Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
This is words that move me. Welcome, my friend. You are in for such a sweet treat today. My guest is the one and only Zoe Anderson, who is phenomenally talented. She's crazy. She's so good, I don't think I've said the word undeniable talent. That's two words in an interview so often it's I. It's like every other thing that comes out of my mouth. She's a Clive Barnes Award winner, she's a Bessie Award nominee, she is decorated, she is touted, but she's still one of the best kept secrets of the dance world. And I'm thrilled to introduce her to you. I'm also thrilled to talk to her about the solo of hers that changed my life. And I've never said that a solo changed my life unless it was my solo, in which case shout out Nina McNeely, graduating year senior solo. While all of the other dancing were dancing to some Papa, can you hear me? And. And I'm dancing to AFX twin with a typewriter and paper and I'm tearing it and I'm crumpling it, I'm throwing it and I have mascara down my face and I'm wearing just tatters.
There's just drama. So that changed my life. And then Zoe's solo also changed my life. Choreographed by David Parsons. It's definitely the best thing I've ever seen on an NYCDA stage and maybe, maybe any stage. So you're gonna hear me talk about that number. You're gonna hear about her experiences growing up a convention kid getting into ballroom and how that has influenced her TR into Marymount Manhattan and with a scholarship and becoming a full fledged star and an expert at cross training.
But first, we're going to do some wins. Today I am celebrating the one and only Jackie Sleight giving me a phone call.
I can't, I can't tell you how exciting this phone call is. If you don't know Jackie Sleight, you actually do know Jackie Sleight, even if you think you don't, because she either taught you or she taught your teacher or she taught your teacher's teacher or somebody who taught your teacher or you've seen her choreography somewhere.
She is like the eighth wonder of the world. Jackie Slide is incredible.
She is currently the founder and co director of LA Jazz Company and has asked me to choreograph a piece on the company. So that's my win. I'm stoked about it. That starts pretty soon. Actually. I should be preparing like right now. I'LL go prepare while you tell me your win. But I really want you to say it out loud or whisper it. You can whisper it. That's except exceptional also.
I mean, that's acceptable.
[00:02:50] Speaker B: Yay.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: Congratulations. I'm so glad you're winning. I'm rooting for you.
Now let's get into it. This episode is about training to be successful. It's about training to push yourself. It's about training to be fulfilled.
My God, this makes me want to go for a run, actually. Enjoy the one and only Zoe Anderson.
She's a runner.
Words that move me. Zoe Anderson, welcome to the podcast. Thank you.
Thank you for reaching out. You don't come to LA that often, huh? You live in New York.
[00:03:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:32] Speaker A: Grateful that you reached out because I'm a huge, huge fan of yours and I want the world to know it. I think you, I mean, you, you're a celebrated, decorated dancer. You've won stuff. But I do think you're like one of the best kept secrets that I know about and I really like turning people on to new dancers, so. And you're not new. Like, you've been doing this. You've been a member of Parsons dance for 10 years. Yes. I think you are a seasoned veteran on stage.
That's French for stage.
[00:04:05] Speaker B: I love that.
[00:04:06] Speaker A: Truly my favorite thing that has ever happened on a New York City Dance alliance stage and maybe any stage. It's like, definitely top five.
Was you doing this solo a couple years back called Khat. And I just, I think the world of your dancing. I want to know everything about that solo and everything that came before and everything that you're excited about coming in the future. I love it. But first, I'll let you get a word in. How about that?
[00:04:34] Speaker B: No, you're good.
[00:04:35] Speaker A: Introduce yourself. I always have all my guests introduce themselves. Whatever you want us to know about you.
[00:04:40] Speaker B: Perfect. Well, my name is Zoe Anderson and I grew up in Utah.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: And you are a light bulb and I love you. So bright. But that comes in later.
[00:04:50] Speaker B: Okay, keep going. Yeah, yeah, we get. Oh, yes. We are touching on lightly.
So I grew up doing convention competition dance.
Obviously made amazing connections with Jolentiri nycda and I trained all styles. I just kind of like was thrown into every style possible, I think through.
[00:05:10] Speaker A: A dance studio environment. Right.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: Through a dance studio. Trained at center stage in Provo and loved all of that. Also paired that with ballroom.
[00:05:18] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:05:19] Speaker B: Which we can't forget.
[00:05:20] Speaker A: We love it because you're a ballroom. A smooth national. Smooth national. Okay. National, smooth champion. Not national, smooth criminal. But National Smooth Champion, I love it.
Which is ridiculous and very cool that you were exposed to that at a young age.
I. Yeah, that was not available to me on my come up. And now every time I see it, I'm just envious. It's so attractive to me.
[00:05:43] Speaker B: Yes. I always try and tell everyone they have to dabble for a minute in their lives with ballroom.
[00:05:48] Speaker A: Just give it a chance.
[00:05:49] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:05:50] Speaker A: Oh.
[00:05:51] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It gives you so much.
[00:05:54] Speaker A: Yes. I. I have a big love in my heart for that. So I know that center stage was always good at having that. It's baked in like you guys compete.
[00:06:03] Speaker B: Part of it. Competing.
[00:06:04] Speaker A: But did you seek ballroom outside of your studio life?
[00:06:09] Speaker B: I found like my ballroom partner through center stage. And so from there we would compete and just kept going and would travel and do it all over the world. It was incredible. So, yes.
[00:06:20] Speaker A: I sort of feel like you and I missed each other in the New York City dance alone space because I graduated high school in 2004. Shut up. I know what you're thinking. Don't worry about it. It's fine.
[00:06:31] Speaker B: All fine.
[00:06:32] Speaker A: It's fine. And then I didn't start teaching for NYCDA until 2009. 10 or 1011 season. Yeah. And you graduated what year?
[00:06:43] Speaker B: High school in 2011.
