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Shine On Success
Shine on Success is a dynamic, story-driven podcast where extraordinary entrepreneurs, visionary leaders, and resilient change-makers share their journeys to success, revealing both the challenges and the strategies that led to their breakthroughs. Each episode offers a unique blend of inspiring personal stories, practical business insights, and actionable advice, allowing our guests to connect with an engaged, growth-oriented audience ready to be motivated and uplifted. By joining us, you’ll not only have the opportunity to showcase your expertise and inspire listeners but also to be part of a powerful platform that celebrates ambition, innovation, and the courage to turn dreams into reality.
Shine On Success
The Art of Reinvention: From Ballet Soloist to Transformational Leader
In this powerful episode of Shine On Success, host Dionne Malush sits down with Jared Redick, an award-winning ballet master, educator, and third-generation dancer. From gracing the world’s most prestigious stages to navigating career-ending injuries and stepping into a leadership role, Jared’s journey is a testament to resilience, reinvention, and the mindset needed to turn adversity into opportunity.
He opens up about the mental and physical discipline required in ballet, the unexpected transition from performer to educator, and how he’s shaping the next generation of dancers as Assistant Dean of Dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Jared also shares how his pursuit of an MBA is helping him bridge the gap between art and business, and why embracing change is the key to long-term success—whether in dance or in life.
If you’ve ever faced a career pivot, struggled with self-doubt, or wondered how to transform setbacks into stepping stones, this episode will leave you inspired and ready to take action.
🎧 Listen now and discover why every ending can be the start of something extraordinary.
Connect with Jared here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-redick/
Connect with Dionne Malush
- Instagram: @dionnerealtyonepgh
- LinkedIN: /in/dionnemalush
- Website: www.dionnemalush.com
- Facebook: /dmalush
- LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/dionnemalush
Welcome to Shine on Success. I'm your host, dionne Malish, and today we have an extraordinary guest whose story embodies resilience, re-innovation and the power of turning challenges into opportunities. Jared Reddick is an award-winning master, teacher, coach and leader in the world of ballet, a soloist with the Boston Ballet, miami City Ballet and the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, before stepping into a leadership role as Assistant Dean of Dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. But like any great journey, jared's path wasn't without its challenges. From the rigorous demands of a professional dance career to navigating the transition into teaching and leadership, jared has continually adapted and grown. His story is a testament to how setbacks, shifts and even unexpected turns can lead to something greater. Today, we're diving into his journey, his lessons on resilience and how he's helping the next generation of dancers not only succeed but thrive. Let's get started. Hi, jared. Welcome. I'm so excited to talk to you today. How are you doing?
Speaker 2:I'm doing well and thank you very much for having me here.
Speaker 1:Oh, you're so welcome. So one of my first questions I like to ask is what is one thing you would like for people to know about you?
Speaker 2:Well, you did say it, but that I'm a third generation dancer but I'm also first generation American and I think that has really really kind of colored my experience growing up. And then also that male ballet dancers can have any kind of preferences. I happen to be a straight male dancer.
Speaker 1:oh, that's pretty cool, so I love that. But and I love that you share that you're a first generation american and that's really cool, and the idea that you're a ballet dancer. I love that.
Speaker 1:It's so beautiful I used to have a graphic design business for many years prior to owning a real estate brokerage, and I had many clients that owned dance schools, so I was able to see a lot of cool dance happening. In fact, I ruptured my Achilles taking a Spanish dance class, so the first and only dance class of my life and I ruptured my Achilles, so that was an experience for sure.
Speaker 1:So thanks for being on, and I want to start at the beginning. So your family has deep roots in ballet. When you were young, did you ever imagine that your journey would take you not to just be on stage but into leadership and teaching?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I've always been around ballet my whole life, grew up with my older brother in the ballet studio, and so I never considered myself for moving into the leadership position. But as teachers and as educators and teaching artists, that's what we naturally do. You are automatically a leader in that classroom, and so we're constantly refining those skills about how can we become a better mentor and leader of the people that we are teaching. So the skill sets seem similar but different and they build on each other. So moving further beyond just being in the classroom, being assistant, dean and working with my peers in a leadership position has been, has been a real, real privilege, and I'm very appreciative of that position.
