Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Those were wonderful. Wonderful.
[00:00:02] Speaker B: They should have produced your boo.
[00:00:09] Speaker A: Hello, my friend. It's Dana. This is words that move me. This is my dog wrist roll. She is having her 1 hour pre dinner zoomies slash panic frenzy. Very, very excited dog. So let's get through this, shall we? Because the conversation that I am having today with my super duper, super special guest, Megan Lawson, is simply too good to not share, like, right now. So I'll start with wins and tell you. Ow, little one.
Today. Well, earlier this week, I am celebrating my 38th birthday, my friends. And it was fantastic. The day itself included a six and a half hour drive from Phoenix, Arizona, with my partner in crime, Miss Riley Higgins, who crafted for me a playlist of every song I have ever created to, like, made up a combo to or done professional work to. This was a long playlist, which was kind of cool. I was like, oh, wow, I've done 6 hours worth of work. That's awesome.
Anyways, that was a really special thing that I would encourage you try on for yourself. Go down your memory lane of music. That is like a great way to spend the day thinking about myself and sharing some pretty funny stories of behind the scenes with Riley. That is what I'm celebrating, my friends. Now you go, what's going well in your world?
[00:01:52] Speaker B: Yay.
Wow.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: I feel like when I look her in the face, I go cross eyed to try to compensate for her interpupillary distance.
Love you.
[00:02:04] Speaker B: I love you.
[00:02:05] Speaker A: I love, I love you so much. She caught me. She sucked me into the tractor beam of love. My baby.
[00:02:12] Speaker B: Oh, my sweet baby.
[00:02:14] Speaker A: Okay, congratulations. I'm so glad you're winning. I'm winning because I'm staring wrist roll in the face and I love her.
Okay, let's do this. Megan Lawson is an outstanding human being and a remarkable artist. She is a longtime friend and also a long time fan of the podcast. I heard some stories for the first time in this episode, and we've been friends for years and years and years, so I know these stories will be new to you and inspiring. Okay. Okay. Riz wants to go, which means it is time to go. Enjoy the one and only Megan Lawson.
Hey. Hey.
[00:03:14] Speaker B: I made this beautiful matcha for me, so how can it not be featured?
Rainbow coaster, sunflowers. All the hard work you've put into this.
[00:03:27] Speaker A: Oh, my God. Shall we start there? You're one of the few people that knows the whole the saga of the bookshelves. I get a lot of compliments on the bookshelf. Welcome to words that move me by the way. Hi. We're in it.
I get a lot of compliments on the bookshelf. And the true. True of it, as Megan knows, is that these bookshelves used to be black. I painted them. I wallpapered them.
They were my therapy for how many hours?
Also should mention, I put Riley through it over here. She saw colors of painting. She saw colors of me that most people don't get to see. I was so frustrated. This. Don't recommend. Don't recommend the painting of the bookshelves. Actually, the painting was not the problem. It was the wallpapering.
[00:04:16] Speaker B: But I honor your resilience and continuing until it was to your satisfaction.
[00:04:22] Speaker A: And I do. I like it. I look at it and I'm proud. There's some cool stuff over there. And they're good looking.
[00:04:27] Speaker B: Great job.
[00:04:28] Speaker A: And I really appreciate that, because I think your eye for interior design is like.
I think you're very good at this.
[00:04:34] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:04:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:35] Speaker B: Thanks.
[00:04:36] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:04:36] Speaker B: I don't know.
[00:04:37] Speaker A: I mean, we should do a words that move me trading spaces edition. Where we, like, walk through. Like, words that move me meets cribs.
[00:04:45] Speaker B: I love.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: Because, actually, to see how people live, here's what it really is. Because people can curate their homes and get their houses to be their way. But I think you really get to see someone when you enter their hotel room and you see how they keep their. Or where they like, how things come out and what they bring, I think.
[00:05:05] Speaker B: Do you unpack your things?
[00:05:06] Speaker A: Oh, yes.
[00:05:07] Speaker B: They come out of the suitcase.
[00:05:08] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:05:09] Speaker B: Hang drawers.
[00:05:12] Speaker A: I'm weird about that because I think.
[00:05:14] Speaker B: Panties in stranger drawers.
[00:05:17] Speaker A: Panties in stranger drawers is not a thing that I like to do. So I travel with my intimates in a little zipper baggie so that then I feel a little bit better about them going in there.
[00:05:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:25] Speaker A: I also. I use the drawers for dirty clothes, and I think that others probably do, too, which is why I have a thing about don't put clean stuff in the drawers.
[00:05:34] Speaker B: Fair enough. Yeah.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: So now you know Megan. Megan Lawson, my dear friend and sister. We're doing it. We're doing it again, but this time a solo episode and in the video format. This is your first time here in the video format.
[00:05:48] Speaker B: Yes. Is that. That's my camera. This is your camera.
[00:05:51] Speaker A: That's me. You could use mine, too, but you'd have to lean quite, quite uncomfortably. Just your little acorn.
[00:05:57] Speaker B: Yeah. My tiny little peg.
[00:05:59] Speaker A: Okay, so you know the drill. Introduce yourself. Anything you would like us to know about you.
[00:06:05] Speaker B: Okay. Yes. First date style. Introduce yourself. Super uncomfortable. Okay. Hi.
I'm Megan. I've been Megan. It happened since 85 and.
[00:06:19] Speaker A: Wow. How am I never heard that before?
[00:06:22] Speaker B: It's new.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: You'd get a second.
[00:06:24] Speaker B: It's new automatically. Oh, goodness. I love a good laugh. I'm canadian. I am a scorpion. I am a seaweed sister.
[00:06:35] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:06:36] Speaker B: Shout out.
[00:06:37] Speaker A: It's like my favorite thing about myself.
[00:06:40] Speaker B: I really love saying it. It's part of the introduction. It's important. Yes. I am a person that is curious and excited about the world. And I love to learn. I love to move my body and to be in nature and to do all of these things in great company.
[00:07:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:05] Speaker B: That is me in a nutshell. I see.
[00:07:07] Speaker A: I thought that was gorgeous.
[00:07:10] Speaker B: There is more to us, but those are maybe my highlights of this moment right now.
[00:07:15] Speaker A: That was a gorgeous highlight.
[00:07:16] Speaker B: Okay, thanks.
[00:07:17] Speaker A: I'm flattered to be included in it.
[00:07:18] Speaker B: Absolutely. Good company.