[00:06:45] Speaker A: Okay.
So were you competing? Did you. You might have been competing the year that. My first year, maybe. And you were awarded some college scholarship money?
[00:06:55] Speaker B: Yes. And that took you to Marymount Manhattan College. Very nice. Always, forever, forever grateful.
[00:07:01] Speaker A: Utah girl packs your bags, lands in New York City.
[00:07:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:04] Speaker A: What happened?
[00:07:05] Speaker B: Moved, went to Marymount Manhattan, had an amazing college experience. Like, it set me up for everything that I am and I'm doing today. It's forever grateful for that school had amazing training and also got to keep developing my education, which, you know, was so important.
[00:07:22] Speaker A: You have your BFA in ballet.
[00:07:23] Speaker B: BFA in ballet? Yes.
[00:07:26] Speaker A: What's that like, by the way? Like, how many hours a day are we talking? Really?
[00:07:29] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness. So I would start at like 8 and do all my dance classes and then I would have courses that would go till 10pm Academic stuff. Academics, okay. Yep.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:07:39] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:07:40] Speaker A: And does Marymount do homework? Like, do you have homework?
[00:07:45] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: Okay, so when does sleep happen and. Or is social life.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Remember?
[00:07:50] Speaker A: I think this didn't go to college for anything. I almost said I didn't go to college.
I didn't go to college for a coffee. I didn't go. I love it. So.
[00:07:59] Speaker B: I love it.
[00:08:00] Speaker A: Where does sleep come? I mean, I guess one of the major skills that you had to learn is time budgeting.
[00:08:04] Speaker B: Time budgeting 100%. Honestly, I kind of just like leaned into the chaos. I became from a young age very good at little sleep, school, homework, balancing everything.
I also would come to la, actually, a lot when I was younger. I had an agent out here and I would do different gigs and auditions, and my dad was so amazing and would fly me out whenever I got a gig. My schooling would just be kind of like on the back burner, but I would do it. But I was able to put kind of my dreams and my dance first.
And I'm so thankful.
[00:08:40] Speaker A: Shout out to supportive papa bears out there. Can we talk about that? That's beautiful. Thank you for sharing that.
[00:08:44] Speaker B: Yeah, of course.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: Normalize, normalize. Supportive dads.
Okay, so you get to Marymount, Manhattan, you log some serious hours at the bar. Not that one, the other one.
[00:08:58] Speaker B: Definitely ballet.
[00:08:59] Speaker A: Definitely Demi. Demi Grand.
[00:09:00] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:09:01] Speaker A: I'm assuming you're doing many shows per year. I'm assuming that they have scouts from companies and stuff. So you're pretty well connected through school, you graduate.
[00:09:12] Speaker B: Yep. Well, speaking of, you know, pretty well connected.
Parsons Dance, the company I have been with was my home, my life, everything I've known.
Came to Marymount to do their summer intensive there. And so Katie Langan, the director at the time, was like, hold on, this company is you in a nutshell. Energy, athleticism, light, joy, like hunger. And she's like, you need to come to this summer program. Okay, did it. Fell in love.
[00:09:39] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:09:40] Speaker B: Connected immediately with the work. And so I went every year until I graduated. And then it was just like stars aligned, a girl was leaving, I just got plucked right in, started a week later and here I am.
[00:09:53] Speaker A: Okay, so that's kind of an outlier type story, I'm guessing.
Here's something I find very interesting.
A lot of people spend their pre professional years trying to learn how to be professional. How do I audition? Do I need to get an agent? How am I going to do this? And I'm like, maybe redirect some of that energy and attention on becoming undeniable, untouchable talent.
And then like, the gigs will align, the places, the puzzle pieces will fall into place.
Not that you don't need to know how to network or have an agent or want to have those conversations, but I get. I used to get this question a lot, like, what do you think I should dye my hair? Do you think it's bad to have tattoos? A lot of questions about aesthetic. And I'm like, I think you want to Be the person who gets hired. And then we change your hair color after you're booked because we can't not have you.
[00:10:51] Speaker B: There you go.
[00:10:52] Speaker A: Or I did an Amazon prime commercial a long time ago with one of my favorite B boys, and he's tattooed like, neck to fingertips.
And they made a shirt for him to cover his whole self, like a custom shirt, instead of taking all that time and makeup every day.
[00:11:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:11] Speaker A: If you are undeniable, if you are the only person who has these skills, then you will be working.
I mean, yes, knowing how to the other parts are important, but, man, having undeniable talent is a really good start.
[00:11:22] Speaker B: Oh, yes.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: And I definitely put you on that list.
[00:11:25] Speaker B: So thank you.
[00:11:26] Speaker A: Back to the no sleep part. Have you always been an Energizer Bunny? You feel like you operate at very high wattage?
[00:11:34] Speaker B: I do.
[00:11:34] Speaker A: Am I on target?
[00:11:35] Speaker B: You are on target. So what that means is I'm on 100 or I'm on zero.
[00:11:39] Speaker A: Copy. Oh, we get both.
[00:11:41] Speaker B: We get both. So I would be lying if I said I'm 100 all the time, right? No. I have my days and my time that I plan out that it is antisocial. It is sleep 13, 15 hours and really just take the time for myself. Recharge, reset. So then the 100 can happen for, like, the rest of the six days in the week.
[00:12:02] Speaker A: Yeah. So that's.
[00:12:04] Speaker B: I have my, like, plan of how to navigate 0 and 100 at the same time.
[00:12:08] Speaker A: That's very important.
[00:12:09] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:09] Speaker A: Thank you for. For shining a light on having dark moments as well.
[00:12:14] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:12:15] Speaker A: I want to jump back to supportive dad because we have not yet shouted out your sister Gracie.
