18/05/2026
Pain isnât always physical. Sometimes, the body speaks what the mind has been trying to ignore.
A huge thank you to Charles Scheland for his honesty, vulnerability, and willingness to share such a personal story with me.
Conversations like this matter, and Iâm grateful for the space he created to speak openly about the realities dancers and artists often carry silently.
For Episode 3 of ?, Charles Scheland â senior company member with Carolyn Dorfman Dance, faculty member at The Ailey School, and performer with Thomas/Ortiz Dance Company and Site-Specific Dances â shares his experience with stress, phantom pain, and what it took to finally listen to his body.
What started as a recurring foot injury became a much deeper conversation about the connection between mental stress and physical pain, especially in a field where âpushing throughâ is often normalized.
This episode is for every dancer, athlete, and artist who has ever questioned whether their body was trying to tell them something more.
Read the full article now on Medium & Substack â link in bio.
