Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: I need to know what your junior and mini combos are this season. What are you teaching the kids?
[00:00:04] Speaker B: See, now here's the deal. If I could remember the name of the song, I would tell you.
[00:00:10] Speaker A: It's not her job to remember the name of the song. No, it's your job to be a phenomenal educator and you.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Thank you. That is it.
Wow.
[00:00:21] Speaker A: Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Welcome to the podcast.
The reason why I do this show is so that episodes like this can happen. Basically, I have heroes and in order for them to come over to my house and talk to me, I have to have 260 episodes of an Apple Top 100 performing arts podcast in order for them to do that. So today I have one of my all time, absolute most favorite heroes. Jackie Sleight, dance educator of many, many years. You have to watch the episode to find out exactly how many, but she's going to blow your freaking mind in half.
Founder and co director of LA Jazz Company and LA Dance Magic and Life Changer, Dance enhancer for all. Jackie Sleight. You guys. Oh, my God, you're so excited. I'm so excited. Also, she's hysterical. Sharp as attack.
Almost said sharp as a whip. Is that a thing that.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: Oh, great.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: She's whips and tax. Ain't got nothing on Jackie Slate. But first, we're doing a win. Today. I am celebrating and I think convention maybe is fresh on my mind because Jackie and I just had this awesome conversation about being convention teachers. And I'm reminded of this past weekend when I was emceeing for nycda. I don't usually have this role when Joe Lantieri is out with us. That's usually him. He's doing all the award presentations and announcing and all the things. But that was me this weekend and it was intense because you have to get everybody's name right.
And that's a lot of pressure and reading and also at altitude because we're in Provo, Utah. So I'm on my way after I've judged several hours. I got very little sleep because I'm coming from another gig. And then I'm on my way to the gym. No, I'm in the gym. I'm working out. I'm like, look at you working out at altitude. You're crushing it. And as I'm in the gym, I get a text that's like, hey, Cindy is sick. I've talked about Cindy on the podcast before. Cindy. Well, Excel Gato, one of my favorite art makers dancers, period. The end. I'm linking to her in the show notes. You must know about Cindy. Cindy is not feeling well. Can you teach her classes? And I was like, you know what? This is why I work out. I work out so that I can have the energy and strength to be at altitude, taking on two additional classes when I'm already tired. And I understand that this sounds unhealthy, but I really felt like I could do it, and then I really did, and now I really have evidence that I can. So that's my win. That's what's going on my world.
How about you?
[00:02:50] Speaker B: What are you celebrating?
[00:02:51] Speaker A: Are you impressing yourself in a special way?
[00:03:04] Speaker B: Yay.
[00:03:07] Speaker A: Congratulations. I'm so glad you're winning. Let's talk to Jackie Sly.
She has the greatest laugh and sounds. And I can remember being a young dancing and hearing her on the microphone, leading the room, and just like, man, I want to be like her.
And every day I'm becoming a little bit more like her. And that makes me so happy. And I'm man, so excited to share this conversation with Jackie Slate.
She's got really good pivots.
And we're in. Welcome to the podcast. We're in it.
[00:03:46] Speaker B: Hey. Oh, no.
[00:03:47] Speaker A: Yeah, we're doing it. Jackie, this is. I. Wow.
I think. Let me see.
You taught me dance class when I was a tiny tot.
And then we reconnected out here in LA with. We went to a little place in Burbank that's name is, like, slightly embarrassing because it's called Romancing the Bean. And I think that's silly.
[00:04:10] Speaker B: Fine.
[00:04:13] Speaker A: But that was like the first time we'd connected in my adult life. And we had the chit, chattiest chitchat, and it was delightful. And I, in that moment, I was like, we gotta get Jackie on the podcast. So that was a while ago and this is a long time coming.
[00:04:26] Speaker B: Excited.
[00:04:26] Speaker A: I'm so glad you're here.
[00:04:27] Speaker B: But we saw each other at a workshop.
[00:04:30] Speaker A: Yes, that's true.
[00:04:30] Speaker B: Only I don't remember when that was, so that was a long time ago. But I just know that I saw you in there and I thought, oh, I don't have to be here. She's got it covered. This is great.
[00:04:40] Speaker A: Jackie, that is very kind.
[00:04:41] Speaker B: No, it's not.
[00:04:42] Speaker A: Thank you. You're so kind.
[00:04:44] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:04:44] Speaker A: But you're also. This I want to get into immediately. You are incredibly kind, but my memory of you being a dancer on convention is you are also stern and you are sharp and you have high expectations. And when you were in Jackie Sleight's Class, you pulled up and you were on the ball of your foot. You had a sharp pivot. You had a shart. Okay, you had a shart. Is what I just said close enough.
This is going really well.
I am so curious about how you remember. I mean, you've been teaching forever, so the chapter of time that I remember you as my teacher was just a piece of your time as a teacher. But do you remember the early LA Dance magic time?
Oh, yeah. What. What was going through your mind as you're teaching? What was your approach?
[00:05:30] Speaker B: Okay. Are you ready for this?
[00:05:31] Speaker A: I am.
[00:05:31] Speaker B: No, this is so. I shouldn't even be saying this out loud.
[00:05:35] Speaker A: Say it on the podcast.
[00:05:36] Speaker B: Dang it. Next year is my say it 50th anniversary. Wait, traveling on the road to teach
[00:05:46] Speaker A: 50.
[00:05:48] Speaker B: What?
[00:05:50] Speaker A: We're gonna add a lot of sound effects, Jackie.
[00:05:52] Speaker B: The what?
Yeah.
[00:05:55] Speaker A: Good for you. Good for us. Good for dance. So lucky for dance that you have been doing this, that you've been traveling and teaching for 50 years.
Okay, so, like, do you. Do you. Because here's what I think when I go into a room full of junior minis.
Let's play.
[00:06:12] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:06:13] Speaker A: That truly is my sentence. What was. What was on your mind when you were going in to teach all these young buckaroos who were, by the way, probably had terrible etiquette, and because convention kids are sharp now, they know what to do. They do this every weekend for, like, five months in a row.
[00:06:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:27] Speaker A: But I don't know if we were that together. Was it fun for you? Did you?
[00:06:31] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:06:31] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:32] Speaker B: It was so fun.
Like, I love the juniors anyway, because they're so okay people. Because they're just fun. Yeah, but. Yes, but no. Nobody knew how to really do.
Certainly not the way they are now. True. But I would tell them, like, okay, this is how. This is what we're going to do. This is the order it's going to go in. This is how it's going to be, and this is how you're going to act. Let's go. Yes.