[00:12:20] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: Gracie, who is a coworker of mine now, is a former student of mine from. At the dance club in Utah. And she has grown up to do some really incredible things.
Dance captain for the touring Broadway cast of Cats. On and on and on. Every time I see her on convention weekend, she's doing vocal warmups. She's rehearsing a new song. We're getting her monologue together because she's got a great audition.
How much of this comes from the support that you guys had on the come up?
[00:12:51] Speaker B: So my parents were both in the arts and dancers and singers. And you know what? That just like automatically kind of was just a fortunate thing.
They did the holding themselves. My mom lived in New York City. She was a dancer. She, my dad, singer, was on a young ambassadors at BYU in Utah, dancing. And so their whole upbringing was that umbrella of arts. And so they had nothing but Advice and support to give us.
[00:13:18] Speaker A: Yo, call me dim, call me a half wit, but what I'm feeling right now is like, holy shit. The people that tell their kids to become lawyers are not the people who were artists. They're the people who didn't follow art. And they followed. They went into a career that they hated. And so they're trying to tell their kid, like, choose the safe path so you don't have to hate your life. Because they think money is the answer to that, to not hating their lives, which, spoiler alert, you can have a lot of money and hate your life.
And I love my life and I have money and I do my art for full freaking time.
So I want to see more families with lineage of successful artists like you and your family have. Have. Have begun.
[00:14:04] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:14:04] Speaker A: Have a lot of babies. Go ahead. Just go ahead, populate.
[00:14:09] Speaker B: Whole. Whole cities, whole communities, New world out.
[00:14:12] Speaker A: Listen, I don't know about you, but I am on the not interested in babies page.
It's okay. You don't have to answer, but you're feeling.
[00:14:21] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. It's as an artist, as a dancer, my body is my, like, work and my job and my. My life. And so it is a little bit daunting to think about.
[00:14:30] Speaker A: Oh, it's terrifying. I am terr. I don't like it. Oh, I cringe, like. Oh. Everything in me tightens when I think about birth.
I don't even like being full. I can't imagine.
I can't. I just. It's not for me. And that is.
[00:14:47] Speaker B: And that is. Okay.
[00:14:48] Speaker A: I've got a real cute fur baby over there.
[00:14:50] Speaker B: That is your baby.
[00:14:51] Speaker A: Okay, so Parsons Dance was formed by David Parsons and a partner of his who's actually a lighting designer.
[00:14:57] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:14:58] Speaker A: The most interesting work that I've ever seen is this solo that you did on our NYCDA gala stage. The. The solo is called Caught. And please explain it to us better than I would be about to right now.
[00:15:12] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:15:13] Speaker A: This.
[00:15:13] Speaker B: This is something other than dance.
[00:15:15] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:15:16] Speaker B: So it just straight up is illusion and it is magic. And so I always like to pose the question, you know, who here listening or in life wants to fly? Dreams of flying. That you know. Yes. All hands go up, I'm sure. Every time. And so it is this idea that we get to actually defy gravity and levitate and create this illusion for the audience. So what that looks like. And I don't always share all of the secrets, so there will be a hidden part to it, but it is this beautiful duet between myself and the lighting and the whole place goes.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: Or the absence of lighting.
[00:15:54] Speaker B: There we go.
Exactly. So you are. It's a strobe light effect.
[00:16:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:00] Speaker B: And light moves in such a quick timing, total burst, literally, your eyes don't have time to adjust to the reality of what you're seeing.
So I'm doing over 112. We'll say it changes depends of jumps in five minutes. Basically less than five minutes. Because the first part is, like, me on the ground moving.
And so basically all you see is just me never touching the ground.
[00:16:29] Speaker A: She's flying for five minutes, you guys.
A body suspended in space in a black void for five minutes. And it's riveting. And I must. It must be so hard.
[00:16:42] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness.
[00:16:43] Speaker A: Is it the hardest thing that you've done? I mean, I think Parsons dance is famous for really athletic, really challenging stuff. Oh, yes, we will. I do also want to talk about the other one, the power. What is it called? Balance of power, which is also. We'll get there.
[00:16:57] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:16:58] Speaker A: Is it the hardest thing or is it like. Actually there's some time to breathe and if you put your energy in the right places, it's kind of chill or. No.
[00:17:08] Speaker B: So oddly enough, if you're asking me the question today, it is not the hardest thing. And I actually feel like a rock star. And that I'm able to say confidently that, like, it's pretty chill. Like, I'm just like, I'm found.
I found it. But I've been doing it for nine years. So you kind of have to put that into perspective and understand that. Okay.
[00:17:29] Speaker A: Do you dance it? You must.
How do you dance it differently now versus at the beginning?
[00:17:35] Speaker B: Yes. So at the beginning, I was just like. Came out of college, was just focused on dance, not cross training, not, you know, any kind of way to get myself, my stamina and my physical mental. I mean, all of it comes into play, but I kind of was just more focused on, like, movement and dance.
[00:17:55] Speaker A: Yes, yes.
[00:17:56] Speaker B: But this piece is going to require you to be running on the treadmill, doing resistance training, working your jumps, your ballon, the way you use your feet in the floor. I could give you a whole laundry list of things that suddenly I never really thought about and focused on.
[00:18:13] Speaker A: Even in four years of BFA ballet.
[00:18:16] Speaker B: Yes.
So it really took a year to adjust the eyes to the strobe because you're on stage and you don't see where the wings are. So I was like, hitting wings. You can't, you know, you can't connect. You get lost.
So it at first is intimidating and isn't as magical for you because you are just in this, like, fight or.
[00:18:38] Speaker A: Fight in the technical space. Like, I have to just technically get through it.
