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In this episode of Break the Routine, Marius Iepure speaks with Oskar Odiakosa ; dancer, coach, adjudicator, and founder of Black in the Ballroom.

Oskar shares how he entered ballroom as a child in South East London, saving lunch money for lessons and travelling across the city to train, before building a career as a competitor, teacher, judge, and advocate for greater belonging in the industry.

Together, they explore representation, access, conformity, individuality, and the future of ballroom culture - including why dancers need to play a more active role in shaping the systems they are part of.

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In this episode of Break the Routine, Marius Iepure talks with Ian Waite — former elite Latin dancer, original Strictly Come Dancing professional, teacher, choreographer, and co-creator of FitSteps.

Ian looks back on how dance entered his life during a difficult family period, how the Netherlands chapter deepened his ambition, what television changed about the public’s relationship with ballroom, and why his work today is increasingly about accessibility, joy, and connection. It’s a conversation about visibility, pressure, reinvention, and what dance is really for once the pursuit of status begins to fade.

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In this episode of Break the Routine, Marius Iepure sits down with Phemelo Mabuse ; former South African Latin and Ballroom champion, teacher, endurance athlete and renewable energy leader from Pretoria. Phemelo opens up about growing up inside a family-built ballroom pathway under apartheid's shadow, why she chose a quieter path than her sisters Motsi and Oti, and how dance gave her the discipline, structure and resilience to build a high-responsibility life far beyond competition.

They talk about the township childhood, her mother's fight for black dancers in DanceSport, stepping away from the competitive floor, the transition into Ironman and ultra-endurance sport, leadership in the energy industry, and what the dance world must do better to prepare dancers for life.

In this conversation:

- growing up as a dancer in a South African township

- how her mother built access for black ballroom dancers

- why she chose privacy over public fame - moving from DanceSport into endurance sport and Ironman

- how discipline transferred into renewable energy leadership

- what DanceSport does and does not prepare dancers for

If you enjoy honest conversations about DanceSport, performance, identity and life beyond competition, subscribe to Break the Routine and let us know in the comments what stood out most from Phemelo's story.

What will you do to break your routine today?