Speaker 1:So are you from North Carolina or did you have to move there?
Speaker 2:No, I'm actually from northern Virginia, reston Virginia, actually, so about five hours away from here, so close. But didn't grow up in North Carolina, but I've been here quite a while and I love, I love the state, I love it.
Speaker 1:It's beautiful there. I love it too. So every performer faces setbacks, whether it's injuries, tough additions or career transitions. Can you share a time when you faced adversity in your career and how you work through it?
Speaker 2:I think one of the best examples I can say about that is the beginning of my career. When I was 19 years old, just starting out. I the beginning of my career when I was 19 years old, just starting out, I was working with the San Francisco Ballet. I tore my ACL in our daily classwork. I went up for a big jump and I landed and landed incorrectly and tore my ACL and that was a challenge. That was really hard, because that's a significant injury and really it sidelined me for almost a year as I was recovering and trying to get back into strength. And really the thing that helped me a lot was relying on my friends and my family, but also I think primarily on my belief and my drive to want to get back and to be dancing again. So I had to really listen to my inner voice in that moment and, you know, just keep following it and being persistent and being self-disciplined on a daily basis to try and move myself from a very injured state to a fully healthy and recovered state.
Speaker 1:So I completely understand that because I was off for 12 weeks I didn't walk or drive, so at that point I hadn't owned the real estate brokerage, but I was selling real estate so I had to be on my feet.
Speaker 1:You have to drive and walk to be a real estate agent. So that was a very trying time for me and you know Achilles rupture a hundred percent rupture all the way up my leg, and the pain I'm sure you understand, as you ruptured your ACL, and Achilles are not that different, I'm sure in pain, this is a lot of pain, so very interesting. So pushing through that was hard. It was definitely one of the hardest times of my life and you know I can remember just sitting there crying my eyes out and wishing that I could figure out like how do I get out of this? So sad state, like I can't do anything. But now that I'm so much better, if it would have happened now, I think I would learn from it and I would have, you know, read more and watch more video and I could have did the things that could have helped me bounce back a lot faster.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So you spent over two decades performing on world-class stages before transitioning into teaching and leadership. Was the shift difficult? That's the first question.
Speaker 2:So the shift was kind of gradual because at the end of the tail end of my performing career I was tapped for leadership when I was at Boston Ballet to run one of their satellite schools. So I was dancing full time and I was running a school and so that was really challenging, doing a full performing load but also managing faculty and staff and students and talking with parents. So I gradually yeah, it was a gradual shift. I could have done that for a couple of years. I was offered to do it for a few years, but just one year of doing that it was like it's too much. I felt so pulled in both directions. So I decided that that was the moment to, you know, retire and then move on to the next thing, cause I was right, right at the end of my career, so I was very fortunate.
Speaker 2:Dancers we like to say we live two lives. You know the life on stage and then the next life after that. Maybe it's the two death situation when you, when you leave a career that's been so vital and, um, just integral to who you are as a human being, right, we start training in, you know, 10, 12, 14, 15 years old, and then you go through. If you're lucky, you have a long career into your late 30s, maybe early 40s. That's a long time to be so committed to one profession, and so when you step off the stage, it does feel it is. It is very disorienting, this loss of identity, because your entire world shifts. There's nothing like being a professional dancer in that respect.
Speaker 1:I can't even imagine and how exciting it had to be. But I know there's. It's a lot of work and I know it's one of the most demanding things that you can do to your body. The way I understand it, like it is the disciplines, the physical part, the mental part and the emotional part Can you talk about some lesson that you learned in that space? Like there's a lot and I know, like I can see just watching it how hard it is and can share a little bit about the other side of it cross has the mental side, the physical and the physical side, especially because I can. I can tell you just what I know about dance, which is not nearly as much as you do. I know the physical side is very difficult the physicality.