[00:18:41] Speaker B: Yes. So, like, the biggest joy and the greatest moment and hump that I was able to get over was that next year, and after putting in so much physical work outside of my work hours, my 10 to 5 in the studio, it was more important, like, how much sleep I got, how much water, my nutrition, my workouts, that worked for me. And so it's just taken a lot of time to find that. But now the routine is there, and I can just go out and do this thing in a blink of an eye. So it's really exciting.
[00:19:12] Speaker A: Okay. The only thing I can compare this to probably, is some Justin Timberlake choreography that I've danced a hundred times more. Way, way. Like, I genuinely wish I knew the number of times I have, like, I loved you'd. Like, I've loved you.
And it's. It's gotta be in the thousands of hours, probably because of all the rehearsing and all the learning and then all the performing stuff. At the beginning, my mind was focused on my body.
My elbow here, my weight here, my shift here.
And now when I dance it, it's almost anywhere. But, yeah, it's on you, it's on them, it's on whatever I'm dancing. My imagination.
My mentor, who I was telling you about earlier, Tony Basil, who is a podcast guest now, I'm able to say that finally, she used to pretend to be the devil or pretend to be a cheerleader or pretend to be a housewife or pretend to be whatever. And I. Eventually, I would set a goal for myself at the beginning of a show, you know, who am I tonight? Or what is my desired outcome tonight? And sometimes it would be to, like, inspire someone in the audience to want to become a dancer someday or to be the envy of.
Of some couple in the front row or something. You know, like, there's, like, these little background thoughts that you can, I think, only entertain.
[00:20:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:48] Speaker A: Once the laundry list is checked.
[00:20:49] Speaker B: Yeah. There's an order to the madness.
[00:20:52] Speaker A: So are you indulging stylistically in it now? Is there even room for stylistic indulgence in that solo?
[00:20:57] Speaker B: Yes. So I think, in general, like, David Parsons work, fortunately, matches me so well because he gives you the freedom and to do what you feel that night, what you want to do with that movement. So anyone who's done this in the past, it will never look exactly like that. So if we speak to what the Choreography looks like before I start the flying, the magic I am, you know, on the ground getting into different pools of light to start showcasing what that kind of means and just slowly introducing the audience to light. And, you know, there's a physical thing that happens when there's the pool of light and you reach into it and you see the light start to shine on your skin, from fingertips up to the palm every time. It's the most simple kind of movement that I feel. And then, of course, hopefully, then the audience is gonna feel because it's real for you. And so the movement becomes less about how many turns, how high is my leg, it's more about the experience and what the light is making me feel that night.
[00:21:57] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:21:58] Speaker B: And then that kind of just like describes what that looks like. I mean, sometimes I change the choreo a little bit or, I don't know, I just kind of get into, like, that idea of what light can do to the body.
[00:22:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:10] Speaker B: I love what you said earlier about Tony and how, you know, it would be a different story for him each night. And like yourself, you said that for you.
[00:22:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:19] Speaker B: This is the key and the golden ticket to pure artistry. Because I honestly can't tell you the last time I did one show or one solo, the same the next time I did it. And it is my, like, life goal to just find, even if it's just like my pinky that is activated in a different way. It just adds so much, like, depth and beauty to the movement and the experience.
[00:22:41] Speaker A: Well, let me tell you what. What you just said confirms the way I feel when I'm watching you dance. I feel like I'm very well cared for. Like I'm in the hands of a professional who could.
Who is at the command center of a micro adjustment, like a pinky finger, but also of some big, big earth shattering change, which is really. I sat and watched that number sitting next to Tony Testa.
[00:23:06] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:23:07] Speaker A: Previous podcast guest. And he was losing his shit.
And this is not a person who's easily impressed.
[00:23:16] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:23:18] Speaker A: And, yeah, he was absolutely rocked. And. And there is phenomenal dancing all night long. Our gala night is, oh, my gosh, truly remarkable.
And at the end of the show, he looked at me, he was like, I can't believe that.
[00:23:30] Speaker B: So solo.
[00:23:31] Speaker A: Oh, what was that? And after the show, I was like, I need to find you immediately. And here we are finally talking about it all these years later.
[00:23:39] Speaker B: I love it. It's amazing.
[00:23:41] Speaker A: So, okay. Very cool. Also, I'm interested in technical meets personal and heartful I love that combination of both.
When you talk about bringing your style and kind of adjusting or changing choreography.
Let's now talk about. What's it called? Power.
[00:23:59] Speaker B: Balance of power.
[00:24:00] Speaker A: Balance of power.
I see in that. In your. So it's a duet between you and a male counterpart.
[00:24:09] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:24:09] Speaker A: And I take it to be about male, female. Power struggle or power imbalance, I'm gonna call it.
I'm sure he was lovely, but I could not stop watching you and your femininity, specifically. That piece was choreographed by David, I'm assuming.
[00:24:31] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:24:31] Speaker A: Who is a man.
[00:24:32] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:24:33] Speaker A: And I'm curious about how you received that movement information from him and made it something that was uniquely you, but also of a. Of a specific feminine energy that helped me feel represented on stage. It wasn't the color of woman that's painted in most music videos. It wasn't the color of woman that's painted in most contemporary work that I've seen. It was really different and very special. So I'm curious about how you made that together or if he authored that for you and how. And if you could just talk about that so that I stop fumbling, that would be great.
[00:25:14] Speaker B: Absolutely.
So David and I got in the studio right before the Pandemic hit.
[00:25:19] Speaker A: Oh, damn.
[00:25:20] Speaker B: And he was like, we've had all these years together. I love and respect you as a dancer and an artist. It's time you and I collaborate.
So here we go. I. To be honest, it's just as much me because he wanted that experience.
[00:25:35] Speaker A: No way this came from this guy. No.