[00:07:20] Speaker A: Yeah. Yes. Hello. That is such an important piece of it. And I think we're very lucky to find ourselves in working atmospheres with people who are similar to liking the great company part. I don't find myself interfacing with a lot of assholes.
[00:07:40] Speaker B: It's a make or break of many situations in a social situation, at work, and particularly play if you're choosing who you're hanging with. Right? Isn't it? Top five people are like reflections of you.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:07:54] Speaker B: That you spend your time with. I love that. And you're one of mine, for sure. What a treat.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: Oh, my. Flattered. Yep. Okay. I wanna talk a little bit about.
I think we will certainly talk about seaweed sister stuff because it's part of our DNA.
But I wanna talk about you, Pre. Seaweed sisters. Canadian. Making your way here. Putting music videos on YouTube, I think.
[00:08:18] Speaker B: Ooh, music videos on YouTube.
[00:08:20] Speaker A: Putting music videos. Putting dance videos on YouTube. I don't know how. We were just having a conversation.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: There's a conversation about music.
[00:08:26] Speaker A: Thankfully, there is music. Although, wait, are you loving or not? This trend on Instagram where people will strip the audio off of something and then re record, like, grunts and sneaker squeaks and things like this.
[00:08:40] Speaker B: I've seen that.
[00:08:40] Speaker A: Oh, my God.
[00:08:41] Speaker B: It is very. It's funny.
[00:08:43] Speaker A: Oh, my God.
[00:08:43] Speaker B: It's always pretty funny. It's funny.
[00:08:44] Speaker A: I love it. There's an Elvis one that I watch when I'm sad because it's so funny. It's so funny. I will share a link to it.
[00:08:54] Speaker B: Just really quickly because I feel like the original one of that. One of those examples. Pre. Maybe even Instagram. Have you ever seen the spoof on total eclipse of the heart.
[00:09:06] Speaker A: No. Oh, no.
[00:09:08] Speaker B: They have redone all of the lyrics as well as those types of noises on top of it, but kept the same music video. It's incredible. Fantastic.
[00:09:19] Speaker A: Okay. Thank you.
[00:09:20] Speaker B: Highly recommend.
[00:09:21] Speaker A: We'll share show notes as people who love to laugh. That is so important that we include in our daily lives, like every 4 hours. Or maybe I could replace the occasional caffeine beverage with one of those videos, because it does.
[00:09:38] Speaker B: It will boost. Boost your day.
[00:09:40] Speaker A: This is coffee number two of the day, I feel, but usually I stop at two. Anyways, where were we? YouTube music videos.
[00:09:46] Speaker B: Yes. Let's back it up. Queen of tangents, both of us. So we really gotta. It's gonna be fun. We gotta keep each other on track.
[00:09:52] Speaker A: Yes.
If a conversation was like a track, your and my conversations would be like a flower around the track. Cause we're gonna go. We're doing the track, but we're gonna take some side pedals. Indeed. Okay. So, moved here from Canada.
Tell me about that chapter of your Los Angeles experience.
[00:10:16] Speaker B: Well, I am a very lucky canadian in that my grandma was born in the states, so I actually was able to attain my green card through my familial tree.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: Got it.
[00:10:30] Speaker B: Rather than pursuing the visa side of things. But I know many Canadians that have gone through that and that you should have on and talk about that because it's important.
[00:10:41] Speaker A: I also know we share a couple friends whom you have helped in their visa process. And they have mentioned to me, like, I mean, they know that I know and love you, but I have heard your name come up in the visa story as being a real hero and helpful to young dance types.
[00:10:57] Speaker B: Very happy to sign letters. Cause I know that's helpful if we've had a dance exchange, whether it's in.
[00:11:03] Speaker A: Club, this is not an open invitation.
But if there's a relationship and if there's person who you see as being a valuable asset to the landscape out here.
[00:11:12] Speaker B: Absolutely. Yeah. Very happy to support those international dreamers that want to come here just like I did. Yeah.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: The Paula Abdul tour has more than, like, more. It's like 50% or more of them are.
[00:11:26] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:11:26] Speaker A: I. Yeah.
[00:11:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:27] Speaker A: It's awesome. Billy. Yay, Billy.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: Billy's from my hometown, Calgary, my home studio, dance Spectrum, where it all began.
[00:11:36] Speaker A: Knows how to train them.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: I know.
[00:11:38] Speaker A: Knows how to train them.
[00:11:39] Speaker B: Yes. Shout out to our dance teacher, Wendy White.
[00:11:43] Speaker A: Yes. Wendy.
[00:11:44] Speaker B: That's Miss Wendy. I'm like Wendy Nelson now. She's Wendy Nelson. There we go.
So that's where it started. Dance spectrum, small studio, tap, jazz, ballet.
[00:11:56] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:56] Speaker B: Loved it.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:58] Speaker B: Took a convention one time and realized, hmm, that's an option. Professional dance? Yes, please.
[00:12:07] Speaker A: How about that?
[00:12:08] Speaker B: Yeah, send me up. Triple threat dance convention. Was that real launch for me. Kelly Kono, Dori Kono. Karolina Lancaster. Also shout out. This is gonna be a lot of shout outs. Cause I wanna honor the people that have really helped me get here. And those ladies really just nurtured, supported my kind of young artist dancer dreams and had me assist, and I made a lot of connections and had a lot of practice with choreographers that lived in New York, in Los Angeles, in Atlanta, in Vancouver. People that were working on things that I was looking to work on. And that was such a. It was encouraging and affirming to know, okay, I can do this. That's an option for me here. And so, yeah, there was a couple. A cruise ship here, a move to Vancouver, some shifts, until I finally landed in Los Angeles. As it goes, it's never just a clean cut move sometimes. And it was humble beginnings, let me tell you.
[00:13:20] Speaker A: No, I ate animal crackers for meals in my first year in LA. Humble beginnings is real.
[00:13:29] Speaker B: Yeah. Like, it was tough.
[00:13:31] Speaker A: Yeah, that was tough. And it was even less expensive then than it is now. So very glad to be sharing with the generation that is up and coming now and feeling like rooting for you guys. Rooting for you.
Eating animal crackers right now.
Oh, my God.
[00:13:51] Speaker B: It gets better.
[00:13:52] Speaker A: It does. It gets so good. I also. I had the Los Angeles experience, which is open the animal cracker box and find a cockroach in there. Club tent, club ten. You know, the one on Morrison in Sahunga? No, thank you.
[00:14:09] Speaker B: How did he even get in there? Okay.
