Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: We all can do these things. You know what I mean? A lot of it's not. It's not brain. It's like. I mean, what do you call. It's not. What do you call it?
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Brain surgery.
[00:00:09] Speaker A: Brain surgery.
Not brain surgery. Like, it's art so we can produce something.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: Hello. Hello, my friends. I'm Dana. This is words that move me. I'm stoked that you're here, because today day is our 200th episode. I don't want to mix you up with all the technicalities. Actually, we've done way more than 200 episodes because we do several bonus episodes because I'm all about over delivering. I don't know if we've met. Hi, I'm Dana. I love to over deliver. So, this is our 200th plus episode. But number wise, outside of bonus episodes, this is our 200th episode. And today I am joined for a special cross interview by one of my best friends, one of my most cherished friends, and my absolute favorite bookend ever, Ava Jermaine Bernstein Mitchell. I just gave you the full name, y'all. Ava Bernstein Mitchell, aka Ava Flav, is our guest on the podcast today, and I'm so, so excited to share this conversation with you. But first, let's do wins. It's obvious, but I can't not. I am celebrating 200 plus episodes of the podcast, and I still love it.
[00:01:23] Speaker A: That's cool.
[00:01:24] Speaker B: I love that. That's really it. I really am impressed at my stamina.
I'm grateful for my team. I'm thrilled at the new format and the way that you all seem to be enjoying it. I'm so excited to have a front row seat to some awesome conversations with some even more awesome people. So I'm celebrating 200 episodes of the podcast. Now you go. What's going well in your world?
In what ways are you over delivering?
Can't wait to find out. Hit me.
Congratulations. I'm so very glad you're winning. Please keep it up. I'm cheering for you. Riz is cheering for you.
[00:02:17] Speaker A: Go, you.
[00:02:18] Speaker B: That wasn't kind. That wasn't kind. I pulled her ears to make it look like she was going fast with excitement and apologize.
We're back.
Keep winning, and let's keep talking about Ava Bernstein Mitchell, y'all. A gift to dance, a gift to my life, a gift to the podcast, a gift to the stage, a gift to the screen, a gift to any set that she is on. Truly, this woman is remarkable in her talent and in her way. I cannot wait for you to love every word and every note she does sing in this episode. Enjoy every moment, every morsel of Ava Bernstein Mitchell.
That was the Bart Simpson. It's her favorite move.
Did you know that you're my only podcast guest that is also a podcast host?
[00:03:16] Speaker A: No. Yeah. Oh, that's fun.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: I mean, unless somebody out there is, like, secretly podcasting that I didn't know about. Welcome to the podcast.
[00:03:23] Speaker A: Thank you. I'm happy to be here in this.
[00:03:25] Speaker B: Uh huh. In the visual format. You are looking really great with your purple backdrop because I happened to know that you were going to wear purple today.
[00:03:33] Speaker A: I didn't know it was my second choice. And look at you.
[00:03:36] Speaker B: Did you know that I was going to wear my flavor project today?
Because I'm an esteemed faculty member of the Flava project.
[00:03:42] Speaker A: Hey, Riz has joined us.
[00:03:44] Speaker B: Welcome to the podcast.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: Riz loves.
Touch me, touch me, touch me.
I love all.
[00:03:53] Speaker B: Ma'am, ma'am.
Very important business. Do you like an adult?
Ma'am, ma'am. Calm down. She will. She'll calm down. Me, on the other hand, my upper lip is already sweating. I'm so excited. Thanks again for being here. Okay.
On the podcast, which you have been once before, we did an episode with Terry Sentiel. Real deal. Terry Senseiel. And that was so much fun.
So you know this a little bit, at least. I think that you will be asked to introduce yourself.
[00:04:22] Speaker A: Oh, yes.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: Okay. Go for it. Lay it on me. What would you like everybody to know about you?
[00:04:26] Speaker A: I'm going to keep it short and sweet. My name is Ava Bernstein Mitchell. My married name is Mitchell. I've been a dancer for a very long time and a choreographer and an educator dance teacher.
I am from Los Angeles, California. Native. Doesn't happen often. And I am a mother of a four year old daughter named Brooklyn.
[00:04:49] Speaker B: I love words.
[00:04:51] Speaker A: I love to read.
I love art.
[00:04:56] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:04:56] Speaker A: And I do love life. I love people.
[00:04:59] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:05:00] Speaker A: I say this a lot.
[00:05:02] Speaker B: I think the only thing I love more than dance and talking about dance podcast is people. And I think if dance was robots, I wouldn't really care about it.
[00:05:12] Speaker A: No, absolutely not.
[00:05:13] Speaker B: So, yeah, people, lovers.
We share in that. We share in a lot of our story, actually. Also, our fathers are both dentists. Yes.
[00:05:21] Speaker A: Little fact I know. Yeah.
[00:05:24] Speaker B: Great job, dads. Great job. And we both toured with Justin Timberlake on the future sex Love sounds tour.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: It was our very first tour.
[00:05:32] Speaker B: It was. That was the other thing I wanted.
[00:05:37] Speaker A: What?
[00:05:38] Speaker B: I might still have our new jack.
[00:05:41] Speaker A: Why didn't I bring that?
[00:05:42] Speaker B: Why didn't you bring that? Gosh, why didn't we should just reschedule.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: Reschedule.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: We just start over.
[00:05:47] Speaker A: We have forgot a coupon that is very important.
[00:05:51] Speaker B: Wardrobe items. There's one photo of us, I think, in the futuresex earbud. Excuse you, little one. She's going to be snoring. Don't take it personal.
Of us sitting in a laundry bin, which is how we got to the stage. And we are folded up so tight and bedazzled.
[00:06:10] Speaker A: Bra tops. Yes. I love that picture.
[00:06:13] Speaker B: Body literally folded. Girl boobs so boosted.
[00:06:18] Speaker A: We're just like, so good.
[00:06:22] Speaker B: Because the show is in the rounds and that's how we had to get to stage undercover.
[00:06:25] Speaker A: So fun.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: Very much fun. Okay, so I just had Cody Wiggins on the podcast not long ago. Cody, let me tell you, that's always how I responded.
[00:06:33] Speaker A: Oh, God.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: Yeah, love that guy. But now, after hearing some of his stories, I'm like, cody.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: Oh, wow. Yeah.
[00:06:40] Speaker B: Fascinating stories in particular about how he has booked gigs, specifically tours.
[00:06:45] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:46] Speaker B: And when we were talking, I was like, cody, you know this is kind of atypical, right? You know, your experience of booking work is not the usual experience of booking work. Magic stuff happens. Magic stuff happens. But you also have an atypical experience of booking, specifically future sex. Because as I was talking to Cody, and I was like, by the way, you're going to talk at some point. Really? I'm excited.
I was like, cody, that doesn't just happen to people.
But then I remembered, no, actually, it's rare that people book tours through auditions. It is, because if you're going to put people around each other for an extended period of time, you already know their personalities. But that was not the case with you and future sex. And how lucky am I for that?