[00:06:54] Speaker A: And for the most part, we went and we just.
[00:06:56] Speaker B: And we did this. Yeah.
[00:06:58] Speaker A: It was my favorite leadership style because you were undeniably fun. You're laughing. I could remember your laugh. I can hear it on your little head mic.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: Psychological damage. Go ahead.
[00:07:10] Speaker A: But it's like. It was a laugh that was like, you better get with it or I'll
[00:07:14] Speaker B: be laughing at you.
[00:07:15] Speaker A: Do you want to be laughing with me or do you want me to be laughing at you? Because that was kind of the invite that I got was like you were welcoming us to be on your team.
[00:07:23] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:07:23] Speaker A: But that if we weren't on your team, then you might laugh at us and then you're, you know. I don't know, it just felt such, like such a great combination of stern but fun.
Is that still your approach?
[00:07:33] Speaker B: How do you teach that? I think so. I think so.
But honestly, like the dancers now at convention and these people, most of them don't have the intention of becoming dancers.
And they're better than I ever was.
I look at people, the kids that. This is just. This is their.
[00:07:54] Speaker A: Some wreck kids.
[00:07:54] Speaker B: This is what they love to do.
[00:07:56] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:56] Speaker B: And I'm thinking you're way overqualified.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: Totally. Totally. I feel that same thought.
Although stop me if you. If. If I'm. If you haven't also pinned. Whatever the fuck am I trying to say.
[00:08:06] Speaker B: It's okay.
[00:08:06] Speaker A: Just okay.
[00:08:07] Speaker B: Working through it.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: Okay. Okay.
Speaking in draft. Speaking in draft.
I have also noticed that the things I expect little ones to be able to do, they can't. And things that I would never dream of asking a 7 year old. They can.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: Like a pony.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:08:24] Speaker A: No, it's not happening. Down, up, down, down, up, down. With a little scoot foot in the front. Shut that.
[00:08:30] Speaker B: No scoot foot. No scoot foot.
[00:08:32] Speaker A: No scoot foot. It's. It's tiki ta tikita.
[00:08:35] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:08:36] Speaker A: No, no, no funk at all. But you want to four leg turns with the leg behind. Yes, they can do.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: That's exactly right.
[00:08:44] Speaker A: It's strange, but I'm not the only one. You've noticed this also?
[00:08:46] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah, for sure.
[00:08:49] Speaker A: Are you teaching this season? You're traveling and teaching this season?
[00:08:52] Speaker B: Of several cities. But not every city, not all of them.
[00:08:55] Speaker A: You're giving yourself some space? Sometimes.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Yeah, it's kind of weird. Yeah, it's kind of weird.
[00:09:00] Speaker A: Okay, I want to know how you fill your free time. But first I need to know what your junior and mini combos are this season. What are you teaching the kids?
[00:09:07] Speaker B: See, now here's the deal. If I could remember the name of the song, I would tell you.
[00:09:13] Speaker A: It's not her job to remember the name of the song. No, it's your job to be a phenomenal educator. And you.
[00:09:18] Speaker B: Thank you. That is it. I have an assistant and I go and then that gets done. So, you know, like when I look at you, you need to know what I'm thinking.
[00:09:25] Speaker A: That's such a flex. Oh my God, that's such a flex. Okay, so you don't know the name of the song that you're teaching to right now.
[00:09:30] Speaker B: I do, but not at the front.
[00:09:33] Speaker A: Not in the front. Oh, you found a bone.
[00:09:36] Speaker B: I kind of have gotten these past few years, like, we do props now in my class.
[00:09:40] Speaker A: Oh, yes.
[00:09:41] Speaker B: Everybody has to get a present, right? Yeah. Because.
Because if I'm not having fun anymore, I don't want to be there.
[00:09:48] Speaker A: I don't want to be there.
[00:09:49] Speaker B: I'm done.
[00:09:50] Speaker A: Okay. And you've been having fun for a long time, so you're. You're raising the fun stakes.
[00:09:54] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm raising.
[00:09:54] Speaker A: What do you mean?
[00:09:55] Speaker B: Props. Okay, so, like, pink glasses. Everybody gets pink glass. And the dance is all about the glass, you know? Yes.
[00:10:02] Speaker A: Yes. Wait, everybody gets them?
[00:10:04] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: That's a lot. It's a lot of production budget.
[00:10:06] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't care.
[00:10:08] Speaker A: It's worth it. That's worth it.
[00:10:09] Speaker B: Worth it. Come on.
[00:10:11] Speaker A: Okay, that's great.
[00:10:12] Speaker B: So are you ready for this one? Because I only have a couple more cities, so. Don't listen if you're in those cities, we. I had them build. And everybody in the office looked at me like, are you serious?
[00:10:22] Speaker A: Are you out of your mind?
[00:10:23] Speaker B: I said, I need a DJ booth for my junior room.
And everybody smiled, and I could tell that the hatred.
[00:10:32] Speaker A: Yeah. It was deep, deep inside. Layered, covered. Yeah.
[00:10:35] Speaker B: And I go, yeah. And I want lights to go, and I want it to go with the music. So when the music's doing this, I.
[00:10:40] Speaker A: We're pulsing the lights.
[00:10:41] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. So they did.
[00:10:42] Speaker A: And that was important because the combination involves being in a club and you're the dj.
[00:10:47] Speaker B: That's exact. No, no.
[00:10:48] Speaker A: Who's the dj?
[00:10:49] Speaker B: Whoever I feel needs to be.
I had this boy up a couple weeks ago, and he was just kind of like. He didn't fit.
[00:10:59] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:11:00] Speaker B: And he came up and he turned on. Was on fire. Yes.
[00:11:05] Speaker A: Needed permission and needed a booth.
I'm cry right now. A different kind of stage. Yep. He needed not a parquet floor in a ballroom. He needed a DJ bottle. Yes. And you gave him that gift.
[00:11:17] Speaker B: It was awesome.
[00:11:18] Speaker A: Do you know what gift you gave me when I was young, Jackie?
[00:11:20] Speaker B: Oh, God.
[00:11:21] Speaker A: Zero to hero from Hercules.
I don't think I remember the actual combo, but I remember how I felt.
I felt bodied.
I felt unstoppable. I felt, like, spiritual. I felt, like, good at it. You know, when I didn't feel good at dance all the time in those days, even now, shit, I'll be very transparent.