Speaker 2:that's where you're really talking about that self-discipline, because you have to keep your body as finely tuned as you possibly can, and that is that is a hard thing and it keeps you from being injured, you know, the more that you're consistent with it. So I, one of the lessons that I certainly learned is is that consistency, that self-discipline, but also the time management, because it's really important when you're, when you're doing something athletic full time like that, that you leave time to rest, to eat, to sleep and then have a life outside of that which really fuels what you're doing as a performer. In that situation, your body needs recovery. So that self-discipline to do all those things, to manage your time effectively, is so important. And those life skills have really come into play and been incredibly helpful in my current role.
Speaker 1:I'm sure it has been. So how long have you been the assistant dean of dance?
Speaker 2:This is my 11th year as assistant dean. I spent one year as the interim dean actually during COVID, so I've been kind of running the school in some capacity for the last 12 years now.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. And this question? I love this question because you know, as the assistant dean, you mentor young dancers who inevitably face rejection, self-doubt and obstacles. How do you help them develop the mindset to push forward instead of giving up?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great question and it's a challenge, right that you know there's the art of teaching and leading people, but especially these young people. Right, because they're still developing themselves and their emotional capabilities and capacities and the successful strategies that they need to thrive in life. Many of them some of them moving on to from graduation or auditioning or applying to colleges, all these things what I counsel them to do is make sure you have a really clear plan. Have a clear plan. You know you can structure the things that you can control right. You do not know whether you're auditioning or applying for college or moving to a different job. You don't know what they're looking for.
Speaker 2:So set yourself up for success by making sure you have a really clear plan and be as prepared as possible, just like they're, just like they've done as dancers. So that's what we deal with on that side. And then on the other side, you know it's really counseling them to be like don't turn that internally towards yourself. If you didn't get the job or didn't get into the college or whatever it is that they were hoping for. They have to understand it's just part of the journey, it is a process. Just stay positive, keep moving forward and do the things you can, because there are things you can control. You cannot control what someone on the other side of this transaction is going to do. You do not know all the context of what that is.
Speaker 1:Right, and there's always some state of positivity in every adversity.
Speaker 1:Right, so you can live like that and think you know, what did I learn from this? What did I take away? What can I do better the next time there's, I think, just it's like any business owner you're talking to, like dancers, but it's, it's a business of dance, right, and you have to learn to have a little bit of tough skin because I'm sure there is a lot of rejection in that industry and it has to be difficult. But you know, I know that you said, I think you said in our email back and forth that you have read Thinking Grow Rich. Is that correct?
Speaker 2:I have.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so is that something that you share with your students at all?
Speaker 2:You know the older college students, is something that some of those, those lessons, I would share with them, but in general not so much. I mean it comes. It comes out in different ways because the lessons are, they're universal right Of being really focused on that one thing that you want to pursue and just be as dogged as possible to achieve that goal right, yeah, the definite chief aim yes. So yeah, and there's also. Did you mention the one thing, the book, the one thing?
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, but the one thing is such a great book because it focuses on that definite chief aim, right, it's just his way of explaining it and the one thing just sounds a lot easier.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the one thing is, you know, it's a little bit more targeted. It's like what's that thing that I can do right now to help myself? And I think that is just a great life lesson for everyone especially stuck and frustrated and feel like the world is on top of us, like okay, let's do something positive at the moment, I love that.
Speaker 1:So you have worked on the Nutcracker right and it's taken a classic. It's. You've taken the classic and turned it into something truly special. Can you tell us a little bit about that, Because I love the Nutcracker.
Speaker 2:The Nutcracker for the ballet world is such an important piece of art that we produce everywhere and you know, some people love it or hate it. Some people are like, oh my gosh, I can't listen to the music or I can't see it. But what we do, we see it as just such a vital part of a dancer's training and what we've done in various respects. So we've had different productions, but during COVID we actually created a very condensed 24 minute version that you can see. It's on YouTube. It went through PBS, pbs North Carolina. You can see that version. We did we condensed a two hour show into 24 minutes and we did it in film and we did it with all the COVID precautions and all of those protocols. So we did that and we created a special version during COVID and then for after COVID we've expanded that to a full, full stage version Now. Now it's back to the two-hour version.