[00:07:36] Speaker A: I tell that story often. Yeah, in a truncated version, is they were having an audition for Justin Timberlake. He was like, my dream job. And so the auditions went out. I wasn't called. It was like a closed audition. And I kept calling my agent be like, hey, did I get asked to be on this list? And she was like, no, sorry. And I'm like, kept calling, kept calling. And I was like, you know what? I need to go to this audition. Because I remember taking a class with him and he was like, we're going to work together someday. And I was like, I held onto that. And so I was like, I'm just going to go. I'm going to crash. And so my agent, I'm not going to say who at the time, said, if you go, don't say we sent you and I said, okay. But I went. So I went, auditioned. I, after all is said and done, was the only dancer from the audition who booked that tour. Everybody else was either sought after, assisting him, or already in it somehow. And I remember auditioning and being, like, seeing JT sitting there, those crystal blue eyes, just, like, staring, watching, and I was just like, this is so crazy. And, yeah, my gut told me I needed to be there. I went, actually, it's God. I mean, I get.
God talks to me in various ways. And I knew, I was like, I need to go. I need to be here. And so I did.
Sometimes you got to know.
[00:08:59] Speaker B: So glad.
[00:09:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:01] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:09:01] Speaker A: You got to break rules sometimes. It's a rule breaking story. It's like, you just got to break the rules sometimes, if you know.
[00:09:08] Speaker B: And that was an important theme for us on that tour. I think both you and I grew up rule followers, and we quickly noticed.
[00:09:16] Speaker A: Like, people follow rules, don't.
[00:09:20] Speaker B: It doesn't mean you win.
[00:09:21] Speaker A: It doesn't mean you win. Yeah.
[00:09:23] Speaker B: A lot of people win around here breaking a lot of rules. And so that was huge for us.
[00:09:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:28] Speaker B: Can you recall some of your fondest memories? And I'll do the same.
[00:09:32] Speaker A: Fondest memory on tour.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:33] Speaker A: Dance related or not dance related, either.
[00:09:38] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:09:39] Speaker A: One, I'm going to start on the stage. Fondest memory is when my foot got stuck in my suspenders during love stoned. As I'm having my private moment with justin on stage, I had to hop off stage. I could not get my foot out of my suspenders because they were, like, dripping down.
[00:09:57] Speaker B: Yeah, because that was a thing.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: It was. And he just looked at me as I hopped off stage. Good times.
[00:10:05] Speaker B: Oh, my God. I don't remember that.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: Do you remember what city that was in? No. I could see it down on that little platform. Little one.
[00:10:13] Speaker B: Oh, that's rich. I had a shoe fall off during the show once. Little known fact, people used to call me one shoe wilson at my dance studio because falling off happened regularly. I think my feet are different sizes. I know my feet are different sizes, but it must be substantial.
I also had a bad, bad moment underneath one of the bee stages or running, because the satellite stages were, like, only 3ft high, so you had to walk pike pitch to get there, tripped on the cable and unplugged jt's ears.
[00:10:50] Speaker A: Yep, I remember that well. I remember almost being concussed because I hit one of those and, like, fell out.
[00:10:58] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Wild. Yeah.
The risks, the dangers.
[00:11:03] Speaker A: Not glamorous, everyone.
[00:11:04] Speaker B: No, it's not what you think it is. But that was a dream job. Partially because of the dream relationships that came from it. Just being 100% chief on that list.
[00:11:12] Speaker A: How long ago was that? It still feels weird.
[00:11:14] Speaker B: 2011.
[00:11:15] Speaker A: I know. But, like, number wise, math wise, I'm not even trying right now.
[00:11:22] Speaker B: 14.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: That's crazy.
Yeah.
[00:11:26] Speaker B: Okay, so that's a fun one. Okay, how about off stage memory? Off stage? Yeah.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Where there was this one time, me, myself, you, justin and jason went to breakfast, little hole in the wall in australia. And we were eating breakfast, and then one of the waiters came and it clicked that that was jt. Next thing you know, just like, a surplus of people were coming in and pointing and talking, and I was like. And we had to leave. And I was like. I thought because I would ask him too often sometimes, like, can you just walk around? Is that a thing? Like, you could just get up and go? And he was like, trust me, I've tried. I try. And we had to leave.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: It was great. Yeah, I do remember that.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: I remember that.
[00:12:12] Speaker B: I have another fond off stage moment, actually, a couple. When I thought about asking you this, I knew I would answer for myself. Also the first, if Marty ever listens to this episode, he's going to die. Okay.
Because we were fast friends, we became very tight very quickly, and we were inseparable on that tour, to the point where I think you probably remember this, it was uncomfortable for us to hug. Yes. Because we were never, always together. We never said hi, and we never said bye because we were always together. So we were like.
[00:12:57] Speaker A: What kind of awkward nap?
[00:12:59] Speaker B: Super awkward. I remember.
I can't even say it out loud. I remember the first time I took a nap in your room instead of going back to my room, because it was like, I'm crying.
[00:13:10] Speaker A: I love that. So random.
[00:13:12] Speaker B: I'm feeling snoozy. I'm kind of tired, and I could have gone back to my room, but why? You were, like, working on your computer. And so I just laid down on your bed on top of the sheets, and I took a nap. And then I woke up and I was like, oh, this is a new level. This is a new level. Yes.
[00:13:28] Speaker A: Oh, my God. I know.
[00:13:29] Speaker B: And another one. So Jason Bonner, trainer of JT, who also was on the podcast, I'm crying so hard.
Took it upon himself, or maybe he was assigned.
[00:13:41] Speaker A: Okay, I think I know where you're going.
[00:13:43] Speaker B: To the HBO get right.
We're going to film the show on HBO, and our bodies needed to be pop star shape, and we did.
[00:13:54] Speaker A: We got there we did.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: We got there.
[00:13:56] Speaker A: I felt hot.
[00:13:57] Speaker B: I will say you looked hot.
[00:13:59] Speaker A: You looked fantastic. You had six packs of abs. Yeah.
[00:14:03] Speaker B: I never in my lifetime, not even at five years old, have I had, like, that degree of lean has not been a part of my recipe. But we did the get right with Jason, and that involved so much running.
[00:14:18] Speaker A: Stairs sometimes at the venue, 22 minutes on a treadmill.
[00:14:21] Speaker B: 22 minutes on a treadmill on an incline. But there was one venue. Jersey. Was it Jersey? We had the freight dock or the shipping dock or whatever. And so we had to run down it forwards, do a loop around the arena, and then run up it.
[00:14:42] Speaker A: Why?
[00:14:42] Speaker B: Before number one. Before the show. Before the show. And Jason at one point, plugged us into that circuit and said, don't stop till I get back.
[00:14:53] Speaker A: Yes, sure did.
[00:14:54] Speaker B: And then he left. He left for a lengthy period of time. He did more than 20 minutes.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: I remember because pink was opening up for us at the time, and rain was out there, like, are you guys for real? Yeah.
[00:15:04] Speaker B: And she was looking around, like, chaperoning that.