And I blame that partially on, like, now I have seen really phenomenal dance, and I Know that I am very good, but there is so much better and there is always so much growth. But I felt good at it. I felt really good at it. So thank you for giving me a combo in my early dance life that I loved. I absolutely, absolutely remember it. And I've since then choreographed to that song because there's been a void since then and I needed to fill it.
[00:12:16] Speaker B: Well, duh.
[00:12:16] Speaker A: Yeah.
Okay, so you create special places for the kiddos on the weekend. That does not shock me. This has always been true for you. What are you doing with your downtime now?
Because also downtime. You are the founder and co director of LA Jazz Company. So do you even have downtime?
[00:12:33] Speaker B: No downtime.
[00:12:34] Speaker A: No downtime.
[00:12:35] Speaker B: No email.
[00:12:36] Speaker A: Time.
[00:12:37] Speaker B: Lots of email. Oh, so much email.
Not time. But I do them.
[00:12:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
What?
Email action. Email action. And time just disappears.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: I went to secretarial school. I can type.
[00:12:49] Speaker A: No, you did not.
[00:12:49] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
That was a thousand years ago. But what, you know.
Yeah, no downtime. So the company, it's a payback moment. Like I. I owe so many debts, so I. Who knows if it's going to be around forever? Who knows? Or if it can even really get legs to stand on?
Don't know.
[00:13:12] Speaker A: It's a tough time for companies in la.
[00:13:15] Speaker B: Oh, it's tough.
[00:13:16] Speaker A: This past year, LA Contemporary Dance Company and Body Traffic.
[00:13:21] Speaker B: Yes. There's no money.
[00:13:23] Speaker A: There's no money in the arts.
[00:13:24] Speaker B: In the. In the. No.
[00:13:26] Speaker A: How does LA Jazz Company sustain? Are you guys donation based? Are you? How does it run?
[00:13:32] Speaker B: We're donation based.
[00:13:34] Speaker A: Donations straight from the top.
[00:13:36] Speaker B: I so donate.
[00:13:38] Speaker A: And you said that that's you giving back. What is this debt that you think Because I'm like, dang, we are all standing on Jackie Slide's shoulders. No, tell me, do you want the. Yeah, give it back.
[00:13:47] Speaker B: I'm gonna try to cut this down. So do it because we only have like an hour.
A thousand. Well, okay, not a thousand. 1978. There was a year that was 1978. Okay. In 1978, Roland Dupre did a show at the Wilshire Bell. Okay. And it was. The Los Angeles Jazz Company shut it down. He was trying. The choreographers were like, well, Joe Tremaine, who I owe everything to. And I say that every single weekend on convention. And Claude Thompson and Jaime Rogers. I mean, people who, in that moment, they were it real. The real deal.
[00:14:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:26] Speaker B: So, okay. Terrible story. Go. So Roland asked me to assist him.
[00:14:31] Speaker A: Amazing.
[00:14:31] Speaker B: And I thought, I've arrived. You know, I stood tall. I'm good. I got this. And so he had an audition. Everybody in town, everybody in Los Angeles who was good was at this audition. And I'm like, second best always.
I was the second best always. But there I was. I had a clipboard. Oh, status. A pencil. And I'm ready. I'm standing in the front looking at them.
Huh. And then I must have done something weird because we're standing up there. And Roland goes, okay, we're starting now. And I said, yes, okay, ready to
[00:15:04] Speaker A: start with my pencil?
[00:15:05] Speaker B: He goes, no, we're starting. I said, oh, okay. And he goes, go on the floral. You have to audition.
Yeah, okay.
So I put down my clipboard and I went out and we did the ballet combo. And I thought I was okay.
[00:15:20] Speaker A: Oh, no.
[00:15:21] Speaker B: And he cut me.
And I had to go back to the front of the room and pick up that.
[00:15:27] Speaker A: Where everyone is looking at you, pick
[00:15:30] Speaker B: up the clipboard and turn back around. And for the next three months, I, like, was in charge of running the rehearsals and make sure they're going okay.
And I said to Roland at one point, like, later on, after he hired me for a job, I said, why are you hiring me for this job? You got me in front of everybody. He goes, you had. You had. You were real uppity.
And that was.
That was my leveling moment of, okay, you're not going to have an attitude here. And here's proven it. Whoa.
[00:16:04] Speaker A: That was like behavioral correction facility level
[00:16:07] Speaker B: shit and to the core and forever. And I got.
Was crazy.
[00:16:13] Speaker A: I don't know how I feel about that story.
[00:16:15] Speaker B: It was harsh, but.
But, you know, like, that has been my grounding moment. Like, I can tell you how to be a professional dance.
[00:16:22] Speaker A: Thank you for not wielding your power in a form of manipulation to correct anybody's attitudes. That's cool. But I guess it sounds like you made the best of that moment.
[00:16:31] Speaker B: I did.
[00:16:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:32] Speaker B: And so. So, okay, so whatever. Many years later, 1978, I can't add. So that was a long years.
[00:16:40] Speaker A: I also.
[00:16:41] Speaker B: I'm not decided to do a concert. And we called it full circle, and we did it at the Wilshire Bell.
[00:16:48] Speaker A: Beautiful.
[00:16:50] Speaker B: And the coolest thing is that you
[00:16:53] Speaker A: created a piece about a mock audition where somebody.
[00:16:56] Speaker B: Damn it. Why didn't I do that?
[00:16:58] Speaker A: Next year, Next year, Next year, Next year, at the next anniversary.
[00:17:01] Speaker B: There you go. Yeah, yeah. So no, I'll play you. Oh, I should be so lucky. Jackie, girl, listen, I'll tell you a story.
[00:17:08] Speaker A: Okay? Here you go. Story number.
[00:17:11] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:17:11] Speaker A: So Anyway, story number one. We did, though.
[00:17:13] Speaker B: We built an A8 foot tall. I didn't build it. This brilliant eight foot tall tree.
And we started at the bottom like the Transatlantic Crossing and jazz and tap dancers and all the names, like, all the way.
Roland, Joe, Tremaine, Joe. All the people, New York, L.A. everyone we could. Branches, twigs, leaves, names everywhere. And then as people came in, there was a little basket of leaves, and they wrote their name on it and pinned it next to their teacher.
Duh.
[00:17:47] Speaker A: You're. You're a branch in the tree of dance. Jackie.
[00:17:49] Speaker B: Yes. I don't. Well, that's amazing, because I don't. Yeah.
[00:17:52] Speaker A: That's so cool. Okay, you know what's amazing? What I'm hearing right now is like, no matter how big you think someone is, they think there's someone bigger. And that's so important and cool.