[00:14:11] Speaker A: Anyways. Okay. Sorry. I don't know. It's another pedal we went into. That's.
[00:14:15] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:14:16] Speaker A: Corner of a pedal.
When you got here, were you teaching right away, auditioning? And how did you come to finding an early voice and relationship with YouTube? That was like, I'm gonna do what I want and put it on YouTube and see what happens.
[00:14:34] Speaker B: Okay. Like, try and do the Kohl's notes of this. Yes. Was taking class, was teaching at a studio in Valencia, because they had available classes for me to teach younger students. And so that was, again, good practice for me to be making.
To make some money on a schedule to support my classes. I wanted to take exactly a schedule. And I met Matt Cadye in Eric Asobel's class, and he invited me after the class. You said, who are you?
[00:15:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:15:19] Speaker B: I said, I'm Megan.
[00:15:20] Speaker A: Who are you?
[00:15:21] Speaker B: I'm Matt. You should come take my class at Debbie Reynolds. Monday, Wednesdays.
[00:15:25] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:15:26] Speaker B: 830 to 1030.
[00:15:27] Speaker A: I remember those days exactly. Weekly days. Wow, wow, wow.
[00:15:31] Speaker B: And I went, and it was everything I'd been hoping to feel for that first class. I just really was ignited and inspired. And about a week or two later, he asked if I wanted to be part of America's best dance crew. Audition as a crew that he was putting together.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:15:53] Speaker B: So that was how I met Matt.
[00:15:56] Speaker A: And we ended up Fanny pack being.
[00:15:58] Speaker B: On that show, and Matt and I were roommates in the hotel for many months, and we hardly knew each other, but became fast friends and also really bubbly collaborators. Right. We were really jive in when it came to music. Cality and.
[00:16:21] Speaker A: Humor in general.
[00:16:22] Speaker B: Yes. Including that in dance and, of course, all of fanny pack. That was really part of what made us unique on that show was our narratives within a 45 2nd dance. We were like, we're gonna bring this. We're gonna bring you a story front.
[00:16:39] Speaker A: To back, 45 seconds. And it was always bright and it was always different, and it was always rambunctious and mischievous and, like.
[00:16:49] Speaker B: And also a lot of moves, like dance moves.
And strength was also not our strength. We had a couple. We had one Glenda. Shout out Glenda Morales, because she was the only one who was, like, doing backflips.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: And that show was really heavy on.
[00:17:05] Speaker B: The acrobatics and tricks and breaking and partnering, and we didn't have a lot of that. So it was really musicality and formations.
[00:17:16] Speaker A: And just getting characters and eight counts.
[00:17:20] Speaker B: Yeah, we ate counts.
[00:17:24] Speaker A: Ian, breakfast.
[00:17:26] Speaker B: Okay, sorry. I just heard it right there.
[00:17:30] Speaker A: Right there for you.
[00:17:31] Speaker B: After that show, Matt and I, we continued to collaborate and live together. We moved in together, and we made dances all the time. And a combo that we made for class we put on YouTube. It was really not for YouTube, but we put it up because we felt really good about it. And a couple months later, it made its way onto Madonna's computer, and she hired us from this YouTube music video.
[00:18:08] Speaker A: Was that Rihanna one?
[00:18:09] Speaker B: Yes. Rihanna Skin was the song, and we just loved the song. And I remember we.
[00:18:16] Speaker A: Ooh, it's good. It's a certain kind of sexy. That's yay. It's a different kind of sexy. It's not like you've ever seen anything done to that song, which you've probably seen a lot of sexy dances to that song. And it's so not those.
[00:18:29] Speaker B: It's so different, and it's difficult.
[00:18:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:32] Speaker B: It is more than meets the eye. And she wanted us to come to New York and teach that combination to the auditioning dancers, to the MD, and a tour to teach that exact combo for a week every day for two weeks.
[00:18:47] Speaker A: Something that you made up for fun. Absolutely became your ticket entry to this camp and the actual material that you would be introduced with to the team.
[00:19:00] Speaker B: It was not a submission. It was not. It had no real intention except for loving this track and feeling a vibe one night. And it felt really natural. And I think the best things come from those sort of authentic moments when you're creating. Of course, goals and intentions also important. We make things with intention. Goals all the time, but also to create, because you love your company, your.
[00:19:38] Speaker A: Friend, and this song and this moment, we're like, why not?
[00:19:42] Speaker B: And it was a moment, you know, who was over. Shonique Snead was over. We were having a glass of wine. We're like, you want to see? We're starting this. Starting this dance.
[00:19:50] Speaker A: Amazing.
[00:19:50] Speaker B: And then Candice Brown, after a rehearsal, she made us film. She filmed it. That's what's on YouTube, is what Candice filmed on her little flip camera. It was all not contrived, not even gonna go on the Internet. And I'm so glad that it did, because this started a relationship with, of course, Matt and with Madonna, and it changed my life, that clip.
[00:20:18] Speaker A: Are you ready for our next pedal?
[00:20:20] Speaker B: Let's go.
[00:20:20] Speaker A: Are you ready for our next pedal?
Viewer listener Lando Wilkins did something similar for the Seaweed sisters. We created our first piece, which became get free, which is our live. Our namesake, and we created it for a live experience. Lando saw it, and he was like, that needs to be filmed. So I know many of you us are out there trying to be the person who does the thing. But let this also be a reminder. You could be the fairy godmother to someone right now, and you could be the person that says, hey, I love that thing. You made it. Let me film it. Can I film it for you? That should be out there in the world.
[00:20:58] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:20:59] Speaker A: Because we've had fairy godmothers in our creative lives that have helped us get across that barrier. Cause I'm. I mean, at that time, like, in those years, filming shit and putting it on YouTube was so cool. I remember I had a chip on my shoulder about it. Jillian and I remember would have conversations about, like, you know, we're purists. Dance should be experienced in the room in the moment. This YouTube thing ha I mean, it'll come and go.
[00:21:27] Speaker B: I don't know if we would have ever filmed that if Lando hadn't hadn't said, nudged and said, I'm gonna hook you up with someone who can come over and film this at a pool. And I said, I got a pool. Yeah, let's do it. And you're right. The power of that encouragement or that poke, just someone planting a seed and saying, hey, you're onto something, is, wow, it's invaluable.
[00:21:51] Speaker A: We're so grateful for those people. And especially in retrospect now we can see, like, oh, that one really had a high return. I've pooped out and shipped little things all over the place.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:22:05] Speaker A: And that's, of course, what it takes.
