Sitting down with Jeff Rogers and Chris Young both previous dancers with Ballet West was a conversation I have been dreaming of having since starting The Chelsea Keefer Podcast. Jeff has been a mentor and teacher in my life since the age of eight. Chris and I crossed paths later in life and he has offered so much support since. Jeff and Chris started ballet due to their sister’s influence and both experienced very successful careers here in Salt Lake City at Ballet West. Jeff trained under Maureen Gergun a previous Soloist with The Royal Ballet and has expanded his teacher training from Vaganova to Bournonville and Cecchetti. Jeff quickly found that choreography was not his path and transitioned into teaching. Valerie Taylor, a mentor to Jeff once said. “Have a plan and have empathy for the dancer through the entire process.” For Jeff this was something he held onto since and to this day he spends endless amounts of time perfecting his classes to be fully present with his students. For Chris, teaching was something that fell into his lap after transitioning out of his ballet career he became a real estate agent to try something new, but soon found that teaching in a competition school had a different mentality towards ballet and he really enjoyed teaching the students respect and discipline. He hopes to see his students as patrons of the ballet someday. Jeff and Chris have spent the last twenty-nine years together and setting boundaries for the relationship within the workplace was a process, but they quickly found their balance with keeping time separate for themselves, for Jeff it was gaming and for Chris it was yoga or time with friends. Jeff talks about his male program that he has developed and how it is important for the dancer to realize that he was good in his day and you have to be good in yours. How it has become much more competitive today now that there are more men joining the ballet industry and it is a huge responsibility for the teacher to not perpetuate or channel their previous teachers way of challenging or influencing a dancer. Jeff mentions, “How it is important to relate, to challenge, and to not make a correction personal or to not instill fear or anger. We can motivate a dancer in a healthy way and offering analogies of his personal experiences are key to keeping a dancer out of a dark emotional experience.” Jeff and Chris offer so much wisdom within this episode. I am beyond excited to be sharing it with you. To be able to sit down and hear ones experiences and lessons has become my favorite part about this process. I hope you enjoy.