Let’s be honest. Every competitive dancer dreams of stepping up onto the podium. And every dance parent longs to see the pure joy on their child’s face as they accept an award for months of hard work. My goal is to help every dancer and parent experience this moment.

The mission of Podium Strength & Performance is to assist dancers in reaching their competitive goals through safe and effective fitness training. Since each dancer is unique in terms of strengths and weaknesses, Podium will work to address each dancer’s specific and individual needs while also maintaining a well-rounded focus for all dancers.

Mimi grew up dancing. She began with ballet and tap, then quickly added jazz, contemporary, and hip hop to her training. Mimi performed and competed in these dance genres until college, where she trained and performed with the Core Concert Dance Company at the University of Georgia. At this time, Mimi also worked as a dance instructor with American All-Star teaching and preparing teams for competition.

Mimi then trained and performed with Meredith Dance Theatre as she began studying Pilates and Exercise Science. After graduating with her master’s degree in Exercise Physiology, she simultaneously worked as a fitness coach and discovered the world of Irish dance. Mimi’s daughter, who spent many hours in the dance studio and at competitions, followed in her mother’s footsteps and also fell in love with dance. She began to compete as an Irish dancer at the age of 6.

Mimi noticed that her daughter’s dancing began to suffer as she experienced growth spurts. She was having problems with her hip mobility, posture, foot strength, turnout, power and stamina. The VERY good news was that Mimi knew she could help her fix these problems! So, she applied what she knew as a fitness professional and a lifelong dancer to endless training sessions for her daughter and her dancing friends. Podium Strength and Performance was born!

Master’s degree in Exercise Science, UNC Chapel Hill 2004

Certified Exercise Physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine since 2005

Certified Stott Pilates instructor since 2006

Total Barre Instructor

18 years of experience teaching and coaching as a fitness professional

30 years of dance training in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, ballroom and Irish

American All-Star dancer, performer and instructor

Open Champion Irish dancer

"I love training with Mimi Phillips.  She showed me how to strengthen my core and my turnout and my posture improved.  She encourages me, she motivates me, and she inspires me.  She is a wonderful trainer and makes training fun!"
-Niamh

"Mimi is great with kids! You can tell she enjoys helping the dancers and they enjoy her classes. Her background as a dancer and fitness trainer helps her to really understand what the kids need."
-Emma (Parent)

"It was the best class ever. It was so fun!"
-Ian

"Mimi is a very helpful and motivated trainer! She pinpoints exactly what you need to work on whether it be stamina, turnout, posture, etc., and gives you effective exercises and instruction on how to improve. She is experienced in the world of dance and is an awesome trainer and supporter!"
-Zoe