If you just make the one thing, then there's the one chance that the one lap or screen might see it. But when you're in the habit of producing, especially when I. There's a dry spell, like the current one that arguably we're in, I think it's kind of a dry spell. Post writers strike, I think tv and film has been a little bit slower to totally recover, and still our industry at large is recovering from the greater Covid of it all.
But I think you and the seaweed sisters, us together, but you specifically in this story, are such a great example of making the shit that you want to be doing. Like make the type of work that you want to be hired to make and then maybe you'll get hired for it. I think it's such a beautiful. A beautiful idea.
[00:22:57] Speaker B: And if you don't, you had a blast baking the thing.
[00:23:01] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:23:01] Speaker B: And you let it go without expectation on returns.
[00:23:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:09] Speaker B: I think that that mentality around it will release any expectation or judgment. We equate these things that we make with how many views, how many likes, how many comments.
But do you love it? Did you love making it? Did you enjoy the company?
[00:23:29] Speaker A: Important question. Yeah, it's such an important question.
[00:23:32] Speaker B: Yeah. And young people, including us, by the way.
[00:23:37] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:38] Speaker B: We're still developing our voice, our signature style, our brand.
It's hard to know who you are, what you like until you start practicing making it and making those judgment calls. And that will also evolve and change over time. Thank goodness. What a treat. It would be so redundant if we.
[00:23:59] Speaker A: Just, like, got locked into being the.
[00:24:01] Speaker B: One thing designed the same thing all the time. Exactly. So asking yourself, could I push myself and do this one a little differently? As, am I gonna love that?
And you'll never know until you try. So I'm in this season of kind of pushing. All right. What else?
[00:24:21] Speaker A: What else could be?
[00:24:25] Speaker B: And it's harder to do that, actually.
[00:24:27] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:24:28] Speaker B: It's harder to push rather than to phone it in and go, like, I know how this is gonna look and how this is gonna go. I've done this before, and I know what I like. Yep. But I think I need to give myself some more credit, my taste, some broader strokes here.
[00:24:45] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:24:46] Speaker B: Right.
[00:24:46] Speaker A: I think you've got impeccable taste.
[00:24:48] Speaker B: Thanks. Wills.
[00:24:49] Speaker A: Trusted all the way.
[00:24:50] Speaker B: Thanks.
[00:24:50] Speaker A: I'm curious, have you ever had a time, because you're saying, I'm in this phase right now. Have you had one like it before where you were, like, trying to expand, trying to not do the thing that might be tried and true? Have you done. Have you been in this phase before?
[00:25:05] Speaker B: Well, let's bring it back to YouTube. And another kind of pivotal moment for me was another thing that I made with another friend. Jeff Mortensen.
[00:25:19] Speaker A: Yes.
Oh, my gosh.
[00:25:22] Speaker B: He was my next roommate after Matt.
[00:25:24] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Yeah.
[00:25:25] Speaker B: So good. We were living together, and maybe it's just the convenience of having someone right there. You want to make a thing. Okay.
[00:25:33] Speaker A: I'll tell you what. The convenience of having a dance space right over there.
[00:25:36] Speaker B: Totally.
[00:25:36] Speaker A: If I only made dance when I had booked studio space, I would have this much work to show for it.
[00:25:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:43] Speaker A: The fact that I can do it here means I make more.
[00:25:46] Speaker B: You're setting yourself up for success, so having a roommate that inspires you, and that is down to.
To work with you. And you have, again, so much fun with. So Jeff and I, we. There were these stairs in Silver Lake, but I'm giggling already because it's just younger self.
[00:26:09] Speaker A: I know, but it's so. We're so sweet.
[00:26:11] Speaker B: We're like, I have a vision. Yes. There's these stairs in Silver Lake with hedges on the side. And I love this song by Mumford and Sons.
[00:26:20] Speaker A: Yes. Mumford and Sons.
[00:26:21] Speaker B: It's so sweet. I was like, this song is so sweet. And I just think, think we could do something cool on the stairs. And Matt, Katie filmed it.
We took a bunch of clips, and eight millimeter is an app on again.
I loved it so much. We go through phases of all kinds of things, right? Reverse phase, eight millimeter phase, 15 2nd videos phase. Sure. Or even just like now I'm making videos that are portraits only. Okay. Now I'm back to landscape. It's all good. Yeah. Yeah. And this was an experiment in editing for me. It was the first time I we got a bunch of ideas and we filmed a bunch of clips and things that was more conceptual rather than like, no dance break.
[00:27:13] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:27:14] Speaker B: No hot eights in this.
In this mumford and song.
[00:27:18] Speaker A: So left the opposite of the work.
[00:27:21] Speaker B: You did with the opposite of sort of the class choreography piece. Yeah. And I edited that for a long time because I didn't know how and I wanted to open the skill set. And I also am very particular about how I want it. What bits were not cringe and what were a delight, and were you.
[00:27:42] Speaker A: So were you improvising on the day or was there a court set?
[00:27:45] Speaker B: A bit of both. We'd practiced on the stairs in our apartment, but we also. There was a few things and ideas, but mostly, like, all right, now let's try this.
So we were there for a few hours and doing that, and I questioned even putting it up. I thought, is this cheesy? Is this silly?
[00:28:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:06] Speaker B: And then I just went for it and I put it on YouTube.
[00:28:09] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:28:09] Speaker B: And sure enough, I mean.
[00:28:13] Speaker A: Phone rings.
[00:28:14] Speaker B: Same gal. It was Madonna again. And we'd already worked together, but in a guest choreography capacity, and a few years had gone by.
It was in the middle of kind of albums. And I was invited to New York to have a meeting with her, first time kind of solo. And I sat on her living room floor with her and she came in, she said, hello, megan, I've been.
[00:28:43] Speaker A: Hello, Madonna.
[00:28:45] Speaker B: I've been to watching your YouTube page, and there's one clip that really spoke to me in regards to something that she was a project that she was taking on at the time, a film that she wanted to work on. She said, this duet, you and this fella, Jeff Mortensen, this cherub, this angel sent from above. Absolutely.
[00:29:11] Speaker A: Oh, my God.
[00:29:12] Speaker B: She said, this is the tone, the feeling, the energy that I want for my two main characters in this film. She said, I just love it. I've watched it so many times.
Would you. I don't know what you're doing next year, but would you choreograph this, sign on to choreograph for this? And I obviously flattered, delighted.
