swim with a whale, you realize your place in the world — that not everything revolves around us humans."

Karim Iliya, photographer, filmmaker, and whale swimming guide, joins Alissa Hsu Lynch to talk about a life built on curiosity and constant motion. He grew up moving every two to four years across the Middle East and Asia, taught himself photography at 13, and eventually found his way beneath the surface. He free dives with humpback whales, filmed orcas for Netflix, and has photographed volcanoes from Hawaii to Guatemala. His work has been featured by National Geographic, BBC, and Netflix in over 55 countries. Today he guides people into the water with whales through Dance with Whales, and co-founded Kogia, a conservation nonprofit with a free media library used in over 65 countries.

Don't miss this conversation about conservation, creativity, and building a life by following what you can't stop doing.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Why saying yes to everything is one of the fastest ways to lose focus on what actually matters.

• The importance of protecting personal projects alongside client work, and why those are the ones that define a career.

• How giving people a direct experience of something they care about is one of the most powerful tools for changing behavior and perspective.

Connect with Karim:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karimiliya/

Website: https://karimiliya.com/

Company website: https://www.kogia.org/

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https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance

👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance

Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

"I think music was a way of me finding identity, of finding purpose."

Clive Chang, President and CEO of YoungArts, joins Alissa Hsu Lynch to talk about a career that began as an immigrant in Canada, bonding with his twin sister and their first piano teacher over music when neither spoke the other's language. He went on to earn degrees in both music and finance, adding an MFA in musical theater writing from NYU and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He's held leadership roles at Lincoln Center and Disney Theatrical Group, where he learned how to flex his artistic muscles in business. Today he leads YoungArts, the national foundation that identifies exceptional young artists aged 15 to 18 and commits to supporting them for life.

In this episode, Clive talks about what it means to lead like an artist, why nonprofits deserve the same rigor as any Fortune 500 company, and what a conductor actually knows about reading a room that no MBA program teaches. He also makes the case for why every corporate board should have an artist in the mix.

Don't miss this conversation about identity, authenticity, and finally finding your dream job at 39.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Why nonprofit organizations deserve the same operational rigor as any for-profit company.

• How a single intervention at an early age can change a young artist's entire trajectory.

• The case for being 100% artist and 100% business person at the same time.

Connect with Clive:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clivechang/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clivechang/

Company website: https://www.youngarts.org

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https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance

👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance

Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

"I don't think ballet ever left me. Ballet has had my heart since I was a child."

Sonja Kostich, Executive Director of Houston Ballet, joins host Alissa Hsu Lynch to trace a career that began at 17 when Mikhail Baryshnikov personally recruited her to American Ballet Theatre. She went on to perform with San Francisco Ballet, Zurich Ballet, and the White Oak Dance Project, and co-founded her own contemporary dance company OtherShore. Then, at 42, she walked away from the stage, earned a business degree, and landed at Goldman Sachs.

But ballet never left her. Today, Sonja leads one of America's premier dance companies, partnering with Co-Artistic Directors Julie Kent and Stanton Welch to bring Houston Ballet's "best kept secret" to the world. She talks honestly about the fear of starting over, what it felt like to walk into Goldman Sachs without ever having owned a suit, and why not knowing what comes next is sometimes exactly the right condition for discovery.

Don't miss this conversation about reinvention, courage, and the winding path that leads to your dream job.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• The skills that make a great dancer, including discipline, rapid learning, and teamwork, are also what make a great leader.

• Why the path forward doesn't have to be a straight line.

• How Houston Ballet is taking a modern approach to ensuring ballet remains relevant for global audiences.

Photo credits: Julieta Cervantes, Chris Lee, Andrea Mohin, Dave Rossman, Marty Sohl, Michelle Watson, Quinn Wharton

Connect with Sonja:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonja-kostich-51249a1/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonja.kostich/

Website: www.houstonballet.org

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https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance

👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance

Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

"The goal isn't to avoid change. It's to bend without losing yourself."