[00:25:37] Speaker B: So he, like, literally gave me so much, you know, freedom, and that was just like, oh, my gosh, amazing. Of course, I love doing all the rep and the historical pieces that come from before I even was on. That's incredible. But I never actually, in my mind, thought that I would be, like, co collaborating, creating a piece for myself kind of as this, like, gift and celebration. And so at the time, we had another male dancer from the company in the space, and just he was new at the time, so he was like. David was like, let's have a male and a female in the space just to see what it looks like on a different body and perspective.
And it started being performed just as a solo, and he and I would kind of alternate it, and everyone would get into this, like, very interesting way. You know, it's so different the way they do it and what it looks like. And it became something that was really talked about and desired on, like, guesting gigs. And so I started traveling to different places to do this solo. And then we would do just, like, showings or more informal events, like someone's birthday party, you know, on the rooftop.
[00:26:46] Speaker A: Persons dance. Just birthdays.
[00:26:48] Speaker B: Oh, yes. You want me to come to a birthday party?
[00:26:52] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:26:53] Speaker B: I'm there.
[00:26:53] Speaker A: Which is crazy, actually, because NYCDA usually falls around July 4th.
[00:26:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:58] Speaker A: My birthday is July 21st.
[00:27:01] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:27:01] Speaker A: I mean.
[00:27:02] Speaker B: Yep. We can do. We can do.
[00:27:04] Speaker A: Oh, Italy.
[00:27:05] Speaker B: Yeah, we can come to Italy.
[00:27:08] Speaker A: Boohoo.
It's gonna be so hard for birthday.
[00:27:12] Speaker B: Sad birthday.
That's amazing.
[00:27:14] Speaker A: I know. It's fabulous.
[00:27:15] Speaker B: Love that.
[00:27:16] Speaker A: Okay. So informal. Some informal stuff.
[00:27:19] Speaker B: Yes. And they were like, okay, how do we make this more light so it's not someone, you know, in these bounces doing all these things that kind of can intimidate someone. Just feeling of 20 people in an apartment.
[00:27:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:30] Speaker B: And they're like, let's get both of you, the male and the female, to do it together at the same time. And it started in just kind of this easy way. We didn't choreograph it. We just did it side by side and kind of faced each other.
And then people started talking about how this thing actually is a little bit more exciting as a duet. Let's incorporate some lifts and show that power of strength and the balance that it takes between the lifter and the lift E. Because both are.
[00:27:59] Speaker A: You are so strong. Oh. Oh, she's lifting him, Y' all.
Cool. I'm so glad I asked. I mean, it is also a remarkable piece, but is just. That's it for me.
Yeah. Afterwards, I was just. I was like, this woman is absolutely untouchable. You. You. Phenomenal. Phenomenal. Insane. But very cool to hear. I. It's also an interesting thought that a duet could be less intimidating than a solo.
[00:28:30] Speaker B: Right.
[00:28:30] Speaker A: Like, when we're talking about something palatable to audiences.
Two more digestible than one.
[00:28:38] Speaker B: Isn't that interesting?
[00:28:40] Speaker A: It is.
[00:28:41] Speaker B: Yeah. That's what we found. So, like, a lot of these kind of gigs are now wanting two dancers. Like a paw or a contemporary duet or something. Isn't that. It's so intriguing.
[00:28:53] Speaker A: Yes.
Okay. Can we talk about your cross training regimen?
[00:29:00] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:29:01] Speaker A: Because it.
Second. Okay. First thought, undeniable, talented dancer. Like, one of the strongest dancers I've ever seen. Second thought, immediately following Olympic level athlete is what I'm watching. So it's nice to hear confirmation that that became a focus for you. Like, you're not a person who dances the way you dance because you've been dancing. You dance the way you dance because you cross train.
[00:29:27] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:29:27] Speaker A: Tell me a little bit about your regimen.
[00:29:29] Speaker B: Okay. Well, love, thank you for the compliment and thank you for the athletic Olympic, you know, kind of comparison because that means a lot because that's what I view this as. So cool.
[00:29:39] Speaker A: I mean, we could fight about like dancers are athletes. What do you mean? They're separate.
Yep.
I think so. I think dance is athletic, but the training is different.
[00:29:53] Speaker B: It is different.
[00:29:54] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:55] Speaker B: So of course I didn't feel I was prepared for this solo so I had to dive into other things and other ways. And I did look and start following Olympic runners.
[00:30:04] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:30:04] Speaker B: And kind of seeing like, what do they do.
[00:30:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:30:07] Speaker B: And the first thing I found was just the exhaustion that the body would have after jumping that many times. And you know, you have to take into account it's not just the one solo and you're done.
That's placed in like third or fourth in a six piece program that I'm in every piece.
So it's like we're just kind of adding layers that make it pretty hard and like the lactic acid buildup and.
[00:30:30] Speaker A: You know, chemical shit that you cannot get around. Yeah. There's no like mental dialogue that's going to get you pulled together.
[00:30:37] Speaker B: Yeah. It's the body reacting in a way that it will and it should. So basically I kind of looked to some athletes that do a lot of like lower leg heavy training and have to use that power a lot because I'm like, how do they like, like.
[00:30:51] Speaker A: Hurdlers or triple jump, Things like that? Okay.
[00:30:54] Speaker B: Any kind of running? Yeah. Jumping, running, anything.
[00:30:57] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:30:57] Speaker B: And I just kind of got my eye on it. I believe everyone is different, everyone's bodies are different, everyone's ways of training that work for them. You know, I'm not going to be the same as someone next to me. So I also didn't want to just follow someone's exact thing to the tee.
[00:31:13] Speaker A: Yeah. Jumping on the train.
[00:31:14] Speaker B: So I kind of played around with different ideas and different things. And for me, I came up with my own hiit interval training workout on a treadmill. And I just played around with like different speeds and different ways of like incline and everything.
[00:31:29] Speaker A: How does it go?
[00:31:29] Speaker B: Tell me how does it go so.
[00:31:30] Speaker A: That I can duplicate it exactly.