[00:15:06] Speaker A: Who made you do that?
[00:15:07] Speaker B: And we were like, the ghost of Jason Bonner.
[00:15:09] Speaker A: He'll be back.
[00:15:11] Speaker B: He's coming back. And he did come back. And do you remember what he came back with? What?
[00:15:14] Speaker A: A twizzler?
[00:15:15] Speaker B: Maybe a red vine.
[00:15:17] Speaker A: I can't remember which one. It was dangling in his hand.
[00:15:21] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:15:21] Speaker A: And he sprung it up.
That is a child. That is a man child.
[00:15:30] Speaker B: A two scale GI Joe.
[00:15:33] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:15:35] Speaker B: Maybe the biggest, strongest person that I know in person flung a twizzler at my face. At my mouth.
Child. Thanks, Jason.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: Yeah, that was rude.
[00:15:46] Speaker B: I promise that was not an abusive context. No, he is our friend. But that was ridiculous. I will never forget that. Yeah. Okay. That was my first question for you. What do you got for me?
[00:15:58] Speaker A: Oh, what is the biggest lesson you took away from that tour, actually, or any job?
[00:16:08] Speaker B: Oh, man.
[00:16:09] Speaker A: In particular, biggest lesson, I will say.
[00:16:13] Speaker B: From that tour, something that we've already touched on, is doing it by the rules. Doesn't mean you will go further or get there faster or higher than anyone else. People may be on the very same plane or even beyond you in terms of experience and scale of work, having broken all the rules. And it really was that gig that taught me that. I really thought, like, oh, no, you like, you play by the rules and you make it. Yikes. So that was my first encounter of that, like, face to face. Everybody's like, what exactly is she talking about?
[00:16:53] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:53] Speaker B: You can ask me if you ever see me in person. Yeah.
From gigs in general, and this kind of came later. I think this happened more in my foray into film and tv is that you must always be separating the facts of what's going on from your thoughts about what's going on. I think it's way easy to get caught up in taking things very personally and having emotional responses to things, which I believe emotional responses are the fuel of our work. We have to be emotional to do what we do. I don't think it's virtuous to be.
[00:17:35] Speaker A: Completely separate from your feelings and time.
[00:17:38] Speaker B: But there is a time.
And I think separating director says words, even if those words are. That was a terrible take. Yeah, I could make that mean I'm a terrible person. He's never going to like me. This isn't going to go well. And then I spiral into inaction, into negative self talk, which doesn't generate positive results most of the time. So director says words is actually neutral.
I can say, director's unhappy. Here's my chance to make myself happy. If I'm not going to get words of encouragement from director right now, got to get them from somewhere. Maybe me, maybe choreographer, maybe Ava. Where am I going to go? So separating the c's circumstances from the t's thoughts of the moment is my biggest, most valuable lesson learned and probably the tool that I use most on set.
[00:18:31] Speaker A: Love that.
[00:18:31] Speaker B: Yeah. How about you?
[00:18:34] Speaker A: One particular.
I had a friend tell me one time at an audition, which I don't audition much anymore, to use this, but it shaped my auditioning life. She was like, when you're in audition room, she's like, don't watch everybody else. She's like, turn around. She's like, get in your zone. Because then you psych yourself out on what everybody else is doing, and instead of being you, you're like, oh, well, she flipped over the table, maybe I need to do that. Or she went up to the judges, maybe I need to do that. And I'm like, it really helped me because I would get in my head a lot in audition s, and I just stopped paying attention, and it really helped. It's not for everybody because some people thrive off of that type of energy in a room.
[00:19:17] Speaker B: Totally.
[00:19:18] Speaker A: But I didn't. I needed to just zone in and do me when I got out there, and it helped me a lot.
[00:19:24] Speaker B: I cared less. Similar take, slightly different on that same moment when the eyes go to the other talent.
I've started catching myself when I'm watching the dancers and I watch the people behind the table, and I'm like, who are you drawn to? Yeah.
[00:19:41] Speaker A: What are you looking.
[00:19:43] Speaker B: Oh, you like that? Yeah. Right?
And that's been helpful for me. Way less about them and my thoughts about them and more about their thoughts about them, which I can't tell, but I can guess.
[00:19:54] Speaker A: You can guess? Yeah.
[00:19:56] Speaker B: When was the last time you auditioned for something?
[00:20:01] Speaker A: Auditioned for? I can't remember.
[00:20:03] Speaker B: Oh, did you do commercial casting? Self tape? I did.
[00:20:05] Speaker A: What did you do? Yes. The last time I auditioned, I actually booked it. It was for a commercial. Come on.
It was a lot of choreography. They asked us to learn and I.
[00:20:16] Speaker B: Had been gone now thanks to the new seg.
[00:20:19] Speaker A: I know.
[00:20:20] Speaker B: Agreement.
[00:20:20] Speaker A: My husband, luckily, was also auditioning, so he taught it to me, got home, taught it to me real quick. We filmed it in the garage.
[00:20:27] Speaker B: Amazing.
[00:20:28] Speaker A: Boom. Booked it as a couple, too. I know.
[00:20:30] Speaker B: Does that happen often? What a dream is that? I know, because that's a dream.
[00:20:34] Speaker A: Yeah, it's really fun.
[00:20:36] Speaker B: It can't be the only time you guys have ever gigged together.
[00:20:39] Speaker A: Oh, no, we've gigged together.
[00:20:40] Speaker B: How'd you meet?
[00:20:41] Speaker A: We met his first time, actually, in LA because he's from Kansas by way of Florida college. We met here through a mutual friend. Chuck Moldonado.
[00:20:50] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:20:51] Speaker A: And, yeah, we became friends. We were friends for a long time before we even had romantic interests. But, yeah, I love this story. And we've worked together quite a few times.
[00:20:59] Speaker B: Can we talk about your daughter?
[00:21:00] Speaker A: Yes. She's a hoot.
[00:21:04] Speaker B: She's a rapper, first of all, with the body language and the cadence and the clarity. Also, she's your child because she speaks very, so clear.
[00:21:14] Speaker A: She does.
[00:21:15] Speaker B: And with pace, that helps you to understand exactly what she's saying. She is a grown person in a tiny, small body.
[00:21:24] Speaker A: Yesterday at dinner, we had asked her, my husband said, what'd you learn at school today? And she goes, let me tell you about Malachi. And he said, no, I want to hear what you learned about school. So she told us what she learned at school.
[00:21:35] Speaker B: Then he goes, Brandon.
[00:21:36] Speaker A: Then he goes, tell me about Malachi. She goes, okay, let me tell you about Malachi.
And then she proceeded to tell us about Malachi and what he did. And I am not going to let him do that to me. I'm going to tell him next time to be kind. And I said, this little adult.
[00:21:55] Speaker B: Okay, so tell me how being a mother has changed the way you work. I'm sure all the ways.
[00:22:01] Speaker A: But, well, firstly, having a child is a mirror. It's like you see yourself. You're like, oh, they do that because I do that, or you are more conscious of the things you say and do because you have a sponge right behind you all the time.
