Scoliosis Dialogues: An SRS Podcast
Jun 17, 2026 · 33 min · 10 segments
Send us Fan Mail Join **Stephanie Ihnow, MD**, as she sits down with **Paige Fraser**, a professional dancer whose scoliosis diagnosis has been a…
Paige FraserGuest
Stephanie IhnowHost
I am originally from the Bronx, New York, born and raised, and I started dance at the age of four, and I have not stopped since.
I am so blessed and fortunate to be a dancer with scoliosis that has made it from a local dance studio in Westchester County to to performing arts high school where I got to train at the Ailey School and then going on to college and also training in dance at Fordham University and the Ailey School to getting my first professional contract with Ailey too many other companies after that that I got to dance with, and now being a dancer in the Lion King on Broadway.
So I am super, super blessed and grateful for where my journey has led me, and especially as a dancer with scoliosis.
Do you think living with scoliosis has made you even more resilient or more connected to your body as a dancer and performer?
Again, you know, starting dance at the age of four, it was in the beginning, a hobby, something I did because it was fun to meet up with my friends.
And then as I got older, I started to realize, huh, I kind of really like doing this.
And then getting the opportunity to be Clara in the Nutcracker, which was a really big deal for me.
And just I remember seeing how much my teacher believed in me to A, give me that opportunity at such a young age.
It was presented to me and I fell in love with it and I stayed the course and I worked really hard.
And so when I got accepted into the Performing Arts High School in Manhattan and I got to train at Alvin Ailey, that's like the creme de la creme in New York.
That same year, my freshman year, going into the doctor for a physical and being told, huh, I kind of see a little curve.
Let's, you know, maybe send her upstairs to just get an X-ray and speak to the surgeon.
That was like devastating for me because up until that point, everything felt fine.
So when I saw my x ray and saw that my spine was 45 degree curved, I'm like, what is happening? What is that? And so that was a really, really difficult time for me.
I am originally from the Bronx, New York, born and raised, and I started dance at the age of four, and I have not stopped since.
I am so blessed and fortunate to be a dancer with scoliosis that has made it from a local dance studio in Westchester County to to performing arts high school where I got to train at the Ailey School and then going on to college and also training in dance at Fordham University and the Ailey School to getting my first professional contract with Ailey too many other companies after that that I got to dance with, and now being a dancer in the Lion King on Broadway.
So I am super, super blessed and grateful for where my journey has led me, and especially as a dancer with scoliosis.
Do you think living with scoliosis has made you even more resilient or more connected to your body as a dancer and performer?
Again, you know, starting dance at the age of four, it was in the beginning, a hobby, something I did because it was fun to meet up with my friends.
And then as I got older, I started to realize, huh, I kind of really like doing this.
And then getting the opportunity to be Clara in the Nutcracker, which was a really big deal for me.
And just I remember seeing how much my teacher believed in me to A, give me that opportunity at such a young age.
It was presented to me and I fell in love with it and I stayed the course and I worked really hard.
And so when I got accepted into the Performing Arts High School in Manhattan and I got to train at Alvin Ailey, that's like the creme de la creme in New York.
That same year, my freshman year, going into the doctor for a physical and being told, huh, I kind of see a little curve.
Let's, you know, maybe send her upstairs to just get an X-ray and speak to the surgeon.
That was like devastating for me because up until that point, everything felt fine.
So when I saw my x ray and saw that my spine was 45 degree curved, I'm like, what is happening? What is that? And so that was a really, really difficult time for me.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.