This is something that I really enjoyed making, and it felt reflective of me and had no stereotypical dance. It was really feeling based. And that was a turning point in me trusting my delight in incorporating humanity in dance, because they are the same. And when someone says to me, I love that you're dancing, it doesn't look like dance. And you say, well, that's subjective. That's your. What's your idea of what dance is. What are you looking for?
[00:30:15] Speaker A: I'm looking for. I'm looking for a dictionary that's titled to dance is human.
[00:30:19] Speaker B: Oh, I love.
[00:30:21] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree.
Dance is humanity. But there is dance, and I've been watching a lot of it in recent weeks here in the summer intensive months. That is.
It doesn't feel human. It feels like machines and powerhouses and show ponies.
[00:30:42] Speaker B: And that's cool, too. That.
[00:30:45] Speaker A: Totally.
[00:30:45] Speaker B: That has its own world as well.
[00:30:48] Speaker A: Yes. And is impressive. My jaw was. I was scraping it off the floor. I was moved. To say that I was not moved would be a lie. But, yes, I think you and I both tend towards human and specifically human emotions work that's rooted in feeling versus demonstrating. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Carry on. Carry on.
[00:31:09] Speaker B: Well, it's so funny. Sometimes when I see students in class really pushing in one direction, I can feel it is to impress me when I'm like, oh, if you knew what impressed me, you would be practicing something else. And I do share that sometimes on if that is your intention, because I see those eyes.
[00:31:32] Speaker A: The side eyes. Yes. Are you watching? Did you see what I just did?
[00:31:35] Speaker B: What do you think about it? Yeah, I did see it. And in fact, it is what I'm less interested in challenging you with in this class, because you've got that. I'm not impressed by what you already just. I'm impressed by someone who wants to be in class to learn and not just maybe showcase. I don't know.
Where was I?
Bring the pedal.
[00:32:02] Speaker A: You two.
You agreed to do the thing. Of course you were flattered because it meant that somebody saw and liked this and was encouraging you to lean into the humanity, the non not so stereotypical choreography.
Basically what we kind of are becoming to call dance theater, or less structured choreography and more structured something else.
[00:32:34] Speaker B: Yeah. Familiar, tangible. Anyone can watch it and feel the magic of that. And what they don't know is that it takes a lot of skill to be that musical or to make it.
[00:32:48] Speaker A: Look really effortless to be in multiple places at once for the performer, which in this case was you and Jeff, but to be in a whimsical, emotional, thoughtful place simultaneously, a physical place that's a craftsman. That's like, the people who wind up doing those things are special. It's not exactly. It only looks easy.
[00:33:11] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:33:12] Speaker A: So go practice that in your class.
[00:33:14] Speaker B: That's right. And you never know where it's going to lead that project.
That didn't happen. The next year, however, she said, I'm gonna make that movie later. But I am gonna go on tour. Do you wanna be the supervising choreographer? Because we were already in the mix, and I'd never done that before. And then on the next tour, she said, hey, do you wanna direct this one? So this relationship. And I really.
I honora that woman because she has pushed me and offered me so much growth as an artist, as a person over the years, and given me opportunities that I just.
[00:33:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:33:58] Speaker B: I don't even know if I was ready for those moments. But she knew that there would be support around me, including her, to get us there. And she saw something in both of these videos that said, like, I love. I like.
I like what you're doing.
[00:34:20] Speaker A: Yeah. I like your taste.
[00:34:21] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:22] Speaker A: I like your flavor.
[00:34:23] Speaker B: There we go.
[00:34:24] Speaker A: Those two things. Let's go.
[00:34:25] Speaker B: And you can lead a room. All right.
[00:34:27] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:34:27] Speaker B: And you could.
[00:34:28] Speaker A: Okay, let's talk about. Let's talk about that. How do you. If you had to explain the way you lead, how would you put it?
[00:34:35] Speaker B: Oh, on a job. In class.
[00:34:44] Speaker A: Let's say on a job.
[00:34:45] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:34:45] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:46] Speaker B: Cause those do feel different.
[00:34:47] Speaker A: You're like a wonderful tour guide. Like, my favorite tour guide I've ever had in class. That's what it is. She's like. Now, if you look over here, you'll find this is delightful. And if you want, you can walk over that way if you want to stay with the group. We're gonna do this.
[00:35:01] Speaker B: It's true. There are choices.
[00:35:02] Speaker A: There are choices.
[00:35:03] Speaker B: There are options. But on a gig, there might be.
[00:35:05] Speaker A: Less options, less opportunity to get off the bus.
[00:35:09] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:35:10] Speaker A: On the bus. And the bus is doing. Yeah.
[00:35:12] Speaker B: As a leader in a workspace, I like to be respectful to everyone, from the artists and the crew and the people in charge and all other departments. Yep. And communicative, like, to let people know what's going on.
[00:35:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:34] Speaker B: I work for clarity and openness. Also, I am down to do a thousand versions of something, if that's what it takes, and if that's what someone wants.
And sometimes we get it on the first one, and then we do a few more and we land back on the first. But if there's the gift of time, if you have time to explore, to workshop, that's great. If we don't have much time, then I'm really happy to work quickly and efficiently. And that's time is money. It's important to also keep cool, keep calm, keep cool, and get it done. But again, respectfully. And I think we can all do it with kindness. With kindness, yeah.
[00:36:23] Speaker A: And with laughter, maybe even.
[00:36:25] Speaker B: Yes, there's always time.
[00:36:27] Speaker A: I think I learned this from you, actually. And it might have come via a Madonna story, but I don't remember this notion that, yes, sometimes the first version is the version, but you won't know it. You won't have proof. You won't have full confidence that it is until you've tried several others.
[00:36:45] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:36:46] Speaker A: And I really like that. I think because the last several gigs I've done have been more time constrained. The idea that comes first, I just tell myself, that's it. That's the one it's meant to be. And sometimes there's other. Or sometimes you just don't know until you've tried. So I needed this reminder. Several drafts is not only okay or expected in some camps, but sometimes it's simply the proof, the evidence. That draft one is it.
[00:37:14] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:37:15] Speaker A: I like that.
[00:37:15] Speaker B: Me, too.
[00:37:17] Speaker A: Is there anything you would tell your earlier self, like your first time working with Madonna's self?
Something you really wish you had known then that you have learned since then.
[00:37:28] Speaker B: With her, particularly, in particular? My experience there. Yeah.
I've shared this many a time. I think it is the practice of not being attached to that first version or to being too precious about something that you have made and loved. That isn't right. It is someone's opinion that that doesn't work.