[00:31:32] Speaker B: This is the shit for everyone.
[00:31:34] Speaker A: You know, it's really funny.
I just this year have warmed to the thought that maybe someday I could become a person who might run.
[00:31:45] Speaker B: Love it.
[00:31:46] Speaker A: So that's a big.
[00:31:48] Speaker B: It's a giant stride. Yes. Good for you.
[00:31:50] Speaker A: For me, genuinely. It was in my wedding vows. Never run like that. Was a key life value of mine is not running. So the fact that I'm like warming towards the idea now says there's growth.
[00:32:02] Speaker B: Oh, that is.
[00:32:03] Speaker A: So anyways, I might run. Tell me how to do it or tell me what you do and then I'll decide if I want to.
[00:32:08] Speaker B: Oh, I love it. Okay, so we start the treadmill on 4.5. So that's just like a nice speed, flat incline. And.
[00:32:18] Speaker A: I just want to remind you, full at 0.0.
[00:32:21] Speaker B: Yeah. No stress.
And I start walking. And then every minute I go up 0.5 in speed.
[00:32:27] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:32:27] Speaker B: Now I'm at 4.6 on minute two and minute three. 4.7. And I go all the way up till 7 miles per hour.
[00:32:34] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:32:35] Speaker B: And then I hit the incline up to all the way 15. Hold on and let it go.
[00:32:40] Speaker A: You're holding.
[00:32:41] Speaker B: I'm holding. Don't worry.
[00:32:42] Speaker A: Because otherwise there would be.
[00:32:43] Speaker B: It could be a little road rush. Yep, yep. So I'm holding on and then I go all the way up to 8 miles per hour.
[00:32:50] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:32:51] Speaker B: Why? I hold on every minute and then I reset the whole thing and I do that again.
[00:32:55] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:32:55] Speaker B: Kind of adds up to like a 40 minute treadmill run. And it's.
I love it. I'm passionate about it.
[00:33:02] Speaker A: Work as you should be. I. I spent 30 minutes on a treadmill a couple weekends ago on Dance Alliance. I'm. I'm also now committed to working out, even on work days, which used to be like, I wouldn't work out on dance nights, weekends because they're so intense for me.
But no, if intensity is what I want, then we need to. And I want more than I need to level up. So I'm doing 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength training on weekends. And yeah, I was on a treadmill for 30 minutes. That's the longest I think I've ever been on a treadmill.
[00:33:34] Speaker B: That's great.
[00:33:34] Speaker A: And I never even saw a jog. Like, jog never happened. It was a speed walk. I think I lived at 4.5.
[00:33:42] Speaker B: That's great.
[00:33:43] Speaker A: But 12.
[00:33:44] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:33:46] Speaker A: And holding and then letting go. And holding and letting go. If you're a curious listener viewer, the album from Jimmy Eat World called Bleed American is a fantastic gym partner that had me at the exact right place. Anyways, 30 minutes were over and I was about to vomit, so.
[00:34:05] Speaker B: Okay. Yes.
[00:34:05] Speaker A: Okay. So this is gorgeous. This is what you do on the tread. And that's for cardio stamina.
[00:34:10] Speaker B: Yep. Just strictly cardio, then strength. I do. I found this yoga Sculpt class through core power. And it's amazing because you know you're going to start easing in, so you get your. Your breath going, your inhale, your exhale, which is going to set up your mental state for the day. I'm a huge believer in, like, the meditative practice, whatever that looks like. It doesn't have to mean, like, sitting and having that whole 10 minutes of nothing. So just some form of it for yourself. A moment of stillness to, like, pause. And then you get into yoga poses and stretches. So you're obviously going to be lengthening and stretching. And I believe the more we are like, literally drawing our shoulders down from our ears, it's going to tell, like, our brain is going to tell ourselves, like, everything's okay, and we are gonna take that breath that we need rather than holding tension.
So the beginning is more about this. Then we pick up the weights and we start just diving straight into strength training. The squats. We do a cardio section.
So fun fact.
[00:35:09] Speaker A: Yes, please.
[00:35:10] Speaker B: I just got a call the other day, and I'm the new core power yoga sculpt instructor.
[00:35:14] Speaker A: Yes, you are. And I would be in your class.
Oh, I would get. I would become a member.
[00:35:20] Speaker B: I love it.
[00:35:20] Speaker A: I would. I would. I haven't gone to court power in a long time because I'm a pillow mama. You know, this is like, it. I. If I don't have to leave my house, more likely. Way more likely to do it. But I would love to hear class.
Wow.
[00:35:34] Speaker B: So, yeah, congratulations. That's my fun news. And I've, like, been so passionate about this practice and I swear by it as, like, being something that has, like, helped shape my balance and.
[00:35:45] Speaker A: Yeah, you couldn't have gotten through that solo. No, that training.
[00:35:48] Speaker B: So now it goes to, like, the give back. You know, like, you hear that and, like, it's a real thing. Like, I'm so excited to get in there and change these people.
[00:35:56] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:35:56] Speaker B: Change their perspective, change their bodies, change their life.
[00:35:58] Speaker A: Oh, man. I really love visible, measurable progress. And because dance is subjective, I mean, I can tell you how I feel at the end of dancing. Like, I love you for my 400th time versus my first time. And you could probably see, like, okay, she was faster here or the line was more extended here. But when I started strength training, I was, you know, doing single leg deadlifts with 13.5, and now I have a 22.5 in each hand.
[00:36:28] Speaker B: Amazing.
[00:36:28] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. What do you wear on your feet when you run?
[00:36:32] Speaker B: Ah. Okay. So I either have the Hokas.
[00:36:34] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:36:35] Speaker B: Which I got into.
[00:36:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:37] Speaker B: I'm always funny.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: I have a pair of recovery slides, but I don't have the sneakers yet.
