The Background Dancer

About The Background Dancer

The Background Dancer sheds light on critical aspects underpinning the dance and performing arts industry through topics ranging from management, entrepreneurship, education, technology, fashion, choreography, politics, interdisciplinarity, media and wellness. Host Jason Yap details fascinating and useful information to help deepen your knowledge of all things offstage, while exploring and preparing together for a post-performance career. Listen in for a bi-weekly conversation with dance lovers from across Asia, Europe and the US, sharing experiences and practices that are both intimate and insightful. Jason is a dance artist, multidisciplinary producer and psychology graduate himself. Despite not pursuing it vocationally, he has still adopted many of psychology's approaches throughout his professional life - the concept of multiplicity and the performing arts as a 'whole that is bigger than the sum of its parts' ecosystem. Ready to talk all things dance? Join us as we begin to foreground Dance in the Background!

Publisher

Jason Yap

Category

arts · business · education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Feb 2021

Latest episode

1 May 2026

Latest episodes

91 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 May 2026

   Finale: My Final Cast

   After three full seasons and more than a hundred entries, it's finally time to lay down my microphone and headphones. In this episode, I will be reflecting upon this almost five year journey from the perspectives of WHAT, WHY, HOW, WHEN and WHERE of this platform. What began as merely a channel to voice my thoughts about the world of performing arts has gradually grown into a full-fledged educational reservoir of all things dance. Tune in one last time to learn about my key takea...

2. 

   29 Apr 2026

   Finale: Season 3 Review

   We have come full circle yet again and successfully completed another season of the most niche dance content you can find! Part 3 of the season round-up provides a quick run-through episodes 1 - 10. This season was all about the proverbial 'Wearing Many Hats' approach symbolic of most artists around the world. How have the stories of these amazing personalities shaped your perception and approach in dance? Will your journey intersect with one of theirs? Concluding the third and FINAL ...

3. 

   24 Apr 2026

   The Tao of Movement | Zuna Vesan Kozánková

   Growing up in Malaysia within a traditional Chinese household, I realized that I knew very little about my own cultural roots. This wasn’t due to any lack of guidance, but rather a subtle drift — a neglect of curiosity on my part. So when the opportunity arose to revisit and relearn, I stepped forward without hesitation. That journey led me to Zuna Vesan Kozánková, a reservoir of knowledge who constantly bridged worlds — between East and West, science and spirituality, movement and medi...

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

438,889

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 55 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

31

Social presence

91

YouTube

86

Engagement

68