But also you realize having children means you need a village. You have to.
[00:22:24] Speaker B: You have to have support.
[00:22:25] Speaker A: You have to have support. And we have the best support system. Oh, my God. My family's from here. I'm from California, so family's from here. My parents are like, the most amazing grandparents. I did a job in Boston for spirit is in movie.
I moved to Boston for seven months. My mom came along as a full time caretaker for Brooklyn because she was only a year and a half at the time. Moved in, stayed there for seven months.
[00:22:50] Speaker B: Got put in the movie.
[00:22:51] Speaker A: Got put in the movie. My mom got put in the movie. Brooklyn was put in the movie. I love this.
[00:22:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:56] Speaker A: So it takes a great support system, and it makes you so hyper aware of what you surround your child with. So always a loving environment and always people you trust. We don't outsource, like, sitters or anything. We're lucky to do. We're blessed to be able to do that. I just feel the most comfortable, too, because she's always with family and with similar values and stuff like that. It's helpful.
[00:23:22] Speaker B: I have a new friend that was telling me. She was like, Riz is going to unlock the baby wanting in you. And I've never had that urge. And everybody's like, it'll happen.
[00:23:37] Speaker A: It'll happen.
[00:23:38] Speaker B: And even Chloe, actually, Chloe Arnold, who Ava works close with and his podcast guest and dear friend, is an absolute gift to humanity, period. But she and I were on an NYCDA weekend together once.
Minneapolis. Where's the mall of America?
[00:23:56] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:23:57] Speaker B: Okay, so that's where we were. But, like, in the cut, like 45 minutes away from anything. And she was like, do you want to get out of here? Can we go have dinner? And I was like, yes, please. So we had a six hour dinner date. We left the hotel at three, and then all of a sudden it's nine. She, of course, had to go. She had to go see a student showcase because she got eight things going on that day.
[00:24:16] Speaker A: That's a thing to do.
[00:24:17] Speaker B: Insane. But before she got her uber to the show and I got my Uber back to the hotel, she's like, question quick. Just. The uber is like three minutes away. Have you frozen your eggs yet?
[00:24:29] Speaker A: I was going to tell you.
[00:24:30] Speaker B: I was like, chloe, this is not a quick.
[00:24:32] Speaker A: This is not a quick.
[00:24:33] Speaker B: She was like, no, it is. You need to do it.
[00:24:35] Speaker A: Yeah. And I'll tell you how to do it.
[00:24:37] Speaker B: You have your homie, who's a nurse come over with some girlfriends so that the shots isn't a traumatizing thing I was around for because it's going to hurt and it's not going to be fun. So you need to make it fun by having your homie. And I was like, I don't know.
[00:24:49] Speaker A: That I have a homie that's a nurse. I was going to say, she just.
[00:24:52] Speaker B: Threw that out there. She got a homie that's in everything. No.
[00:24:55] Speaker A: Yes, for sure.
[00:24:56] Speaker B: Because she's a great homie.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:58] Speaker B: Anyways, I have not had that gripping feeling moment. And she was like, but tell you what, you love is the option to have that moment. I know, and she's not wrong. So in a way, it kind of was a three minute conversation.
[00:25:13] Speaker A: Personal question, hit me. Do you think you would have children? No, I didn't think so. Based off of what we talked about and our friendship and knowing you, I was like, I never considered it for you, but your mind can change, for sure.
You have so much to give. So much to give. And it's okay if you don't have children.
[00:25:35] Speaker B: Thank you, my lady. I think we both relate and I think a lot of teachers, a lot of female dance instructors feel that they have many kids and people that I care about and people that I've seen grow up and people I'm invested in. But in the morning and in the night, you are like. And during the day, when I am.
[00:25:54] Speaker A: Alone with myself and my time and.
[00:25:56] Speaker B: My money and my current body, I am into it.
[00:25:59] Speaker A: I know, right?
[00:26:01] Speaker B: Yeah, but, yeah. Having what she mentioned about having the freedom, the option to choose.
[00:26:09] Speaker A: You could adopt. You seem like somebody who would adopt. I would be. I know.
[00:26:13] Speaker B: I think I would be very good at that. Riz is definitely getting me onto a little bit out of my selfish style of anything I want, anytime I want, any, whatever. It's really nice to pay attention to the needs of another.
[00:26:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:26:26] Speaker B: So I'm into that. And we'll write that out. I'll keep you posted, though.
[00:26:30] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:26:32] Speaker B: I would love to hear because I know that the number is very, very high. How many episodes of television would you say you have choreographed?
[00:26:41] Speaker A: Associated. Wow.
[00:26:43] Speaker B: Yeah. I've never guessed, like more than 50, less than 200.
[00:26:48] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:26:49] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:26:49] Speaker A: That's really good. That's really good.
[00:26:51] Speaker B: Probably in the hundred.
[00:26:52] Speaker A: Probably, yeah, probably 100 episodes. Because being on resident choreographer for the Late Late Show James Corden for seven years.
[00:27:03] Speaker B: Whoa.
[00:27:04] Speaker A: It's a long time.
[00:27:04] Speaker B: And he loves dance and musical stuff, so you were working. This wasn't just like a once every season kind of thing. This is like, every episode has a component of music.
[00:27:13] Speaker A: Well, not every episode, but we were there often. Like, maybe once a month or a couple of times a month sometimes.
[00:27:20] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:27:20] Speaker A: Or. Yeah, it just varies.
[00:27:22] Speaker B: Doing a big musical number.
[00:27:25] Speaker A: I should know these numbers. I mean, we've done probably about ten crosswalk musicals. And then he has segments, other segments on the show all the time, you know what I mean?
And then other tv shows we've done black lace sketch show we worked on. What's the new one? Gosh darn it.
[00:27:43] Speaker B: I love you so much. Yeah. I love you so much. I love that your gig is not your 100% of your life.
[00:27:49] Speaker A: No, I've done a lot of television.
The talk. We used to talk Halloween specials all the time.
I've done a lot of television, so I don't know.
[00:27:59] Speaker B: I know a lot of people that want to be in that space, specifically women. And I'm wondering if you have any tips or advice you would give to women, specifically, who want to be working in that space, or if that advice is different than what you would tell a man at all. Maybe it is not.
[00:28:16] Speaker A: One of the things you touched on is don't marry anything, don't take anything personal.
You just have to be open to anything. You also have to use your.
I guess, your mastery of knowing, like, when somebody asks for something and knowing what they really want, you're like, you say, this is what you want, but I know what you're trying to get at. So you have to be able to assuage them.
[00:28:45] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:28:45] Speaker A: And then produce what, you know, what they want.
[00:28:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:48] Speaker A: So I think being confident and also kind goes a long way, because those types of working relationships where you are able to collaborate make it easier. Collaboration, you don't ever want to butt heads because those don't give the best results. So I think being confident, strong, kind, goes a long way. Yes.