[00:36:41] Speaker B: Yeah. They're so ugly.
Yes. I have a problem with. I'm a fashionista and I'm like, no, I want the cool, bright colors, like slim Nike or like Adidas. Yeah.
[00:36:53] Speaker A: Until you're on minute 24 and you're like, actually, give me those. Give me those geriatrics.
[00:36:59] Speaker B: Put them on my feet. So I'm Okay.
[00:37:01] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:37:01] Speaker B: So I have a nice big pair.
[00:37:03] Speaker A: Of Hoka running shoe.
[00:37:05] Speaker B: And then.
Oh, gosh, what is it? Asics?
[00:37:08] Speaker A: Yeah. I hope.
[00:37:08] Speaker B: I'm saying good for running a six. Really, really great. And it is nice. They are a little more so slim.
[00:37:13] Speaker A: Right.
[00:37:14] Speaker B: And I got it in the black and white, so we can do that.
[00:37:18] Speaker A: It's funny that I would ask about the costume before I ask about, like, the tech. Yeah. Like, what do you wear when you work out? Because I think if I have the right costume, then I might get into it. Like, if I had a good runner costume, then I'd be a runner. You know what I mean?
[00:37:32] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:32] Speaker A: Okay. Are you ready for the final segment, Zoe?
[00:37:34] Speaker B: I'm so ready.
[00:37:35] Speaker A: This is called wrist Roll. With it, it's a rapid fire burnout round.
Start easy, escalating in difficulty. Just answer from the heart or the gut or the brain or whichever you choose.
Coffee or tea?
[00:37:50] Speaker B: Tea.
[00:37:51] Speaker A: Shocked. Did you not walk in here with a coffee? I thought I had you nailed for a coffee, but you are in body caffeine, so that makes sense. Okay.
[00:37:59] Speaker B: Tea. Yes. This is true.
[00:38:01] Speaker A: We do not need dogs or cats.
[00:38:03] Speaker B: Ooh, dogs.
[00:38:04] Speaker A: Morning, rehearsal night. Rehearsal night.
[00:38:08] Speaker B: Rehearsal.
[00:38:08] Speaker A: Bar or center floor?
[00:38:10] Speaker B: Bar.
[00:38:11] Speaker A: Flat or on point?
[00:38:12] Speaker B: Flat.
[00:38:14] Speaker A: Flat or high heels?
[00:38:16] Speaker B: High heels.
[00:38:17] Speaker A: I thought.
[00:38:17] Speaker B: That's wrong.
[00:38:19] Speaker A: That was a shift. That was a shift.
Guilty pleasure.
[00:38:24] Speaker B: Chocolate, dark or milk? Milk.
[00:38:28] Speaker A: Wow.
I don't know you at all, but I'm learning so much. I was like, this is my sister in dark chocolate. Watch this, watch this. I was expecting, like, 85 or higher.
[00:38:36] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:38:37] Speaker A: But that's just. That's me. I'm actually 90 or higher.
[00:38:39] Speaker B: Good for you. I respect that. I love that. I respect that. Yeah.
[00:38:42] Speaker A: What's the last song that you belted? Full voice.
[00:38:45] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. What is it something from Wicked today?
[00:38:51] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:51] Speaker B: We were in the dressing room.
[00:38:53] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:53] Speaker B: And I couldn't tell you what song.
[00:38:54] Speaker A: I'm gonna tell you right now. The only one I know is Defying Gravity and popular.
[00:38:57] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Defying gravity.
We were just singing that. And how fun. It's about what you feel, right?
[00:39:04] Speaker A: It is about. It is about what you feel, but it's also about how you sound.
[00:39:08] Speaker B: Yeah. At the end of the day, it's more about that.
[00:39:10] Speaker A: At the end of the day, it's about that.
Which is why I belt in private.
[00:39:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:17] Speaker A: Favorite combo that you've ever learned?
[00:39:19] Speaker B: Favorite combo. Okay, so Liz, one of our like artistic rehearsal directors, she did a combo one day in class to hallucinate, and it's become her, like, do you know it?
Dua Lipa. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Sing the whole thing.
[00:39:35] Speaker A: You were ready. Wait, do you sing also?
[00:39:37] Speaker B: Yes, I do.
[00:39:37] Speaker A: You and your sister. Man, oh man, I'm so jealous.
So jealous. Okay, okay, that's good to know.
[00:39:44] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:39:46] Speaker A: How about an album? Like Desert island album? You could only listen to this album for the rest of time.
[00:39:54] Speaker B: Well, okay, since it's rapid fire, I'll just go do it. Probably like smooth jazz.
[00:39:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:39:59] Speaker B: Because I couldn't tell you like whose album, but just like a saxophone jazz album. A coffee morning jazz album.
[00:40:06] Speaker A: Really smart answer.
[00:40:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:08] Speaker A: Because I would imagine tensions getting pretty high there on the island.
[00:40:12] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:40:13] Speaker A: You might just need to chill that out.
[00:40:15] Speaker B: Yep. I'm like so opposite of that. Like, I love like all the like fun, crazy, pump up music. However, then this is my zero that I'm touching back on. Yes. Then I go home and it is just jazz for hours.
[00:40:28] Speaker A: Okay, so now I know my next rapid fire question. When you're teaching core power sculpt.
[00:40:31] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:40:32] Speaker A: What is your favorite song?
[00:40:34] Speaker B: Okay, so I have not taught my first class yet, so I would speak to maybe what I would want it to be.
[00:40:39] Speaker A: There it is.
[00:40:40] Speaker B: And so it's taking a minute to think about.
[00:40:44] Speaker A: Can I tell you what not to play?
[00:40:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:46] Speaker A: So this is one of the reasons I no longer core power because I found myself once in downward dog to the song Pour some sugar on Me.
