After publishing the podcast with Anne Gleave, many listeners reached out asking for a part two, wanting to hear more from her. As Anne spoke with such admiration about the educational mission of our colleague, Ina Jeliazkova, it seemed only natural—and incredibly interesting—to bring the three of us together for a shared conversation.
We agreed to prepare two questions for each other, guided by our personal interests and curiosities and to allow ourselves to be challenged and inspired by our life stories, missions and schools of thought.
ANNE
For Barbara
I believe you undertook a degree in Pedagogy. How has that influenced the way you teach Ballroom and Latin American dancing?
I would also love to hear about your travels to Cuba—experiencing the roots of Latin American dancing—and whether you feel the current generation is moving toward or away from those origins.
For Ina
I’m interested to know what extracurricular influences or training regimes you pursued, in addition to your dance lessons, in order to reach the world-class standard you achieved.
Would you say your mind was more inclined toward learning through knowledge, spatial ideas and images, physical sensation, or musical information? I imagine you used a combination of these intelligences, but I’m curious whether you lean more toward a logical thought process or an emotional one.
INA
For Barbara
ESSENCE
Barbara, you have such a deep connection to Latin American music—to the cultures and environments where each dance was born. When you look at the five Latin dances through the lens of essence (Samba, Cha Cha Cha, Rumba, Paso Doble, and Jive), where do you feel that original essence has been lost or transformed over time?
And if you could give one musical or expressive reminder for each dance—something to help us reconnect to its authentic soul—what would it be?
NATURE
You’ve always viewed movement as part of nature’s cycle—flow, resistance, renewal: a living whole. In your view, how can teachers today awaken that awareness in their students? How can learning become more cohesive, visionary, and explorational, so dancers sense the natural ebb and flow within every dance rather than treating it as a sequence of mechanical actions?
For Anne
EXPRESSION
If we think of expression not as decoration but as the transmission of intention, what do you feel separates movement that merely looks correct from movement that truly communicates?
And how can dancers train that kind of honesty as consciously as they train coordination and technique?
PARADOX
Across generations, technique keeps becoming more precise and dancers more capable, yet artistry sometimes feels narrower. From your experience, what is the greatest paradox in how dancers train today—something we believe improves us but might actually distance us from genuine performance?
BARBARA
For Anne
You believe in natural dancing. Could you explain how breathing and phrasing contribute to that approach?
Could you also share more about your experiences with your Latin teachers—what you learned from them, and how you applied that knowledge in your Ballroom career and later in your teaching?
For Ina
As a top competitor and champion for many years, is there anything you wish had been different?
You are building one of the most complex and unique educational systems, both online and in person. How do you envision its future development?
To hear our full conversation, you are warmly invited to listen to the podcast on Spotify: Barbara’s Dance Room.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4efxHVKiQucxKc8xE4t2yQ?si=2_0QdyW5SvqPXhrzhhbo9g&pi=zYI5wQW6QS2i-&t=1
