Jun 22, 2026 · 51 min · 14 segments
"The things that make me different are why I am who I am." Professional ballerina Alexandra Hutchinson joins Alissa Hsu Lynch to talk about a journey that began as a "miracle baby" and led to…
Alexandra HutchinsonGuestAlisa Sue LynchHostOkay, so I want to talk about resilience and what you've learned from dance.
So becoming a professional dancer requires resilience, discipline, as well as talent, of course.
Did you face any barriers or challenges that you had to overcome to get to where you are
So that was really hard because I mean, when you're looking around and we're all in pink tights and, you know, my legs are more muscular.
I remember when I started growing a chest, like during puberty, I just felt like my body wasn't exactly the same as everyone else.
That feeling that you get where you're like, oh, if I just looked like everyone else and just fit in, that would be so nice.
I would probably get like more corrections because if I look different, everything would be perfect, you know.
But then as I got into my professional career and I started digging into myself because a big part of being a dancer and an artist, you have to kind of unpack not trauma, but like certain things that have held you back.
And I remember thinking like, so if I had gotten my wish, if I had like rubbed the...
the pot and the genie came out and I said, okay, I want to look like everyone else, then I would not be where I am.
You know, like all of the experiences that I had come together to be who I am now.
And even though times were tough where I wasn't giving corrections in certain spaces because I look different or because the teachers didn't necessarily relate to me because I don't look like them, doesn't mean that I can't hear people corrections and then apply them to myself, it doesn't mean that I am not worthy of corrections.
And a lot of times my mom would tell me, like, if I'm given constructive criticism, I have to pull the correction out and leave all of the other cushioning behind.
And so like, if I didn't have these muscles, then I wouldn't be able to jump high.
Okay, so I want to talk about resilience and what you've learned from dance.
So becoming a professional dancer requires resilience, discipline, as well as talent, of course.
Did you face any barriers or challenges that you had to overcome to get to where you are
So that was really hard because I mean, when you're looking around and we're all in pink tights and, you know, my legs are more muscular.
I remember when I started growing a chest, like during puberty, I just felt like my body wasn't exactly the same as everyone else.
That feeling that you get where you're like, oh, if I just looked like everyone else and just fit in, that would be so nice.
I would probably get like more corrections because if I look different, everything would be perfect, you know.
But then as I got into my professional career and I started digging into myself because a big part of being a dancer and an artist, you have to kind of unpack not trauma, but like certain things that have held you back.
And I remember thinking like, so if I had gotten my wish, if I had like rubbed the...
the pot and the genie came out and I said, okay, I want to look like everyone else, then I would not be where I am.
You know, like all of the experiences that I had come together to be who I am now.
And even though times were tough where I wasn't giving corrections in certain spaces because I look different or because the teachers didn't necessarily relate to me because I don't look like them, doesn't mean that I can't hear people corrections and then apply them to myself, it doesn't mean that I am not worthy of corrections.
And a lot of times my mom would tell me, like, if I'm given constructive criticism, I have to pull the correction out and leave all of the other cushioning behind.
And so like, if I didn't have these muscles, then I wouldn't be able to jump high.
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.