[00:40:56] Speaker B: Oh.
[00:40:57] Speaker A: And I was like, I.
Okay, have a seven year old sense of humor. I can't be ass up in the air to pour some sugar on me.
[00:41:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:41:06] Speaker A: I had a disconnect and I know I could not get through the class. I was chuckling and so. Not that.
[00:41:12] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely.
[00:41:13] Speaker A: Great.
[00:41:14] Speaker B: You know what? This is a good tip. Like a tip.
I feel like I'm gonna try to use a lot of non lyric songs.
[00:41:20] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:41:21] Speaker B: Just to. I think it's important too because we pick up on every lyric and it doesn't matter if it's good or bad or whatever. We feel.
[00:41:29] Speaker A: You don't even. You don't even know my experience of that song.
[00:41:32] Speaker B: Right.
[00:41:33] Speaker A: Or. Yeah, Yeah. I like being able to put on my own narrative story or hear whatever the message it is that I need to hear versus whatever message Jimmy Eat World needs to tell me which was the message I chose that day.
[00:41:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Or just like, turning.
Turning off everything almost and letting just the beats of music, like, drive your movement. And you don't even have to worry about what something means. What? You're whatever. You're just like a body there doing what you need. And the music is just, like, giving you the energy.
[00:42:03] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:42:03] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:42:04] Speaker A: Okay. When you get to your edge, Dancer's edge. Physical. At, like, burnout. Almost, like, really exhausted. I'm so tired. What's the sentence that you tell yourself?
[00:42:13] Speaker B: Just one step at a time.
[00:42:14] Speaker A: One step. One more step. Yeah, one more step. Next step. You got the next step.
How about words you would tell your young self?
[00:42:22] Speaker B: Hmm. I always go back to the comparing thing. I think that always just comes to my mind when I speak to younger students about, like, how can you know, like, I'm graduating college. How do I get through all of this? It's like, stay on your path. Do what you want to do. So this kind of circles us back to saying, is so important for us to be able to, like, know what we want and follow those dreams and not worry about, should I dye my hair for the audition? And really just going in and being 100% you, because you're gonna want to get the jobs or live the life that you get to be fully you at and in. Yes.
[00:43:00] Speaker A: Versus having to contort to fit the mold of something that somebody else thinks is good for you.
[00:43:04] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
[00:43:05] Speaker A: You want tattoo full sleeves, go get em. But also have undeniable talent.
[00:43:11] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:43:12] Speaker A: Okay, final question.
[00:43:13] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:43:13] Speaker A: We talked about what you would say to your young self. How about now? What are the words that move you? Your North Star, your guiding principle, a mantra, a meditation, a thing that you really hold to be.
Words that move you.
[00:43:32] Speaker B: Yes.
The words that move me would be. There's, like, two sections to this. I'm just trying to be as present as I can because I feel like things can change at any point in life. You know, just minute by minute, things change.
And so I'm just trying to, like, not worry. I always have fear change in my life.
And I said, since I've been with, like, one company and kind of I was like, in the school for four years, in the company for 10 years. I've had a lot of just structure and stability. And I'm so grateful for that. So I think, you know, there is time that's coming sooner that I.
[00:44:09] Speaker A: Something will change. Nothing is forever.
[00:44:11] Speaker B: Yeah. And that I'm going to have to break out of my little, you know, whatever shell. And we do that daily. I think if we want our ways. Yeah. We have to continue to learn and grow and reshape. And so I just let myself, like, try instead of sitting in that and worrying about what's going to happen tomorrow and putting pressure on things, I just am trying to be like, so in the moment and. And just tell myself, like, I got that. This. Like, I've got this.
[00:44:36] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:44:36] Speaker B: And it's just as simple as that. Just like, presence and I got this. And the change is inevitable. So what am I gonna do instead? Just, like, rise and run with that and let that be like my guiding source.
[00:44:49] Speaker A: So fierce. And also, you can run with that.
[00:44:53] Speaker B: Yeah, literally.
[00:44:55] Speaker A: And you can squat heavy things and you can pirouette with the best of them. Zoe. Wow.
So, yeah, I think we talk about this a lot on the podcast. Dance lessons are life lessons. And when you get to a point with your exposure to challenging things in dance, like, if I could get through that show, if I can get through this solo, then, yeah, I'm sure I can get through this challenging relationship or this career transition or this getting fired from a job or something like that.
I really do think the things that we learn from dance prepare us so well for what comes in life.
And I. I think you're a good dancer. And now I am. I am confirmed that you are a good lifer. Thank you for these insights. And it's just, it's very cool to get to talk to the person that felt really far away on stage because here's. This is why. Wow. Because it wasn't dance. I feel close to dancers. When I watch people dance on stage, I feel like I'm like, oh, I know them. I know how that works. But it wasn't dance. It was magic. And you did a very good job with your illusion and in keeping, like, I had to know how it was done. My first question to you was, how did you do that? And I had my suspicions, but I really.
And there's a technical part and there's an illusion part, but you are a magician on stage. Thank you so much for sharing your time and those insights with us. It means the world to have you. Thank you for being here.
[00:46:34] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:46:35] Speaker A: And thank you, listener, viewer, for being here.
[00:46:37] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:46:38] Speaker A: Leave a review A rating subscribe Please share the podcast if it is lighting you up and of course, keep it exceptionally funky.
[00:46:45] Speaker B: Oh yeah.
[00:46:46] Speaker A: 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 Fiona Small with additional support from Ori Vajadaras. Our music is Matt by Winnie, logo and brand design by Bree Reits. And if you're digging the podcast, leave a review and rating and please share. Also, if you want to connect with me and the many marvelous members of the Words that Move Me community, visit words that move me.com if you're simply curious to know more about me and the work that I do outside of this podcast, visit thedanawilson.com.