[00:18:04] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, Yeah.
[00:18:06] Speaker A: I like that a lot.
Speaking of educators, can we take a side step and talk about Dance Educators Collective really fast?
[00:18:12] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:18:13] Speaker A: Last year you invited me to speak at this event, Dec Dance, and I was honored and thrilled and riveted, and I was like, oh, cool. Like speaking gig. I'll go do a little thing. And I love Nashville. This is gonna be so much fun.
I had the time of my actual life. There were vendors, there were classes, there were seminars. It is the most holistic approach I have seen to not only dance, but dance education as well. Courses on finance, courses on wellness, courses on entrepreneurialism, courses on schedule management.
You've got Jamal Sims telling his life story in the other room. While this is. It was awesome. And so when you asked me to come back this year, I was like, I've been clear. My whole entire schedule is clear. I've just been waiting for this moment. So excited. So tell me how it started. Okay.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: I wish I could take credit for it.
[00:19:05] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. Well, it's a collective, right?
[00:19:08] Speaker B: It is. It's. Hence the name conventions. Who really. It started during COVID and all these guys, including Dave Carter, who was my partner in LA Dance Magic. And okay, so we were married. Whatever. Yeah, but never mind. People go, wait, you were. Wait, what?
[00:19:24] Speaker A: Wait, what? I know that you were because I was there for that.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: There you go.
[00:19:27] Speaker A: I'm like, we're doing great now.
I also want to have a spin off podcast talking to you, just about men in the world of dance.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: Okay, let's do it.
[00:19:38] Speaker A: Because I. I mean, let's do it. No, it really does feel that way. They're.
[00:19:45] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:19:46] Speaker A: Okay, so she'll put. Put that in the parking lot. We're back to Dave. Put it in the park.
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Okay, okay.
So they were all talking during COVID because every studio, every convention, all dance businesses were in trouble. Yeah.
[00:19:57] Speaker A: So everybody's like, what are you gonna do? What are you gonna do?
[00:19:59] Speaker B: And they all became these really tight friends.
[00:20:01] Speaker A: Amazing.
[00:20:02] Speaker B: And I thought, that's so cool. And I used to say, are you talking to your boyfriends today?
And they would get on, like. And they go, what are you doing about this?
[00:20:09] Speaker A: And what are you doing about that?
[00:20:11] Speaker B: And once in a while, I'd look over at the computer and go, hi. Yeah. And just leave. Like, I don't care.
[00:20:16] Speaker A: What. What are you doing?
[00:20:18] Speaker B: They came up with this idea, which
[00:20:19] Speaker A: turns out to be a really good idea.
[00:20:21] Speaker B: Is like, I honestly had tears last year. That's how good it was. Yeah. So they said, jackie, blah, blah, blah. And I said, this means I'm gonna have to get on these calls. Is that what you're telling me?
[00:20:34] Speaker A: You mean I'm joining the boys club? All right, buckle up.
[00:20:37] Speaker B: On a positive note. They are so organized, and they have it all covered. So I get on the calls and I think, what am I supposed to do? Like, you've done it.
[00:20:48] Speaker A: You're supposed to. You're supposed to sign the dot IN line.
[00:20:51] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:20:52] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:20:52] Speaker B: So I do that. And once in a while, I go, now, well, I don't want to do that. Don't do that.
[00:20:56] Speaker A: Okay, great. Good, good, good.
[00:20:58] Speaker B: But the rest of the time, I just sit there very quietly and listen to how organized everything is.
[00:21:01] Speaker A: Amazing.
[00:21:02] Speaker B: It's crazy. Great. But you know what felt like that?
[00:21:05] Speaker A: It felt very organized.
[00:21:06] Speaker B: The best thing we got from it or heard from it was our wildest dream.
So we said, like, if. If all these conventions, who are basically in competition with each other, if we can all get together and function and share, can't other people do that?
[00:21:28] Speaker A: Can't choreographers do that? Can't studio owners do that? Can't dancers do that? You guys are the example of more minds, more better of true collaboration and how that benefits and lifts everyone.
[00:21:39] Speaker B: The studio owners came and said, we felt so comfortable talking to other people and asking, how are you hand this and that? And I thought, that's it. That's all there is. That's it, yes.
[00:21:52] Speaker A: Do you think that's probably a combination of things, but because it is sprung from true collaboration and also isn't a competition, right?
Well, there is the kind of competition component.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: I mean, there are businesses that I hope people come to Dance magic, and Ash hopes people go to Ash.
[00:22:10] Speaker A: Right, right.
[00:22:11] Speaker B: So we share clients, you know, and this year somebody comes over here, and the next year somebody goes over there.
So it's.
We have to say, hey, good job.
[00:22:20] Speaker A: Right?
[00:22:21] Speaker B: Cool. You're big in that city.
[00:22:23] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:22:23] Speaker B: Ooh, that one's tough.
[00:22:24] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:22:26] Speaker B: But no one's trying.
Ooh.
Okay. No one's trying to be the other person.
Oh, I know.
[00:22:38] Speaker A: Thy audience. Stay in your lane. Like, there's less.
[00:22:42] Speaker B: Just be who you are. Like, bring what you bring, because nobody else can bring that.
And you know that that's kind of bottom line. I. I just told this recently. I spent like 10 or 15 years ago. I don't even know. What's weird is there's a huge difference between 10 and 15 years.
[00:23:01] Speaker A: But just like there's a difference between a 7 year old and a 10 year old. That difference is huge.
[00:23:05] Speaker B: But 10 or 15 years ago. Yeah. I was spending a lot of my time looking to see what other conventions were doing, and are we cool?
Do I have the stuff? Is it blah?
And then I thought, this is exhausting.
And you know what?
[00:23:22] Speaker A: That.
[00:23:23] Speaker B: That is not even me.
So I just said, I am not doing that anymore. I'm not doing it.
[00:23:30] Speaker A: No market research, no snooping around what other people.
[00:23:33] Speaker B: Oh, I love to know what other people are doing. This is. I don't mean that I don't care. I care what you're doing. I'm just not gonna follow what you're doing. I'm gonna follow what I'm doing.
[00:23:47] Speaker A: Am I gonna lead, Jackie?
[00:23:49] Speaker B: Okay, that's why you're leading my little lane. I'm gonna lead.
[00:23:52] Speaker A: Yeah, I get that. That's gorgeous. And thank you. Because I find myself caught in that trap. And I know so many others as well. It's so easy with how available everyone's lives are to.
To do more than care about it.