[00:29:14] Speaker B: This is great advice. I would not add anything to that. Yeah, you're so spot on. My acting teacher says sometimes it's like. And this came from someone else, maybe Marlon Brando.
It's 80%.
Getting along with people.
[00:29:30] Speaker A: Yeah. I was going to say, they want to like you, you want to be likable, and then the rest goes from there.
[00:29:38] Speaker B: Honestly, sometimes I wonder what my work would be like if I didn't care about being liked.
What would I do? And what would I act like if I genuinely didn't care about being liked? Because I think about it a lot.
[00:29:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:54] Speaker B: In my mind, it's like, that's what brings you back, because that's what it really comes down to is a lot of people do great work. Yes. Great work is baseline when you're at a certain level.
[00:30:04] Speaker A: Yes. People as the person, though.
[00:30:07] Speaker B: Say it again.
[00:30:08] Speaker A: People are hiring you as the person, just like you said, because we all can do these things. You know what I mean? A lot of it's not. It's not brain.
What do you call it?
[00:30:19] Speaker B: Brain surgery.
[00:30:20] Speaker A: Brain surgery.
Not brain surgery. It's art. So we can produce something.
[00:30:26] Speaker B: Right.
[00:30:27] Speaker A: And it doesn't always take that much skill. So it's really, if they like you and then how you produce it, you know what I mean?
[00:30:34] Speaker B: There's, like, the product, and then there's the way you produce the product, and the producing of the thing happens for way more hours of the day than the product's life. The product's life is two minutes, and then it goes on the Internet. And maybe people watch it forever, but maybe they.
The working together part is the bulk of the work. So being likable during that time. I know. Yeah. It's important.
[00:30:56] Speaker A: I learned that a lot, actually, from Chloe, because Chloe leads with joy all the time. She's so happy, she's so excited, and da da da, which is not my first impression.
[00:31:06] Speaker B: Personality.
[00:31:07] Speaker A: I'm kind of calm and cool, which.
[00:31:09] Speaker B: Is why you two really are a great team.
[00:31:11] Speaker A: Exactly. But I learned, like, people gravitate towards her for that reason, and then she produces a great product also. But they really just want to like you, and that's the same for me because that's the feedback I get. It's, like, from people not touching feet.
Remember when we accidentally held hands? Like, touched hands? It was like.
[00:31:40] Speaker B: Oh, so funny when you're so close that touching is weird, because you're just always guiding your touch.
[00:31:52] Speaker A: Oh, gosh, I love it so much.
[00:31:55] Speaker B: Oh, man. I'm so bummed. I can't find the future sex love sounds in your book. But people are still listening to this. Listening only, yes. Okay. Oh, my God. I totally forgot to mention this is the 200th. Well, that was hard. This is the 200th episode of where is it? Move me. Thank you so much.
[00:32:12] Speaker A: I'm glad to be on it.
[00:32:13] Speaker B: It just took me, like, 40 minutes to remember that. Yeah. Thank you for that. Cool. Okay, back to you. Do you have any other questions for me? This is fun.
[00:32:22] Speaker A: Yeah. This is a vein question. Okay, vanity question.
[00:32:26] Speaker B: Oh, bring it.
[00:32:27] Speaker A: You've had quite a few phases of hair colors and styles. What has been your favorite? Maybe give me top three.
[00:32:35] Speaker B: Wow. I really liked my short blonde.
[00:32:38] Speaker A: Loved, really loved it. Really good.
[00:32:40] Speaker B: Really loved it. And that came from, like, years of saying that I was going to do it. I had a photo album. Have a photo album on my phone of inspiration, images of women with dark hair who went light. And I researched it. I looked all the time, like, face shapes.
Of course, she did neck lengths. Maybe that only works because she's got a really long neck. Like, I don't really have a long neck. Was it going to work for me? And then a woman in New York did it, and she crushed it. That transformation was.
[00:33:12] Speaker A: I remember that.
[00:33:12] Speaker B: That day was huge, and I was a different person. Loved that. And I've had some really not so favorite. There was a very popular hairstylist to all dance types when Brittany was in her heyday.
[00:33:28] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:33:28] Speaker B: He did Brian Friedman. He did Amanda Baylon, Jillian Myers. This guy did all the people.
[00:33:33] Speaker A: What did he give?
[00:33:34] Speaker B: You? Botched every color of the rainbow all at once. And some patches of, like, hot white blonde, and then reddish and then pink. And I think he was out to lunch when he was doing that work because it was around future sex. It was like the beginning of that.
[00:33:54] Speaker A: I remember you.
[00:33:55] Speaker B: Do you remember you're my friend?
[00:33:57] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:33:57] Speaker B: You were there for that.
Yeah, I think that's that. The blonde was my favorite. This is a good basic.
[00:34:04] Speaker A: I love it.
[00:34:04] Speaker B: Also. Do you know what? I'll be very honest.
[00:34:06] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:34:07] Speaker B: When my hair is this length, which means it can do this up thing and it can do a down thing.
[00:34:14] Speaker A: Major Curl right here, too. I'm loving it.
[00:34:15] Speaker B: Is it? Dang. Okay. I wish I could just hold this. I can. I got these two arms.
It can look long or short. Here's the thing about having short hair. You can't make it look long.
[00:34:28] Speaker A: That's true.
[00:34:29] Speaker B: Except for that one gig I did for Justin Timberlake music video with him and SZA. Don't remember what it's is.
I'm gonna find photos of this.
Like, maybe three days after I went short and blonde, I booked this gig.
[00:34:45] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:34:45] Speaker B: Which I did have to audition for. PS. And I did wind up on the cutting floor.
[00:34:50] Speaker A: Ps.
[00:34:52] Speaker B: I'm in, like, probably 16 frames of this music video.
I mean it real fast.
And they said with this look, this, like, pixie blonde hair. They were like, I think we should give her leaning in. I'm like, what are you doing? They put a weave, Ava. Sorry, a weave in there. In there. At the root. At the root that went down my hip bones.
[00:35:23] Speaker A: I need pictures.
[00:35:24] Speaker B: Blonde. I will show you right now.
It's wild. And it was painful. And they put acrylic nails on me.
[00:35:32] Speaker A: Just all out of character.
[00:35:34] Speaker B: Acrylic nails the week before COVID shutdown. So guess who had to deal with their own acrylic nail grow out?
The lady who's never had acrylic nails ever in her life. They grew out during the pandemic, and I was, like, trying to. It was a set up from the jump.
[00:35:53] Speaker A: That's funny.
[00:35:55] Speaker B: Oh, my God. I'm just going to give you the full spread. Oh, my gosh.
[00:36:01] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
I saw from a distance. There's no way that's not you.
[00:36:13] Speaker B: Who would hire me and make her look like that?
[00:36:18] Speaker A: Dana.
[00:36:21] Speaker B: And you already know we're wearing bodysuits, right?
Top to toe. Next unitard, which is probably my least favorite thing to wear, that I have to wear the most on gigs.
[00:36:33] Speaker A: You have never been this girl.
[00:36:34] Speaker B: No.
[00:36:35] Speaker A: This is hilarious.