[00:37:56] Speaker A: And, man, that does. Zing. Yeah, that's not.
[00:38:00] Speaker B: In the beginning. It was for both Matt and I.
[00:38:05] Speaker A: So painful.
[00:38:08] Speaker B: We were scared that we lost the gig because of that.
I remember she said that, no, this isn't right at all. We made a dance that we'd worked three days on, and she said, nope, this isn't the vibe at all. And she brought another choreographer on to do that number.
[00:38:31] Speaker A: And you thought that meant, we're next. We're out of here.
[00:38:34] Speaker B: Sorry about that.
We just went with what we thought. Right. And she said, oh, no, it's okay. I just needed to see what it wasn't, to know what I wanted it to be. And I don't think that was the number. Maria, I want you to do the next number.
That one's gonna be more power style.
Rad. Awesome.
[00:39:00] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:39:00] Speaker B: The song was called gang bang. Yes.
And it was.
It was a moving motel room with the walls. It moved side to side on the stage. And Madonna was sitting on the bed drinking a bottle of whiskey with an AK 47 behind the pillow.
And she was a villain. There were intruders right under the bed. Little buck climbs up to get her, and she's singing leaning on the pole, and then right before he gets her in the head, she turns and she gets him, and there's a fight scene. Yeah. It was creating a movie scene with movement, and the whole thing moved, and people were coming down from the sky, flying.
[00:40:02] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:40:02] Speaker B: And she'd get him up there. It was so violent and so something.
[00:40:08] Speaker A: You would never be there.
[00:40:10] Speaker B: I know, but when I tell you, it was so fun to play her and present it to her and to do something so different, but it was pure character and feeling based, which you do understand. And I loved that there wasn't a dance break.
[00:40:30] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:40:30] Speaker B: There was staging and prop work and the timing of when people came in and how.
[00:40:38] Speaker A: So it was motivation for everything. Everything. Very strongly motivated.
[00:40:42] Speaker B: That's right. So even in.
I utilize those skills in any dance that I make because I don't think it needs to all be everybody moving in unison, like the break of it all.
How about an acting break? How about a break? How about a break from the dance? And then, like, ooh, what else? What can we say with just our. Our head, our posture, our shoulder, the subtleties of all of that she really jammed on. And again, that's been something I've learned so much from her.
And to not be devastated when something doesn't work.
[00:41:29] Speaker A: When somebody says that doesn't work.
[00:41:30] Speaker B: Okay. What didn't work for you? Or do you have a reference of something that you would like to see? Asking the questions so that you can make improvements immediately and not feel burned.
[00:41:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:41:43] Speaker B: And then also knowing when to fight for certain things that you're.
[00:41:48] Speaker A: I was gonna ask, do you have a. Like. I like to have, like, a checklist. If this and this and this, then I stay and fight, but if it's only one of those, then sure. Yeah. Go ahead. Take this one. Do you have, like, a protocol or a way of making that call?
[00:42:05] Speaker B: My gut, my instinct.
[00:42:06] Speaker A: Just tune in.
[00:42:07] Speaker B: No, no.
Read the room and know if your fight is worth it, if it is a worthy fight. And also, you can try. And if it still gets pushback, you know that you tried.
[00:42:23] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:42:23] Speaker B: And you said your piece, and sometimes later, like, see?
And that's okay, because we're all learning. Everybody's doing their best and trying to put forth their opinion, and we have all got different taste, so it's kind of like, who's in charge? They get the final call, ultimately.
[00:42:42] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:42:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:42:44] Speaker A: I can't remember what pedal I wanted to pedal down next.
[00:42:47] Speaker B: Which pedal? Which loop de loop?
[00:42:49] Speaker A: Oh. Oh, I've got it. I've got to remember, bring it. So I think subtlety is something you do very well. I would have never thought to cast you in the role of choreographer for anything that involves a gun.
[00:43:02] Speaker B: I know, I know. But this was co choreographed with Matt Cady.
[00:43:07] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:43:07] Speaker B: I wanted.
[00:43:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:43:08] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:43:08] Speaker A: Okay. Yes.
[00:43:09] Speaker B: Experience was with Matt, and I was playing her, and he was so.
[00:43:15] Speaker A: I mean, he's so good. Yeah, he's so good.
[00:43:18] Speaker B: The fun that we had in going. What are we doing choreographing this?
We just giggled our way through it.
[00:43:25] Speaker A: And then I can imagine him trying to be a bad guy.
Motel burglar. So good at it.
[00:43:31] Speaker B: Oh, that is.
[00:43:32] Speaker A: He's so good.
[00:43:33] Speaker B: Creme de la creme. Character work.
[00:43:35] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:43:36] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:43:37] Speaker A: Love you, boo. Coming for you. Who wants to be in that chair? For sure.
[00:43:40] Speaker B: Yes. Cui.
[00:43:41] Speaker A: Okay, so my question is, are there any other gigs that you have found yourself? Like, actually, I will tell you, Dominique Kelly was here earlier, and we talked about you, and he said, I think of Megan as being really good with hands. Like, if there's hands. And I was like, yes, and handshakes. I think you're good. Is there something that you find people call you for that surprises you, where you're like, really? You think I'm that guy? Okay, sure.
[00:44:08] Speaker B: I mean, probably a dozen handshake dances for commercials or a music video or something. You're so right.
Yeah. Something with the hands.
The three weeds. We really enjoy a little.
[00:44:27] Speaker A: We love hand tickle. Hand tickle.
Well, we all three love nuance. We all three love details, and we all three love communication gesture. Hello. I am rocked by how little communication happens on people's faces and in their hands these days. Yeah, I agree. That's where I went through a whole multiple hour shift at nationals, where nearly an expression was made that's called board core. People look bored. And I have been some people more expressive up here. And I've been giving the note lately after the very good advice from a vocal coach of mine. I was struggling to belly breathe, and she told me, put a face, like, with your mind. Put a face down here in your pelvis, and then take a breath. And I did, and I was like, whoa. That. So lately, I've been telling people to put faces on their hands, communicate with your face hands. Use your hands like you would use your face. But that analogy doesn't work if people are already. Aren't good at using their faces to express. So I do. I think we three are good hands communicators and face communicators. I have gotten the note. Can you be less?
[00:45:45] Speaker B: Your face is just really.
[00:45:46] Speaker A: Can you just, like, try to not. And. Whoa, that's a hard. It's hard to get notes about your face, period.