[00:24:08] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:24:09] Speaker A: But to be distracted by it, to be discouraged by other people's wins, it's hurtful.
[00:24:14] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:24:16] Speaker A: Thank you for that. That's a brilliant reminder. Okay. Dec, this year.
[00:24:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:21] Speaker A: How different. How the same.
[00:24:22] Speaker B: It's. It's bigger.
So, like, we thought, how's this gonna go? You know? Did people like it enough to come back?
[00:24:30] Speaker A: Because last year was the first year.
[00:24:31] Speaker B: Yes, I know, I know. And so we didn't know what to do. I will tell you, this was the maybe telling. We have twice as many vendors signed up. Twice. And I thought, what? Okay, that must mean.
[00:24:46] Speaker A: That's what we call exponential growth, Jackie.
[00:24:48] Speaker B: That must mean that they expect.
So, okay, that was number one. Cool. They expect it to Be bigger number two. Oh, geez. They expect it to be bigger.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: Yeah, totally.
[00:24:58] Speaker B: We can't disappoint. Let's go.
[00:24:59] Speaker A: Totally, Totally. I'm super stoked. I cannot wait to be there. And you don't want to hear this. Tell me.
[00:25:05] Speaker B: No. Okay.
I know that you think you've been reeled in for a second year.
[00:25:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:25:10] Speaker B: But the truth of the matter is
[00:25:12] Speaker A: I signed a five year contract probably.
[00:25:14] Speaker B: The truth of the matter is we are bringing you for like a larger picture at some point.
[00:25:21] Speaker A: Oh, great.
[00:25:21] Speaker B: Yes. Oh, Jackie, I'm all this.
[00:25:24] Speaker A: My big mouth blabbed about this event on the podcast. On the.
I talk about it all the time.
[00:25:30] Speaker B: You change lives. You affect people. No, I'm not being nice. I'm not being nice.
I.
I don't.
I don't pay. Oh, this. I don't pay real compliments. I'll go. Oh, wow. Amazing. But I didn't say you were amazing.
[00:25:49] Speaker A: That is so sneaky.
That's so amazing.
The word amazing.
[00:26:01] Speaker B: That is such a.
[00:26:02] Speaker A: This is such a life hack. Oh, God, I love that so much.
[00:26:05] Speaker B: I think I'm gonna be. Is it. What's it called? Canceled. I'm gonna be canceled after this.
[00:26:09] Speaker A: No, you're. You're about. Your respect notches just went way higher up because that's creative as shit and very honest. Okay, back to me.
[00:26:16] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:26:17] Speaker A: You. You think I'm good.
You were saying?
[00:26:20] Speaker B: That was Sebastian.
No, I think you passed.
[00:26:23] Speaker A: Okay, loop me in. Loop me in as deep as you want in that fold. I love what you guys are doing there. I am happy of service in any way that I can.
[00:26:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:32] Speaker A: Is there anything else, like, event wise that you're excited about right now? Are you excited about. Not events. Are you excited about like relaxing your face?
[00:26:39] Speaker B: I try.
I'm working on a couple big projects.
[00:26:45] Speaker A: Okay, go.
[00:26:46] Speaker B: One I've been doing for a few years, but it's really. Kind of.
People are going, huh? Oh, no. I. I started this project which you will know about. No, no.
[00:26:57] Speaker A: You will be involved.
[00:26:59] Speaker B: Yes, deeply.
[00:27:00] Speaker A: Great.
[00:27:01] Speaker B: That's.
[00:27:01] Speaker A: It.
[00:27:02] Speaker B: Called In Her Shoes, the Women of Dance.
[00:27:05] Speaker A: So here we are talking about men.
[00:27:07] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:27:08] Speaker A: Let's go. Okay, great.
[00:27:10] Speaker B: And I have interviews from women that would blow you away. And I mostly just sat there and I would throw a question out and
[00:27:19] Speaker A: then you would buckle up and I
[00:27:20] Speaker B: would try not to cry.
But like Chita Rivera and Donna McKechnie and people. Women who change things. Yeah, but all the way to. You know, I still have a list like this maybe I should say it out loud and then. No, I still have a list, but, like, you know, Mandy Moore and Robin Anton, The Pussycat Dolls. So we. We just kind of. It's all over.
[00:27:47] Speaker A: Series of conversations. This will be a documentary. Yes.
[00:27:50] Speaker B: Three part series.
[00:27:51] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:27:51] Speaker B: And one of my favorite moments, there's this tap dancer named Ayodele Cassel.
[00:27:56] Speaker A: I know Ayodele, because who.
[00:27:57] Speaker B: Who doesn't? I don't know anything about tap dancing.
What can you say? Okay.
She. Her interview had me. I just stopped because she went back with tears about the plantations and tap dancing and dancing on the ground and making sounds to communicate with other people.
And I thought, okay, I'm gonna cry now. I thought, this is real here and hugely important and so important. So important.
[00:28:29] Speaker A: I'm sorry, Literal pause. Riz knows it's important.
[00:28:33] Speaker B: Come. So, yeah, there's a bunch of fun stuff in it, and then there's a funcha. Bunch of.
[00:28:37] Speaker A: A bunch of heavy stuff.
[00:28:38] Speaker B: Buncha.
[00:28:39] Speaker A: That's great. Come here, tiny.
Oh, she just licked her eye booger into her mouth.
[00:28:45] Speaker B: Ew.
[00:28:47] Speaker A: Come here.
[00:28:48] Speaker B: No, she's cute.
[00:28:49] Speaker A: She looks good with your outfit.
[00:28:50] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:28:51] Speaker A: This sort of project, it's important, is.
Is one of those that will push you forward in your daily life, but also could go on forever.
So this is a question specific to this project, but also kind of broad. How do you know when something is done? How do you know when it's like, time to wrap it up, Click, ship, go.
[00:29:12] Speaker B: Oh, wow, that's interesting.
I. I don't know the answer to that, but there has been something inside of me for, like, ever when I go and.
And you feel it.
[00:29:28] Speaker A: You feel inside your body. This is.
[00:29:29] Speaker B: That's not a sad. It's just a.
Hmm. That's done.
Like, I can't.
I can't make it better or I can't change it. I can't fix it. It's as good as it can get, or it's as bad as it can get.
[00:29:43] Speaker A: And done.
[00:29:44] Speaker B: It's done. Complete.
[00:29:46] Speaker A: Nice.
I think I love that. Number one.
I love that because it suggests that there was a.