[00:36:37] Speaker B: I didn't even know how to be.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: Are you going to put up a picture so people can see it?
[00:36:40] Speaker B: Oh, I will. 100%. Throughout the week. I will be sharing photo because I'm going to find the future sex love show yearbook. I'm going to find photos from the yearbook. I'm going to share this throughout the week. Please go follow us on words that move me podcast. We'll make a highlight out of this episode because it's so important.
[00:36:54] Speaker A: She's fun. She has a name.
[00:36:56] Speaker B: What is it, though? Oh, my God. Speaking of names, how's Latrina Saxton?
[00:37:00] Speaker A: She hasn't come out a long time.
[00:37:02] Speaker B: Might she join us for just a hot second?
Summer.
[00:37:09] Speaker A: Love with you. You can't wait to fall in love with me visions can be summer love, you see? Visions can be summer.
I have not done that in at least five years.
[00:37:32] Speaker B: The e.
[00:37:35] Speaker A: It'S like it doesn't finish. This is breath.
The last fumes of breath.
[00:37:44] Speaker B: Yo, JP loves Latrina. Latrina Saxon, if I'm not mistaken, was born after the show in the showers. There was a room of showers in particular. We all had to shower together. That's the thing that happens sometimes. We're in locker rooms at these venues. I can't with this. And the acoustics were so good. You started singing Summer love and she crept in and I was like, oh, that is that person.
What else does she need?
[00:38:13] Speaker A: Something else.
[00:38:14] Speaker B: She needs a record deal. I know.
[00:38:16] Speaker A: Sang another song. I can't remember, but yeah.
[00:38:18] Speaker B: Have you ever seen this? Riley.
[00:38:21] Speaker A: What?
[00:38:22] Speaker B: Come get it.
[00:38:23] Speaker A: Who is that?
[00:38:23] Speaker B: Come get it.
[00:38:26] Speaker A: Isn't that wild?
[00:38:28] Speaker B: JT did not recognize me on set.
[00:38:30] Speaker A: No.
[00:38:31] Speaker B: You look like someone. This really makes you look like Jennifer Lawrence. Yes, correct.
[00:38:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:37] Speaker B: Which I have gotten.
[00:38:39] Speaker A: Never. But I see now it's the oscars.
[00:38:42] Speaker B: We just both have so many.
It makes us look the same. And I couldn't get it out of my hair. It was so in my hair. I had a hard time getting it out.
[00:38:50] Speaker A: I just go, that gig. They said, yes, that gig. What we should give her.
[00:38:55] Speaker B: Okay, are you ready for the final portion? I could do this all day long, but we do need to respect the flow format. This is a new segment of the podcast we call wrist roll with it. Rapid fire questions. You ready?
[00:39:08] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:39:09] Speaker B: What part of your training would you never trade out a piece of your training that you could not do without?
[00:39:16] Speaker A: My competition days when I used to have technique privates and we would do circuit trainings on Saturdays. Like formative years.
[00:39:23] Speaker B: Yeah, Saturday circuits, like across the floor and drills.
[00:39:27] Speaker A: Drills, yeah.
[00:39:30] Speaker B: What part of your training hurt more than it helped?
[00:39:34] Speaker A: Oh, hurt more than it helped on the job? I've had some on the job training.
[00:39:39] Speaker B: There we go.
[00:39:40] Speaker A: More than it.
[00:39:41] Speaker B: There we go.
[00:39:41] Speaker A: Tell me about it.
Where you're being pushed to unnecessary limits, where you then injure yourself and they become, this is not necessary. And then you carry lifelong injuries with you because of it.
[00:39:58] Speaker B: Yeah. This is a flex.
[00:40:00] Speaker A: Prove a point.
[00:40:03] Speaker B: Sorry about that.
I would have to say, I think my answer to that question would undoubtedly be Adagio. I have never, ever needed to hold my leg high, slow. Ever, ever. Do I need to get it up? Occasionally. Can I do it fast? But Adagio for me, I cried.
[00:40:21] Speaker A: Oh, my God.
[00:40:22] Speaker B: Almost every time. Ask my ballet teacher. Molly is out there.
[00:40:25] Speaker A: That's really good.
[00:40:26] Speaker B: I cried all the time because I didn't understand why they could and I couldn't.
[00:40:31] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
My anatomy always had me in that space.
[00:40:35] Speaker B: Short towards us. Long legs. Yeah. I couldn't back.
[00:40:38] Speaker A: Yeah. Ballet was like, not my friend, but I did it.
[00:40:44] Speaker B: Is there a song that you would never touch because it's just too good and you would just not choreograph to it?
[00:40:48] Speaker A: Oh, yes.
[00:40:50] Speaker B: What is it?
[00:40:52] Speaker A: I have felt this way.
I can't think of it off top.
There are songs that are intimidating.
[00:41:00] Speaker B: Can you think of those? Can I tell you one that I heard recently?
[00:41:03] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:41:03] Speaker B: I have a recent alia, if your girl only knew.
It's been on my really playlist for a long time. And every time I listen to it, I'm just like.
[00:41:15] Speaker A: I have one it's by Aunt Clems. It's called beep by Aunt Clems. I just saw his name. Fact check.
Aunt Clemens.
[00:41:26] Speaker B: Clemens.
[00:41:27] Speaker A: Clemens.
[00:41:27] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:41:28] Speaker A: I love it, but that's a more current song that I'm like, somebody else do this.
[00:41:34] Speaker B: Somebody else should do this. Who should do it?
Who would you love to see choreographed to?
Nice.
Nice.
[00:41:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:41:43] Speaker B: Yeah, why not?
[00:41:44] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:41:44] Speaker B: We're putting that out there into the world. Isabel, you get to do a duet with anyone, living or dead. Who is it?
Mm hmm.
[00:41:56] Speaker A: Oh, these are really good questions. You said rapid fire. I don't know. The first person I thought of was Janet. Janet Jackson. It's the first one that came to my mind.
[00:42:02] Speaker B: Ava.
[00:42:03] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:42:04] Speaker B: Now I'm linking to rehearsal footage from our carnival performance where you played Janet in Marty's.
[00:42:11] Speaker A: I also played Janet Jackson and the SB warts.
[00:42:15] Speaker B: Yes, you did. We're going to find that. We're going to pull that up. Okay, two more. Three more. Favorite move.
[00:42:22] Speaker A: The Bart Simpson.
[00:42:23] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:42:28] Speaker A: I don't even know the name of this, but when you bend over and the bop bop. It's my favorite.
[00:42:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
Not this one.
[00:42:36] Speaker A: No, just simply this.
[00:42:38] Speaker B: Just a groove. It's a rock.
[00:42:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:41] Speaker B: It's a Bop. Okay, least favorite move, like, move that you would delete from forever.
Tour jite.
[00:42:49] Speaker A: Whoa. I hate them.
[00:42:52] Speaker B: I just choreographed a door.
[00:42:53] Speaker A: They are so uncomfortable.