Speaker 2:It is Okay, yeah, and that's been very, very successful through the years. And Nutcracker is such a vital piece of choreography for ballet companies, not only for the dancers but for the community. It's part of our holiday tradition. We always have so many For us we have about 15,000 people come to see it every year. And for children? Yeah, for children is so inspiring and I think they have the opportunity sometimes that it might be their first time in the theater, first time seeing live dance, first time hearing live music. All these things happen because of the Nutcracker.
Speaker 1:Well, I love that you're doing that, and I wanted to tell you so do you watch TV at all?
Speaker 2:I do, of course.
Speaker 1:Did you ever watch Dance Moms?
Speaker 2:I think I watched half an episode and I was just like I just can't. I can't. I understand it. I know some people just absolutely love it A lot, some people don't like it, so I couldn't get into it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so she was my client for about 15 years here in Pittsburgh and so I got to know the other side of her. And what you see is not all the truth, you know it is reality fake TV. But there is a lot that you know. She was very difficult on the students and she did produce some really good kids that were amazing dancers.
Speaker 1:But yeah, so she was my client for a long time and we had a lot of fights and battles. But it's interesting to ask someone that's in the dance field if they've paid attention to that, because it is excruciating to watch. So you're now pursuing an MBA, is that correct? I am. I guess you don't typically associate that with ballet.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:So what inspired you to take that path and how?
Speaker 2:do you see business skills as a tool for reinvention in the arts? Yeah, I think for myself. I'm a lifelong learner and I'm always very interested. I went back and got my master's degree, I think about four years ago now. I graduated two years ago from that. I got my master's in dance two years ago and I really enjoyed being back in that academic space.
Speaker 2:I think that growth is so important, education is so important, and how can I challenge myself? An MBA is something I've always wanted to pursue, and so now I have the opportunity because we're a partner school in the UNC system, so I go to UNCW and it's online course so I can do that. But in terms of where do I see that being relevant and important? Dance and the arts, they're a business like anything else, and there's got to be really solid underpinnings there to be able to move it forward and to even survive. And so I see myself now in my position and being in dance for so long that I want to be able to create more opportunities for more people, and that's going to require resources and it's going to require a really strong business foundation underneath that makes sense.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so there's my MBA and I'm really happy to be doing it. It's very challenging, gets a little mathy at points, but you know that's what spreadsheets are for.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. How do you balance all of this? So you're, you know, your assistant dean of dance. Now you're going to school and I don't know about your hobbies.
Speaker 2:Like, what do you like to do outside of that? And then how do you balance it all? Oh gosh, my current, I don't know, maybe you call it an infatuation, but maybe not, because I've been doing it so long as I'm a rock climber. I absolutely love climbing, especially outdoors, so it feels you know, I don't dance necessarily anymore like that, but when you're rock climbing it feels like you're dancing on the rock it has. It has similar skills in terms of the physicality of it, but maybe a little bit less lower impact, right, because you're usually roped in and harnessed in.
Speaker 2:So in terms of balancing it, again I go back to my time management skills. Like you have to mapping out my schedule and finding you know where do I have time to do this and that the school, especially with the schooling, really requires a lot of management of that time. I do a little bit every single day when I have breaks during the day. So I make sure that if I do a little bit every day, at the end of the week I've completed everything. So I'm not like trying to cram anything at the last minute.
Speaker 1:So it's just the time management that I learned Time management is so important and in the real estate business it's difficult. A lot of people don't really look at your time as valuable and they're late a lot. And I am never like. For 21 years I've been in this business If I was ever even five minutes late, it was because of traffic and I was freaking out because I just I value everyone else's time, so that I love that about you.
Speaker 1:It's you're so strategic in this planning in your mind and it's great, and so for dancers and really anyone that's listening to this podcast, what advice would you give about turning adversity into opportunity, dance, business, life in general?