A period that came before that moment of feeling complete that was like trying hard to approach different ways or to solve or to enhance or to whatever. And you've tried all those things. And then at the end of that,
[00:30:10] Speaker B: there's like a.
Yeah.
Yeah.
[00:30:15] Speaker A: This is like relationships be like that.
[00:30:17] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, they do, honey.
[00:30:20] Speaker A: Collaborations in professional work, like, those are relationships.
[00:30:26] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:30:27] Speaker A: And the same way that, you know when a romantic relationship is having a Hard time or is complete or is done. It's the same with collaborations.
[00:30:35] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:30:36] Speaker A: And I would be so lucky to have collaborators that are as in touch, as supportive, as emotionally intelligent as my ex husband. Because when we felt complete, we have tried. We have tried.
[00:30:50] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:30:51] Speaker A: It was amicable, it was loving. It was as gentle as something heavy can possibly be put down, you know, without pinching your fingers. Wow. And so I'm super grateful for it. I do like talking about it. I don't get too personal on the podcast that often, but I like being able to talk about outlier experiences like that just to let people know that. No, no, no. It's possible. You don't have to name call. It doesn't have to be expensive. You don't have to scream.
You can just be, like you said, this feeling in your body, which is done.
[00:31:28] Speaker B: And, you know, like, there are other people involved who will be affected by what you say and do and feel.
So you're. You've got to tell them that it's okay. So you have to make it okay. I always.
I'm working on. Okay. You know, an ongoing process.
[00:31:44] Speaker A: Right.
[00:31:45] Speaker B: I'm working on this still.
I always used to worry so much about, what are they thinking? What do they think about, you know, what do they think about me and I.
Everybody in the world does that, I'm pretty sure. But we're very.
Yeah.
And then one day I thought, is that your ego?
Wondering what everybody's thinking about you? They're not thinking about you right now, Jackie. Oh, dang.
[00:32:14] Speaker A: Let it come down humble. Back down again.
[00:32:17] Speaker B: Let it go.
[00:32:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:32:18] Speaker B: Why am I. I'm not thinking.
[00:32:19] Speaker A: They're not worried about you. Worried about you.
[00:32:23] Speaker B: So I'm not gonna give that anything negative I'd like. Okay. Are you gonna jump in or are you just gonna. I'm not giving that any time. Zero time.
No time.
[00:32:34] Speaker A: No time. Because somebody out there in the world is not giving it any time.
[00:32:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:39] Speaker A: And they're probably better for it.
[00:32:40] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:32:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
Time. Especially when you have so little of it when you're torn between all these various projects.
[00:32:48] Speaker B: I thought you meant in life.
[00:32:49] Speaker A: Oh, sure.
That is not what I meant.
[00:32:52] Speaker B: I know. But also that. Oh, like, wow. Tick tock. Okay.
[00:32:55] Speaker A: But tick tock. I mean, so. So, yes. Like, yes. In the big picture. Yeah, totally.
[00:33:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:01] Speaker A: Do you want to spend it? Like, I'm imagining there's this.
It's not a meme. It's this real. That I recently watched, and it was like, imagine.
Imagine being mad at me and I'm Just over here, like. And then the sequence goes. And it's just a guy taking off his bathrobe in various ways, like, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. And I'm like, yeah, that's an option. Like, I could be completely bogged down by making sure that no one is misunderstood about me ever.
[00:33:34] Speaker B: Or.
[00:33:34] Speaker A: Or I could just be continuing on with my back and doing the best you can do and doing the best you can do.
And. And I do have a fabulous bathrobe. So sometimes I do.
I think about that.
Weird. Yeah, that was a strange segue. But okay. So, okay. I do think it's speaks to the dancer in you to worry about what people think of you. Yeah. Especially when you have a life event like what happened to you at that audition.
[00:34:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:01] Speaker A: We are trained and programmed to care what other people think about us. And it served me, like, coming up in the convention scene, I cared what Jackie Sleight thought about me. I cared what Tina and Alan and Mark.
[00:34:13] Speaker B: Oh, my God.
[00:34:14] Speaker A: Thank you. So I cared what John and Alan thought about me. I cared what. I care what everybody audition for thinks about me. And that has served me well. But there comes a time when it stops being useful to always be caring what people think. And I think that time is 40 years old.
[00:34:30] Speaker B: That's a good number.
[00:34:31] Speaker A: I think I turned 40 in July.
I think that that is, like. It feels very free.
And I do feel like I have more time available when I'm not caught up in my.
In this, like, parking garage. The loop de. Loop de. Loop de. Of, like, checking in on what people think and what people think. Yeah. Feeling way more free and.
[00:34:53] Speaker B: And we always make up. Like, we make stuff up.
[00:34:55] Speaker A: Oh, fully.
[00:34:56] Speaker B: It's not even happening. It's made up. It's made up. You're making it up.
[00:34:59] Speaker A: You're making that up. Although sometimes I do think we have good instincts and we can learn. Like, we might be making something up that's, like, loosely collaged together out of little bits and things. Like, we might have instinct. We might have an intuition about something we think is happening that might be real.
[00:35:17] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:35:17] Speaker A: So it might be useful for us to be like, oh, I wonder what's going on there?
Without getting too. Yes. Caught up in it. Which I think is.
[00:35:24] Speaker B: It's hard.
[00:35:25] Speaker A: But always teetering on that edge of, like, in tune, in touch, caring. But like you said, not following. I'm not in. I'm not, like, following in the loop.
That's really helpful. Are there any other, like, thought shifts or ties that you've cut that you feel have led to more longevity for you.
[00:35:44] Speaker B: Ooh.
Well, okay. So I learned so much from Joe Tremaine. Yeah. I always talk about him.
[00:35:53] Speaker A: Good. You should. We all should.
[00:35:54] Speaker B: We should. And sometimes I'll run into a kid and I'll blah, blah, Joe Tremaine. They go, who? And I'm thinking, wow, it's real. Yeah.
[00:36:01] Speaker A: It's happening.
[00:36:01] Speaker B: This is real. So.
[00:36:02] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:02] Speaker B: Don't get too caught up on yourself. Yes.
But one of the things. Well, so he said to me, never assume anything, dude. You're right. Whoa. Like, simple, simple. You. You think something's done. No, you gotta make sure. You don't have to micromanage, but at least be aware.
Assume anything. And then he said, stay current or you die.
Oh. Oh, man. Oh.
Which. Which. Yeah. You got to know what's going on. It doesn't mean you have to be.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: It.
[00:36:38] Speaker B: It means you have to know what's going on.