[00:42:56] Speaker B: Oh, they're gorgeous, though.
[00:42:57] Speaker A: The payoff is when they're done. Oh, they are done well and beautiful. Right? To do them suck is like. That's what I feel like.
Get up.
[00:43:11] Speaker B: Oh, my God.
[00:43:12] Speaker A: That is visceral. I teach on dance convention, and every time I see it, I'm like, you guys look great. Listen, I want to do it.
[00:43:20] Speaker B: That's a c jump for me. And Chloe Arnold, of all people, was choreographing a commercial for special k cereal. I was like, why don't they want a k shape? I'll give you a good k bop, ma. I'll give you supporting legs. C jump, top arm and lower legs.
[00:43:36] Speaker A: I'll give you A-K-A special k shape.
[00:43:38] Speaker B: But they wanted a c jump. That's what they wanted to see. That's what. The audition was almost blacked out. Delete.
[00:43:45] Speaker A: I hate it. I hate it.
[00:43:47] Speaker B: Delete it. Delete. Okay, last one. Three women you admire.
[00:43:51] Speaker A: Oh, you 100%.
My sister Risa.
[00:43:58] Speaker B: Yes. And.
[00:44:03] Speaker A: So many women.
My mother.
[00:44:07] Speaker B: Yes. Shula. I think we talked about it.
I think we talked about it on the last episode, but if you haven't listened to that one, it's important that you know that when Ava and I went on tour, we both got rid of our apartments, and we both. This is another area where we overlap. We were houseless while we were on tour, which meant we were pocketing our entire paycheck after taxes, whatever.
So we weren't paying rent. And when we were home on a break, that part is important because what that meant was shortly after tour, we both bought our own places.
[00:44:40] Speaker A: Yeah. The best time to buy too, might I add, sister.
[00:44:44] Speaker B: End of 2019. That was.
[00:44:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:44:46] Speaker B: Or it was in 2019.
[00:44:49] Speaker A: Sorry.
[00:44:49] Speaker B: 2008.
[00:44:50] Speaker A: What are we talking about?
[00:44:52] Speaker B: Right after the crash.
[00:44:53] Speaker A: Right after.
[00:44:54] Speaker B: Yeah, we did that.
[00:44:55] Speaker A: And we're still in them.
[00:44:56] Speaker B: We are.
[00:44:57] Speaker A: 21201.
[00:44:59] Speaker B: We'll both in two units.
Wow.
[00:45:03] Speaker A: I know.
[00:45:03] Speaker B: Maybe we should choreograph together.
Maybe we should do that song that you don't want to dance to. And if your girl only knew girl.
[00:45:12] Speaker A: We should challenge ourselves to do the hard things, and if we did them.
[00:45:16] Speaker B: Together, it would be very much fun.
[00:45:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:45:19] Speaker B: Not even a thing. It's not even a thing anymore. I'm genuinely excited. But our hands have to touch at some point in the middle of it. Which reminds me, one of my favorite videos of Hiltian Bosch. My favorite lockers. Well, two of my favorite. I have so many.
They're performing at urban dance camp, and there's a moment. It's usher. Yeah.
And they rip this song up. Have you ever seen this? We maybe should watch it.
[00:45:48] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:45:49] Speaker B: They rip this song apart, and there's one moment where they're doing the speed control thing where you're, like, fast and slow, and there's one moment where one of their hands touches the other one's arm, and it's like, just, like, by a hate, like, literally by a hair. Maybe even if you had, like, a macro lens on, maybe they weren't touching. But it's like. It's one of my favorite moments.
[00:46:10] Speaker A: That's cool.
[00:46:11] Speaker B: Anyways. Okay, so we got to do that. We'll watch the video.
But, Shula. So we were on a break.
[00:46:16] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:46:17] Speaker B: I just went on a journey. We were on a break, and your mom dropped us off at the mall.
[00:46:23] Speaker A: First of all.
[00:46:24] Speaker B: First of all, we're grown.
And she was like, I'll be back.
[00:46:29] Speaker A: To pick you up.
[00:46:30] Speaker B: And we went to get our eyebrows done, or I did anyways.
[00:46:33] Speaker A: You did.
[00:46:34] Speaker B: And we got back in the car in the backseat, because now your dad was. Doc was driving, and your mom was in the passenger seat, and I was behind your mom's seat, and I said, shula, I got my eyebrows done. What do you think? And she turned her body to look over. She did, over the backseat and said nothing.
[00:46:53] Speaker A: She said, like, mom, I do a lot of that. Mom. She said nothing.
[00:47:00] Speaker B: She did not need to give me a false compliment. She did not need to tell me. They did not.
[00:47:06] Speaker A: I can't tell.
[00:47:07] Speaker B: She said, I have no response for you. And from that moment on, I respect Shula Bernstein more than most women I can think of, to be honest.
[00:47:17] Speaker A: That going to get the truth.
[00:47:19] Speaker B: Respect.
[00:47:20] Speaker A: Yes, the truth.
[00:47:21] Speaker B: The truth. And sometimes that's nothing. I know they didn't earn a response.
[00:47:25] Speaker A: Some things don't warrant a response, and I hate that.
But she stands by it.
[00:47:33] Speaker B: So magical. Okay, my friend, that's all I've got for you. Do you have anything else for me?
[00:47:37] Speaker A: Let me think. Oh. Who would you say is one of your favorite educators?
[00:47:43] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh.
[00:47:45] Speaker A: Okay, I know the answer, but maybe not.
[00:47:48] Speaker B: Maybe not. Because there's a woman right now who I'm taking a course from.
Her name is Karita Griffith. Do you know Karita?
[00:47:57] Speaker A: I don't think so.
[00:47:59] Speaker B: She's an extended family of syncopated ladies.
Yes, Karita.
And she is a phenomenal teacher. She actually teaches pedagogy like she teaches teaching to specifically people who teach black art forms. And I took my first workshop from her during the pandemic.
[00:48:19] Speaker A: See, this is why I admire you.
[00:48:22] Speaker B: Because I was like, let me get in there. This is really important. Murder of George Floyd. I had stopped teaching hip hop. I know, a long time ago. It was like, we can't call my class that.
[00:48:31] Speaker A: You almost didn't let me hire you for my flavor.
[00:48:33] Speaker B: That's true, because on the back of it says, ladies of hip hop. And I was like, flav, I don't know if that's me. We had a conversation about that. It's really important, and I still have thoughts about it. But here's what I love. I love being an example of what it looks like to be a guest in a culture with reverence, championing research and showing what it looks like to be a respectful guest. I think it's my responsibility to be that.
[00:49:02] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:49:02] Speaker B: And I, like this is something that Karita has helped me give words to, how to introduce myself and my class through that lens and how to teach context. Sticky enough that little kids who probably look a lot like me and grow up a lot like me will go deeper, will go digging and looking for more good. So, Karita has been hugely. She's got to come on the podcast. She's been hugely helpful to me in that way. And then I never have just one answer to a question. It's something Christopher Scott used to get on me about. He would always say, like, what did you learn today? That's his most famous question. Okay, what did you learn today? And everybody would say one thing, and I'd be like, okay, well, first.