Speaker 2:I had a director who used to say change changes opportunity. We look at the adversity that's in front of us. Right, we have to figure some new things out, because in that moment you've got nothing. Maybe you have nothing else in front of you that will work. So that adversity is really there to teach us something, and we can certainly in business and the arts too, because we do this, we have this happen all the time, with someone getting sick or injured or something happens backstage or you know who knows, all kinds of things happen. So I think in business, when that adversity presents itself, it's going to, it's going to teach you something new and it's going to give you a different way to pursue whatever it is you're trying to execute. I like to be positive about it and be, you know, not bemoan the fact that this adversity is in front of us, like, okay, this happened, take a breath, take a minute, you know, and then try and find what is that one thing that I can do exactly to to make things a little bit better?
Speaker 1:yeah, it makes a lot of sense. So what's next for you after the MBA? What's next?
Speaker 2:oh, the what's next thing is always the interesting question, because I'm not sure, right, I'm still going through. I'm about I'm just on the first, like quarter of my MBA. Okay, I still have about a year and a half, two years to go with it. You know, I'm hoping that new opportunities arrive in my life, right, I've been teaching for a long time. I love teaching, but, as I was saying earlier, it would be great to be in a position to be able to help more people more broadly. Of course, I love my students, but you know that's a small group of people that I'm with every day, right? So so maybe a bigger leadership position is in the hopefully near future, because that's kind of where I'm looking towards.
Speaker 1:What about online courses or anything like that? Is that something you've ever thought about?
Speaker 2:Doing them or giving them.
Speaker 1:I mean doing it on no giving them. So you create the online course and there's probably plenty of people that would love to learn from you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think what's coming soon is my website's about to go live and then I will be offering.
Speaker 2:I'll be offering consultations to, to parents and students about you know, how to move through their careers. A lot of times I still get from my parents all the time the parents of my students. They're always asking me like what should I do about this summer program or this college or this? You know this, that the other, this company? So I'm always kind of counseling them on with that and so making that more available to more people I think would be very helpful, because I get so many parents who are incredibly successful they're incredibly successful in their lives but they don't understand my field. They don't understand how to help their child, their dancer, move forward. So offering that as a service to more parents than just my current students, I think would be very, very appreciated.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree with you. I think that's a great idea. So any other exciting projects you have coming up, or personally or professionally.
Speaker 2:I think right now, what am I doing? Coming up, I'm really excited about the fact that I'm going to be able to go to shadow the production stage manager at Cirque du Soleil in one of their shows, because I want to. This is an interesting story. Within my MBA, we were studying information systems. One of our case studies was about Cirque du Soleil and a special information system that they utilize to manage all their productions globally. So the production stage manager is a four. I used to work with her here as a student and now she's running the show. So I'm going to shadow her and get to see all of this. And then, obviously, I'll be with Cirque. You know, seeing how they operate backstage. So I'm really excited about going to Cirque. That should be, I think, in March.
Speaker 1:And where will that be at?
Speaker 2:It's in Mexico. It's in Mexico, yeah, wow, that's so interesting. So that's exciting and it's very interdisciplinary and obviously Cirque is so incredibly creative. But again, talking about the creative balanced with the business model that sits firmly underneath what they're doing, obviously you're talking about all the logistics that go into managing that show on a daily basis, and then on a global basis as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we have 200 agents in our company. So we think that's Cirque du Soleil of its own. You know, every day is something unique and exciting, I can tell you for sure. So thank you for talking to me today. I mean, I love what you're doing and I'm excited to see where you move from here, and your story is proof. Adversity isn't the end. It's often the beginning of something new and meaningful. So, from your performing days to your leadership and dance education, you've shown the resilience, adaptability and passion can turn challenges into stepping stones.
Speaker 1:For those that want to follow your journey or connect with you. What's the best place for them to reach you?
Speaker 2:I think the best place at the moment is through LinkedIn or Instagram, either one. Drop me a DM If you're interested in having conversation, I'm happy to respond, or we can just message, so follow me there. My journey is usually there, with what I'm doing in my life, and then, in the future, my with what I'm doing in my life and then, in the future, my website will be live, and then you can reach me through that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great and we look forward to that, and if you could like subscribe or share this episode, that would be great Cause if we can help just one person on every podcast, then this podcast is a success. Thank you, jared. It was a pleasure meeting you. I'm glad that we spent this time together today.