So the kids laugh. They laughed at me so hard a couple weeks ago because I was talking about tick tock. Yeah. And I said, you guys, I have to stop this. I said. Because, like, the other day. And this was true. I said, the other day, I was watching TikTok for. Hi. Yeah. For sick.
[00:36:58] Speaker A: So long.
[00:36:58] Speaker B: Yeah. I was on it for so long that that girl came on and said, hey, have you been on too long?
They. I thought they were gonna cry laying down on the floor.
[00:37:10] Speaker A: They were laughing so hard because they
[00:37:12] Speaker B: probably didn't know I even knew what TikTok was. True. Yeah. Yeah. I said, that girl came on and said, hey, have you been.
[00:37:19] Speaker A: And you were like, put the phone down, Jackie.
[00:37:20] Speaker B: Yeah, but I got credibility.
[00:37:22] Speaker A: And in that moment. Yeah, that was a mic drop moment. Your phone down moment was a mic drop moment moment. Because they were like, she understands.
[00:37:28] Speaker B: I said, yeah, Riz. No, I didn't.
I'm not sure which way that works for me.
[00:37:33] Speaker A: It's the I every. I'm counting and I say five E and a six, seven. And there will be a laugh scream still. Actually, it's like, phase. It's going out now. By the time it is in the junior room, either trend is, you know that that's the end, but you could
[00:37:47] Speaker B: still use in the junior room.
[00:37:49] Speaker A: That's true.
[00:37:49] Speaker B: That's true.
[00:37:50] Speaker A: They're very. They're very forgiving, these little junior boonies.
Cool. Well, I have a little. A little rapid fire round, if you don't mind just answering from the heart.
[00:37:59] Speaker B: I mind.
[00:38:00] Speaker A: Sound good?
Is it extra? Okay.
Favorite combo you've ever Choreographed zero to hero.
[00:38:08] Speaker B: I should say that. I should just say.
[00:38:10] Speaker A: Should I answer for you? Should I?
[00:38:11] Speaker B: You could answer all of them.
[00:38:12] Speaker A: No, no, no. These are for you.
[00:38:14] Speaker B: It's. It's. It's called El Gato Triste by Chuck Mangione. Okay. Yeah.
[00:38:19] Speaker A: You teach it on convention or you have never. No, no.
[00:38:22] Speaker B: Except I did do jazz in the senior room this year. Jazz. Jazz, yeah. Because I thought, what if I'm not here next year, I'm gonna teach jazz. But you know what? Okay, side note.
[00:38:30] Speaker A: Yes, go.
[00:38:30] Speaker B: I'm just veering off.
Every single city, kids come up, and tears in their eyes, they go, what is that? And I think, that's it. That's true. That's true. They heard it. They heard it. Okay. Chuck Mangione just recently passed away.
[00:38:46] Speaker A: No, I didn't know that.
[00:38:48] Speaker B: Yeah, but.
[00:38:49] Speaker A: Okay, so wait, if you're not teaching jazz on weekends, what are you teaching?
[00:38:52] Speaker B: You know, it's jazz. Ish. Yeah, it's fun, uptempo jazz fun.
[00:38:57] Speaker A: But on the schedule. Does it say jazz?
[00:38:59] Speaker B: It says jazz.
[00:39:00] Speaker A: I've started calling my class Jazz Plus.
[00:39:03] Speaker B: I love that.
[00:39:03] Speaker A: At the encouragement of Toni Basel, because I was at her house once, and we were dancing and we're freestyling, and she was, like, kind of standing back, and I don't think her arms were folded, but her emotional arms were folded.
And she was like, what do you call that? And I was like, ah, freestyle. It's freestyle. Is it that bad? Like, it's not my strength, but, like, I'm working. And she was like, no, no, no. Like your style. What do you call your dance style? When people ask you what style of dance you do, what do you say? And I was like, well, first I have a conniption, and I freak out and change the subject because I don't know how to answer that question.
[00:39:39] Speaker B: I've.
[00:39:39] Speaker A: I've struggled with that for a very long time. Being a convention kid who was told to be good at everything, and then moving to LA and falling in love with street styles and. And other forms like burlesque, mime acting, musical theater has always been. I've been. I. I think I saw Cats for the first time when I was, like, six. And listen, I know that open. I know Jellicoe ball. I know it. I. I almost broke my tibia fibia on my coffee table doing that inside fan. So we. We are deeply in touch with many different genres and disciplines, but I have always had a hard time explaining to people what I do. And so when she asked, you grew Up. You know, like a dance studio kid, right? And I was like, yeah. She goes, you tap? And I was like, yeah, I didn't tap. Actually tap with my first, like, love.
[00:40:30] Speaker B: Love.
[00:40:31] Speaker A: And she said, and you do ballet? And I was like,
[00:40:35] Speaker B: yeah, I take class.
[00:40:39] Speaker A: And she said, what did you do the most?
And at that time, we had jazz three days a week, hip hop, for, like, maybe 45 minutes after you're out of the leotard and tights.
And so I said, jazz. And she said, call it jazz.
And it was like, like, Disney plus.
[00:40:57] Speaker B: And she was like, yeah, yeah, like brilliant.
[00:40:59] Speaker A: Like brilliant plus.
[00:41:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:41:01] Speaker A: And guess what?
I'm currently rebranding the podcast, which is now a mouthful of words called Words that Move Me. And I'm gonna be calling the podcast Dance plus.
Dance plus the podcast Dance plus Words that Move Me. It's great. So Dance plus is what I call it. And you. Yours is jazz.
[00:41:18] Speaker B: But then, you know, it is.
[00:41:19] Speaker A: It is. Plus.
[00:41:20] Speaker B: It is, it is. And so even if I haven't been using jazz music, when I look at. I could take the steps that I'm doing in there. Yeah.
[00:41:29] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:41:30] Speaker B: But this year, I use jazz music in the senior room.
[00:41:32] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:41:33] Speaker B: And.
[00:41:33] Speaker A: And people got rocked because it speaks. It speaks to our hard wiring.
[00:41:37] Speaker B: Yep. Yeah. Yep.
[00:41:39] Speaker A: Thank you for that. Coffee or tea?
[00:41:41] Speaker B: Coffee.
[00:41:41] Speaker A: Dogs or cats?
[00:41:42] Speaker B: She's listening. Oh, I don't know. Was always dogs until my son ended up with two cats. And now I'm just in love with these cats. And sometimes he brings them over for me to babysit, which I'm so happy about, except for the fact that I have to take everything I own off the shelves.
[00:41:56] Speaker A: Oh, we'll. We'll be knocking the thing.