[00:45:51] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:45:52] Speaker A: But do less than I was all in my head about it.
[00:45:55] Speaker B: Like, is the framing tight? I wish I don't. Then I would have done less.
[00:45:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I will do less, but, like, be deadpan is not something I'm able to do very well. Dance without expression. I'm bad at.
[00:46:07] Speaker B: I mean.
[00:46:08] Speaker A: Oh, it's hard. It's hard for me.
[00:46:11] Speaker B: You are the. You are just exude joy and feeling and face shapes. And face shapes.
[00:46:20] Speaker A: Yeah, face feelings.
[00:46:21] Speaker B: Face feelings.
[00:46:22] Speaker A: Yeah, I do.
[00:46:22] Speaker B: Yes. I love this about you. I wouldn't change it for the world.
[00:46:27] Speaker A: Thank you. I'm glad I found my place where that is. Welcome and encouraged. With the seaweed sisters, we definitely have.
[00:46:35] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:46:35] Speaker A: We're leaning into all of the discovery of emotions at all times.
[00:46:39] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:46:39] Speaker A: Tiny girl.
[00:46:40] Speaker B: Are you one of tiny girl? Oh, she's like mama. Oh, nice.
Quick little flash.
[00:46:47] Speaker A: Okay, okay.
[00:46:48] Speaker B: Thank you, Dom.
[00:46:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:46:49] Speaker B: Yes. I love a hand gesture. Just got back from Italy where I could just. People watch all day the way that they express in their posture and face and hands.
[00:47:00] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:47:01] Speaker B: Be still my heart, my communication, expression, heart.
One job comes to mind when you say, huh, really? You want me for this? Okay, cool. This was one of my favorite gigs, the directorial Sam Brown, and it was jump rope. It was an AirPods commercial featuring master double dutch artists. Yeah, that's a thing. Yeah. Internationally incredible.
There are competitions, there's whole cultures and showcases and. Yeah, we had a, we had a time and I really learned so much. And in that case, again, it's not about dance. Eights. There are eight counts.
[00:47:54] Speaker A: Yeah, there's. Yeah.
[00:47:55] Speaker B: Damian Gomez, he assisted me on this and we, we really worked our crafting. Timing was important.
[00:48:06] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:48:07] Speaker B: Because we went scene by scene and it is very specific. Sam goes in with a plan and we execute that exact plan and within that we could play and bring versions. And again, it comes down to leadership and taste. And it's okay if I've never actually had any double dutch experience.
The artists that we hired did.
[00:48:32] Speaker A: Right.
[00:48:32] Speaker B: And they have not had any choreography experience in the sense of like, putting something like this together and how it all is stitched. So that was one of my favorite jobs. We were in Mexico City and watching Sam work and these incredible artists that just are in there dancing while letting that rope skip under their feet. I'm sure people have seen this pop up on their gram. I hope they have, because it's very impressive. Very impressive. I am impressed by this.
[00:49:12] Speaker A: Really impressed by that.
[00:49:14] Speaker B: And with feeling.
[00:49:15] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:49:16] Speaker B: And they're having a time.
[00:49:17] Speaker A: Yes.
Multiplicity.
[00:49:19] Speaker B: Yeah. I think that one was an unexpected one.
[00:49:23] Speaker A: Cool. Are you ready for final portion? Since wrist roll has clearly decided that she's on her feet and ready to go.
[00:49:28] Speaker B: Let's do it.
[00:49:29] Speaker A: You ready for wrist roll with it?
[00:49:30] Speaker B: Wrist.
[00:49:30] Speaker A: Oh.
[00:49:30] Speaker B: Wrist roll with it. Okay.
[00:49:31] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. This is rapid fire burnout round. Ready?
[00:49:34] Speaker B: I think so.
[00:49:35] Speaker A: Okay. Just go with your. This is your daily practice of following your guts. Okay. Yes. We're gonna start easy, and then we'll get a little bit more complicated.
[00:49:44] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:49:45] Speaker A: Coffee or tea?
[00:49:46] Speaker B: Matcha.
[00:49:47] Speaker A: Nice.
Morning person, night person.
[00:49:52] Speaker B: Morning. Mmm.
[00:49:54] Speaker A: Dog. Person. Cat.
[00:49:55] Speaker B: Person, dog. But I do love cats.
[00:49:57] Speaker A: I know, I know.
[00:49:58] Speaker B: But dogs.
[00:49:59] Speaker A: Sneakers or sandals?
Do you like that? Heels weren't even an option.
[00:50:05] Speaker B: I know, I'm like, sandals.
[00:50:07] Speaker A: Sandals.
[00:50:07] Speaker B: That's so funny.
[00:50:08] Speaker A: Is it that front of mind? Because I just threw away my crock flops. Cause those fuckers have almost killed me now several times. I got rid of them.
[00:50:17] Speaker B: I mean, my sneakers for some things. And I need my flip flops.
[00:50:21] Speaker A: How about in class a? Are you a soccer sneakers?
[00:50:25] Speaker B: I have a Morton's neuroma on my right toe. That's right. It's painful for you would prefer to dance in bare feet? Always. But I wear. Oh, this is good because Apollo socks, the concussion socks. Shout out, Apollo. I love you. Apolla makes, like, several different heights of socks. And they are the only socks they dance in because they help my pinched nerve to not hurt when I dance in them. So socks all the way, they also come in, like some grippy and some slippery. So I have both, depending on the floor. Cause all floors are not created equal.
[00:51:00] Speaker A: And not all combos are created equal. Needs of shifting weight quickly and.
[00:51:05] Speaker B: Exactly. Yeah.
Sandals. Sneakers sucks.
[00:51:08] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:51:09] Speaker B: I love that.
[00:51:10] Speaker A: I recently played a game of this or that, and I was always like, is there another option? I don't think either of those. That's okay. Okay. Is there a move that you would delete from dance? Like, you would never have to do it again and you would never see someone do it again.
[00:51:26] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. This one.
[00:51:30] Speaker A: To the floor.
The patellar smash with the offering and the patella smash.
[00:51:37] Speaker B: And then landing on the knee and probably rolling on your back. But it makes me so nervous and uncomfortable, and I don't think it needs to be done.
[00:51:47] Speaker A: Ever.
[00:51:48] Speaker B: No.
[00:51:48] Speaker A: Ever.
[00:51:49] Speaker B: And it's like a parallel stag it's.
[00:51:51] Speaker A: A strange move, and it is always.