In this episode of The Leadership Dance, Matt West, executive coach, facilitator, speaker, and author of Bend, Don't Break, shares how his years as a professional jazz musician shaped the way he thinks about leadership, change, and human connection. From touring the world as a trombonist to coaching leaders at some of the world's most recognized organizations, Matt reflects on the lessons that came from rewriting his own story and learning how to stay grounded in times of uncertainty.

💡Key Takeaways:

• Why adaptability is more than flexibility and is really a practice, not just a trait.

• Why frozen expertise shows up when the things that once made us successful become the things that hold us back.

• How critical thinking, empathy, judgment, and taste remain essential human skills in the age of AI.

Connect with Matt:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/westpractices/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewwest/

Website: https://matt-a-west.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"

What does it take to build a career across continents, art forms, and social movements?

Yemi Dele Akinyemi, Czech-Nigerian entrepreneur, choreographer, and founder of the Moonshot Platform, joins host Alissa Hsu Lynch to trace a path from dancing in front of a communist-era TV to choreographing for Kanye West, advising a robotics company, and mobilizing young changemakers from over 100 countries. He also reflects on growing up as the only Black child in his city, being separated from his father for 18 years, and how movement became his first language for belonging.

Don't miss this wide-ranging conversation about leading from the inside out and why the most important distance any leader will ever cross is the one between their head and their heart.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Why embodied leadership, integrating head, heart, and gut, produces decisions grounded in values rather than pure transaction

• How working with Kanye West taught Yemi that real artistry means being willing to be naked in your creative process

• Why structure and freedom aren't opposites and how the walls of a pool are what make a wave possible

• What Moonshot Platform is doing differently by betting on young changemakers at the very moment their ideas are just beginning to hatch

Connect with Yemi:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yemia1/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yemialchemist/

X: https://x.com/YemiAlchemist

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YemiAlchemist/

✅ 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"

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

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https://theleadershipdance.substack.com/s/the-leadership-dance

👉 Listen and follow: https://linktr.ee/theleadershipdance

Music from InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ "Catwalk Queen"

Jenna Segal is writing women into the history books in arts and entertainment. Women make up more than 75% of theater audiences, yet are rarely in the decision-making seats. Jenna has stepped in to change that narrative. She is an Emmy, Tony, and Clio award-winning producer of Broadway hits including Hadestown, Gigi, and Six, as well as the visionary behind The 31 Women Collection of remarkable female artists. In this episode of The Leadership Dance, she discusses how she moved from CNN and MTV to Broadway, why she insists on supporting women in leading roles, and how she built an amazing career by just saying yes.

💡 Key Takeaways:

Ask who's missing from the room and make space for women in decisions, not just in the audience.

Say yes before you feel ready and follow your curiosity.

Build a life and career you're proud to "lose money on" because it aligns with your values.

Connect with Jenna:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gathererent/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gathererent/

Website: https://gathererenterprises.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"

Spotlight, pressure, and the power of example. In this episode of The Leadership Dance, Chloe Misseldine, Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre, talks about her surprise promotion on stage after her debut as Odette/Odile at The Met, how she prepares for the technical and emotional demands of taking on leading roles in Swan Lake, Giselle, and Sylvia, and what she's learned about artistry, setbacks, and confidence along the way.

She also reflects on growing up with a mother who danced with ABT, performing through injury, being named to Forbes 30 Under 30, and the importance of staying humble — especially when younger dancers are watching.

💡 Key Takeaways:

Kindness is a form of leadership. How you treat people matters, whether that's in the studio, at the stage door, or online.

Do the work so you can trust yourself. Preparation allows you to step on stage with freedom instead of fear.

Confidence grows over time. Sticking to the basics, staying humble, and trusting the process builds lasting strength.

Connect with Chloe:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chloemisseldine

Photo Credits: Emma Zordan, HELI, Laura Sukowatey, LK Studio and Jennifer Curry Wingrove, Nir Arieli, Quinn Wharton, Rosalie O'Connor

✅ 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"