[00:41:58] Speaker B: We will be knocking, but so I'm not sure. Dogs or cats? Ooh.
[00:42:01] Speaker A: Okay. Tough one. Good to know. Early morning rehearsal. Nighttime rehearsal.
[00:42:05] Speaker B: Ooh, early guts.
[00:42:08] Speaker A: Answer from the guts.
[00:42:08] Speaker B: Oh, God.
I'm kind of turned early. It used to be late. Now I'm kind of.
[00:42:14] Speaker A: You strike me as a. You are a cup of coffee.
[00:42:17] Speaker B: I am a cup of coffee. Let's go.
[00:42:18] Speaker A: I love you in the morning.
[00:42:19] Speaker B: Okay. Yes.
[00:42:20] Speaker A: If you got to. Did you have an audition song? Like a go to audition song?
[00:42:24] Speaker B: Breaking up is hard to do.
[00:42:27] Speaker A: Ironic.
[00:42:27] Speaker B: What?
[00:42:29] Speaker A: That's so interesting.
Um, okay, is there a song also Rapid Fire? Is there a song that you think is just too good to choreograph to? You won't touch it.
[00:42:38] Speaker B: Ooh, I've never thought about that. Cool.
[00:42:42] Speaker A: That's because you're really good at what you Do.
[00:42:44] Speaker B: No, I don't know about that either.
[00:42:45] Speaker A: Is there.
Do you have like a favorite album? I know that's a tough question.
[00:42:50] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a tough one. That's a no.
[00:42:53] Speaker A: Okay, don't tell me. Yeah, okay. Something in your life that you are the most proud of.
[00:42:59] Speaker B: My sons.
That's easy.
[00:43:01] Speaker A: Two.
[00:43:02] Speaker B: Two. Cool.
Do people really want to listen to this? I don't know what we have said.
[00:43:07] Speaker A: People really want to listen to this. I laughed and cried. I think here's what I think people.
Here's what I know people are struggling with right now.
People do not know if you can do dance as a career.
There's a ton of uncertainty. There's a ton of shift going on in our world. And I think it is really encouraging to see people who are doing this still who have done this in and out of. I'll use the word recessions.
[00:43:40] Speaker B: Okay, there it is.
[00:43:41] Speaker A: There it is. Like you have endured, like, I know we're in unprecedented times, but it's always unprecedented times.
[00:43:49] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:43:50] Speaker A: There have been nine times when it got hard and shit for you and you could have quit and you didn't.
[00:43:55] Speaker B: You know what?
[00:43:56] Speaker A: And that's why people will listen to this episode because that attitude.
[00:44:00] Speaker B: Okay, I'm not going to go deep into this, but I came from, not. I came from a lower income family. Like I grew up in a motel.
Let's talk about that. No, let's not. So I didn't.
If you didn't do it, it didn't get done.
Now, does that mean I'm special? No.
Does mean that sometimes I'm cranky. Like, my line is, if something goes wrong or somebody goes, she. Well, she, she's not going to do that. In my head, I go, you can't kill me, mother.
Yeah. And that's what I do.
[00:44:36] Speaker A: And then you do the thing and
[00:44:37] Speaker B: then I do the thing because I'm.
Do I have something to prove? Maybe. Maybe that's just what I've been, I don't know, to my.
[00:44:43] Speaker A: Ever since that audition.
[00:44:45] Speaker B: Ever. Thanks, Roland. I'm Thanks, Roland.
[00:44:47] Speaker A: Thanks, Roland.
[00:44:48] Speaker B: But, you know, people ask me, the kids ask all the time, how do you. How do we. How do.
Number one, you have to follow your own thing. Number two, if you can say. I hate the phrase fallback position, I hate it for two reasons. One, if you have a fallback position, you got no. There's no stake in the game.
And number two, if you decide to choose something else, isn't that moving forward rather than falling back?
You go, I'm not doing this anymore. I'm going to do this. Move forward.
[00:45:27] Speaker A: Move forward to doing that.
[00:45:28] Speaker B: To doing that. Right. It doesn't mean you failed at this. It means you chose to do something else. Like, let's say it right,
[00:45:37] Speaker A: Jackie.
That's it.
[00:45:39] Speaker B: Right?
[00:45:40] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:45:40] Speaker B: And, and, and, and here's my first line. And I said this in front of a mom a few weeks ago, and I saw her drop.
[00:45:48] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:45:48] Speaker B: And I thought, I can't believe I said, here's how you could be a professional dancer. Ready? I'm gonna cuss. Oh, you cussed already.
[00:45:55] Speaker A: I do.
[00:45:56] Speaker B: Yeah. Don't be an asshole.
[00:45:59] Speaker A: It's a great place to start.
[00:46:01] Speaker B: That's it. Like, bottom line, right?
[00:46:03] Speaker A: Don't be an asshole.
[00:46:03] Speaker B: Don't be an asshole.
[00:46:04] Speaker A: Just don't be an asshole.
[00:46:06] Speaker B: Do the right thing. Do your job. If you find yourself in a group of people that are, like, spewing negative stuff out, you can be there for a second, but keep in your head, like, whoa, walking out of this.
You don't need that. You don't need to be referred to or connected to that.
[00:46:23] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay, friends, you heard it here first. Don't be an asshole with Jackie. Slight.
[00:46:28] Speaker B: How unfair.
[00:46:30] Speaker A: That's probably the name of the episode.
[00:46:32] Speaker B: Oh, I really want to say.
[00:46:35] Speaker A: Okay, okay.
[00:46:36] Speaker B: Oh, God.
[00:46:36] Speaker A: We can, we can call it whatever you want. We can call it whatever you want.
Your comfort cactus. I, I. Okay, we did it. You're an Jackie's. Don't be an Sorry. That's what I mean.
We're with Jackie Slay. Thank you, listener, viewer, for being here for watching. We will definitely be tagging it to LA Jazz Company and to all your many different exciting projects, including Dance Educators Collective. Please take a look at the links in the show notes. Leave a review or rating, subscribe, leave comments, tell your friends and get out into the world and keep it really funky. Just go be funky or jazzy for Jackie. Jazz plus. Go be jazz plussy.
It doesn't have the same ring, does it?
[00:47:17] Speaker B: I love that so much.
[00:47:19] 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 Vagiris. Our music is by Max Winnie, Logo and brand design by Bree Reitz. 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 wordsthatmoveme.com if you're simply curious to know more about me and the work that I do outside of this podcast, visit thedanawilson.com.