So I always have two answers. Sorry.
And then also, of course, Tony Basil. Tony Basil is my dance mom, who's a tough love kind of dance mom. And I kind of had a real. My real dance mom. Shout out, Stan.
[00:50:02] Speaker A: Love you, Stan.
[00:50:03] Speaker B: My real dance mom was kind of a drop you off, pick you up, not too crazy involved. She made our costumes and is a phenomenal seamstress. Wildly creative. Was involved in creative ways, but not in the traditional studio mom kind of way. Toni Basil's a little bit of a dance mom. Like, where's your red lipstick? What are you eating? Who's doing your know?
[00:50:25] Speaker A: Like, yes, she's invested.
[00:50:27] Speaker B: She's. There. She is delivering kind of in a shula fashion, the cold, hard questions that sometimes need answering. Sometimes I'm like, oh, Basil. Yeah, leave me alone.
But she also has to come on the podcast. She's one of my favorite educators. Oh, my gosh. I can't believe Debbie Allen didn't come up in conversation. Really?
[00:50:46] Speaker A: I know, because she plays.
[00:50:48] Speaker B: She plays a huge part in your.
[00:50:50] Speaker A: Absolutely. She gave me my first job ever, and she took me under her wing when I was just 16 years old. I had never really taught dance class, and she saw something in me that I didn't even know. She was like, do you teach? She's like, would you teach at my academy? I was like, I haven't, but sure. And, I mean, that formed my huge existence of me as an artist today.
[00:51:12] Speaker B: I mean, yes. You own a convention circuit.
[00:51:15] Speaker A: It's wild. She is dance fairy, godmother and mentor and mom.
[00:51:20] Speaker B: And she's magic, that one.
[00:51:23] Speaker A: Magic. And I've learned a lot from her, and even in working distantly from her. She's just an incredible woman. You will continue to learn from her.
[00:51:33] Speaker B: Always hearing her speak, let alone being in a mean.
[00:51:39] Speaker A: There's just reverence that you.
[00:51:41] Speaker B: Oh, you pull up when she starts talking. You're like, yes, I'm here. Yes, ma'am.
[00:51:45] Speaker A: Miss Allen.
[00:51:46] Speaker B: Yes, ma'am.
[00:51:46] Speaker A: I don't call her Debbie Allen. No, it's always Allen.
[00:51:50] Speaker B: Miss Allen.
[00:51:50] Speaker A: Miss Allen. Yeah, yeah.
[00:51:52] Speaker B: Are you Miss Bernstein Mitchell?
[00:51:54] Speaker A: I am Miss Flav. Ms. Flav. Honestly, that's all. Kids call me Flav. They thought that was my last name. I'm not going to. So many people. We always thought your last name was Flav. And I said, it is not.
[00:52:06] Speaker B: But thank you.
I made the fool of a mistake when I first got Instagram that I thought you're just supposed to have your nickname as your handle. Some Dana Danners people think my last name is. And nobody says Danners either. They say danners. Dana Danners.
[00:52:21] Speaker A: No, it's too.
[00:52:21] Speaker B: It's a hard. A Dana Danner. Who are you? But also, I don't know where that came from. I think that came around sometime during the, like Marty Cadelka, Lucas Renaud Ko, Christopher Toll.
Dana Dan came from Lucas Renaud, I think, or Christmas tree Mike or something like that.
[00:52:38] Speaker A: All those great people.
[00:52:39] Speaker B: And Ava Flav came from me.
[00:52:40] Speaker A: Straight up. She's the very first person to ever name me and call me Ava Flav on tour.
[00:52:48] Speaker B: And I can't believe rehearsals actually, I think totally started. It was at the very beginning of that.
[00:52:52] Speaker A: And here we are. It's 15 years later.
[00:52:54] Speaker B: Sticky.
[00:52:55] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:52:56] Speaker B: Well, I am very much looking forward to the next 15 years.
[00:52:59] Speaker A: I know. Me too.
[00:53:00] Speaker B: And thank you for reining in the 200s.
[00:53:03] Speaker A: Thank you for.
[00:53:03] Speaker B: I really, really appreciate it. We'll do it again sometime.
[00:53:06] Speaker A: Okay. Sounds good.
[00:53:07] Speaker B: And choreographed together.
[00:53:08] Speaker A: I know a little duet.
[00:53:09] Speaker B: What the heck?
[00:53:10] Speaker A: We need to.
[00:53:10] Speaker B: It will be funky. It will be very funky.
[00:53:12] Speaker A: Very funky.
[00:53:13] Speaker B: Los Angeles, stay tuned because we will be teaching something that's very funky and wonderful together. Do you teach at the playground regularly? You have a regular slot?
[00:53:21] Speaker A: I used to. I don't do anything regularly anymore.
[00:53:24] Speaker B: Okay. Some freedom. Would you jump in with me at ML sometime?
[00:53:27] Speaker A: Absolutely.
The door is open for me. Amazing.
[00:53:31] Speaker B: Yeah. Amazing. Okay. That's going to happen. Stay tuned. But I forgot we have one more wrist roll with it question. And I'm so excited to hear your answer. As a person who loves words, my last question for you is what are the words that move you the most?
[00:53:47] Speaker A: This is going to be a little funny.
[00:53:48] Speaker B: Okay?
[00:53:49] Speaker A: But it's my favorite saying right now. Hit me. My daughter says it happens is happens.
[00:53:55] Speaker B: Happens is happens.
[00:53:57] Speaker A: And I think she gathered, like, sometimes things happen or mistakes happen, she says in that context. And happens is happens. It's my favorite thing right now.
[00:54:07] Speaker B: Slave. I love that because it is true happens. This happens.
[00:54:11] Speaker A: Don't fret. Yeah. That's the first thing that came to my mind.
[00:54:15] Speaker B: Thank you, Brooklyn. And thank you, Ava. I really appreciate you being here.
[00:54:18] Speaker A: You're welcome.
[00:54:18] Speaker B: Thank you all for listening, watching. If you aren't watching, the podcast. Please be watching the podcast because it was very good looking and I cried several times in this episode. So you want to be sure you have visual evidence of that. Get out into the world. Keep it very funky. I'll talk to you soon.
[00:54:35] Speaker A: Oh, this is fun. We did that.
[00:54:38] Speaker B: Okay. This podcast was produced by me with the help of many big big love to our executive assistant and editor, Riley Higgins. Our communications manager is Ori Vajadares. Our music is by Max Winnie, logo and brand design by Brie Reits, thumbnails and marketing by Fiona Small. You can make your tax deductible donations towards that. Move me. Thanks to our fiscal sponsor, the dance resource center, and also many thanks to you. I'm so glad you're here. And if you're digging the pod, please share it. Leave a review and rating. And if you want to coach with me and the many marvelous members of the words that move me community, visit wordstheoveme.com. If you're simply curious to know more about me and the work I do outside of this podcast, visit thedanawilson.com.