[00:51:53] Speaker B: Coming with strangers, always emotional, offering.
[00:51:57] Speaker A: It's like simultaneously asking for help, but also making a terrible claim.
[00:52:02] Speaker B: Like you.
[00:52:03] Speaker A: Oh, man. I don't know what it can mean.
[00:52:05] Speaker B: What is it called? Does it have a name, this move?
It can go.
[00:52:10] Speaker A: It can go.
[00:52:11] Speaker B: It doesn't need to happen for that. Yep.
[00:52:13] Speaker A: How about a move you really want to see more of?
[00:52:20] Speaker B: How about just a pas de beret?
[00:52:22] Speaker A: Yeah. I love them.
[00:52:24] Speaker B: We're on the pod pas de beret.
[00:52:28] Speaker A: You know what we.
The seaweed sister. Come on. The seaweed sister should have a spin off podcast. It's called Pod de Beret because one, two, three is how many steps there are in a pas de beret.
[00:52:41] Speaker B: Come on.
[00:52:42] Speaker A: It's a pas de. We'll wear berets the whole time.
[00:52:44] Speaker B: Adorable.
[00:52:44] Speaker A: Just show up, let you know what's up, and then bid you adieu. I love adieu to you and you three again. Okay. I know good things in threes. Yeah. Do you have a default step? A step that you use a lot or default to like?
[00:52:59] Speaker B: I used to. I really love like a fan kick or an illusion. Like. I know. And they're similar. One's like up, one's upside down.
[00:53:08] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:53:08] Speaker B: And one into the other.
[00:53:10] Speaker A: Gorgeous composition 360.
[00:53:13] Speaker B: That was always like something that felt like one of my tricks and some. It was so easy and luxury. So luxurious.
[00:53:22] Speaker A: Magoof your legs go.
[00:53:23] Speaker B: It's been a while. I wouldn't say that would be my go to move today. Like at a wedding, if that's where I'm dancing.
Yeah, probably.
I actually really love to watch others. Yes.
[00:53:37] Speaker A: And do their dance afterwards.
[00:53:39] Speaker B: Do whatever they're doing to them.
[00:53:41] Speaker A: Do you know who else is really good at this?
[00:53:43] Speaker B: I just love the way that the.
[00:53:45] Speaker A: Things move, that normal people move.
[00:53:47] Speaker B: Love normal people.
[00:53:48] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:53:49] Speaker B: Yes. I really, really love.
[00:53:51] Speaker A: Teresa Espinosa used to do that at an olympic level, but she would do it without them noticing that that's what she was doing.
You could dance for hours.
[00:54:03] Speaker B: That's right. I'm not. And it's not mocking. Maybe she did it in a battle type of form. I mean, she's so good.
But I really. It's not a mocking of this person. It is like a game. Like, this is fun or, you know, nieces.
[00:54:19] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:54:20] Speaker B: Big inspiration. I'm like, I want to. I want to do that. I want to do that move. What are you even doing? I want to try.
[00:54:26] Speaker A: What are the mechanics of that? Let me try. So good. Okay. Is there a song that you think is just so good that you could never touch it, never choreographed to it, ever.
[00:54:41] Speaker B: A song that I love so much that I use for warm up. Or I'll just play it dance tonight by Lucy Pearl. I don't think I ever need. I will always dance to it, but I don't think I will ever make up a dance.
[00:54:56] Speaker A: I love that answer.
[00:54:58] Speaker B: I love it so much.
[00:55:00] Speaker A: I love that answer.
[00:55:01] Speaker B: It feels like home, that song.
[00:55:03] Speaker A: Good one.
[00:55:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:55:04] Speaker A: What about an album that you would listen to bring with you on a like, you know that you're gonna be stranded on the island, so you bring.
[00:55:12] Speaker B: It with you probably like Sade lover's rock.
[00:55:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:55:18] Speaker B: On my own little island rock.
[00:55:20] Speaker A: We'll call your island lover's rock.
[00:55:24] Speaker B: I'm like.
[00:55:25] Speaker A: Or.
[00:55:27] Speaker B: Dance apocalypse.
[00:55:29] Speaker A: Oh.
[00:55:29] Speaker B: Janelle Monae, Archandroid.
[00:55:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:55:31] Speaker B: Janelle Monae.
[00:55:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:55:32] Speaker B: This is one of my favorite albums.
[00:55:33] Speaker A: Oh, my God, it's so good.
[00:55:34] Speaker B: And that has range. So that would maybe be a bit more.
[00:55:38] Speaker A: That's wise.
[00:55:38] Speaker B: Some upbeat moments. That's right. For the solo time on the island. Love that.
[00:55:44] Speaker A: Okay, final question. You ready for it?
[00:55:45] Speaker B: Bring it.
[00:55:46] Speaker A: What are the words that move you?
A mantra, guiding principle, haiku or just words?
[00:55:54] Speaker B: Yeah. One day at a time. I take great comfort and encouragement forward momentum with one day at a time.
[00:56:08] Speaker A: Oh, I love that thought. Thank you for this reminder also.
[00:56:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:56:11] Speaker A: Because in the midst of the summer moments, right now, it can be easy for me to think of like the summer. But when I think about today, today's awesome.
[00:56:19] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:56:20] Speaker A: Tomorrow gonna be awesome.
[00:56:22] Speaker B: It's also tomorrow. Yeah. All we have is now. And so, yes, plan ahead, think about it, but mostly feel about right now. What is the next thing? One thing. One day it'll all unfold as it will.
[00:56:40] Speaker A: Thank you, my lady.
[00:56:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:56:41] Speaker A: Needed that reminder. And love and cherish you so much. Those were wonderful. Wonderful.
[00:56:46] Speaker B: They should have produced your boo.
[00:56:50] Speaker A: Those were wonderful stories, some of which I was hearing for the first time, which means I know you'll be hearing them for the first time. So thank you for coming.
[00:56:58] Speaker B: My pleasure, Will. So thanks for having me.
[00:57:01] Speaker A: You sparkle and I'm so grateful to call you misses. Duh.
[00:57:05] Speaker B: A treat.
[00:57:05] Speaker A: A treat and a delight. Yes, you also are a treat and delight. Thank you for being here, listening, watching, get out there into the world, keep it funky and also subscribe, smash the likes, leave a review or rating and I'll be back later. 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 Breetz, 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 wordsthatmoveme.com. if you're simply curious to know more about me and the work I do outside of this podcast, visit thedanawilson.com dot.
