144. Stand and Command with Asiel Hardison

Intro: Welcome to Words That Move Me, the podcast where movers and shakers, like you, get the information and inspiration you need to navigate your creative career with clarity and confidence. I am your host, Dana Wilson, and I move people. I am all about the tools and techniques that empower tomorrow's leaders to make the work of their dreams and live a full life while doing it. So whether you're new to the game or transitioning to your next echelon of greatness, you're in the right place. … Dana: Welcome, welcome everyone. My name is Dana. This is words that move me. Thank you so much for being here. I'm stoked about this episode. Um, I just had a conversation with my good friend, Asiel Hardison, and now my heart is so full <laugh>. I think you're gonna get an earful on leadership on what makes a great dancer, choreographer, and teacher hint. Some of those things are the same, but some of them are different. Uh, we also talk about instincts, and he gives the most riveting move to la story that I have ever had on the podcast. So get ready. But first we're gonna do some wins. Uh, today I am celebrating moving photos, like hard copy photographs from the little envelopes that I picked them up from, wherever the hell I picked them up probably 12 years ago. <laugh>. Um, I think I have a couple from Costco, a couple from cvs, maybe one from Walgreens, and maybe even one from King's Supers, which is the grocery store in Colorado, where I used to get my, uh, my roles exposed. And that's a funny thing to say, <laugh>. Anyways, I digress. I had so many loose photographs, unorganized, you know, not attractive and not like digestible. I put them all into photo albums. Imagine freaking that. And as I was doing it, I found they are still not organized. I actually need to go back again and like, move some things around. It would be nice if they were chronological or themed, um, in some sort of way, but as they fell kind of haphazardly, I am left wanting a little, like one degree more organization, but it feels so good to have them all in one place. And wow, nostalgia. I mean, I know the week before I talked about unpacking your summer and this whole photo thing felt like an opportunity to reflect. So kind of in the spirit of closing out my summer with a couple questions and answers that I ask in that episode, it felt very appropriate to kind of stay in the, in the theme of reflection and take a look at where my life has been y'all. And some of these are like baby, Baby Dana, like tiny little Dana, early dance, Dana, some tour, Dana, um, some family Dana. It was really, really nice. Anyways, if you have photo albums already, go take a gander, take a look at those, and if you do not have your photos in albums, get 'em in there. It feels really good. It felt like story time. I digress. Um, we, we wanna get to the actual story, the, the man of the moment, o hardison. So now we'll throw to you tell me what's going well in your world and we'll get straight to Asi. Hit me. … Yay. Wow. All right my friend. Congratulations. I am so glad to hear that you're winning. I knew you could. I know you will continue to. This is life. There are ups, there are downs, but there are always wins, albeit small ones sometimes. So I'm glad that you're celebrating. I'm happy for you and I'm so happy to share this conversation with Asi. Asi in this episode talks about being humbled by his sense of having more to learn and this idea of being a forever student. And I think that makes him a perfect podcast guest. I think you will feel the same. So without any further ado, enjoy the one and only Asiel Hardison, Dana: Asiel Hardison, my friend. Welcome to the podcast. Asiel: Hi, my sister, my sister Dana. Dana:You know, I'm just gonna tell the people the truth right now. Our first conversation was, was our first conversation was so nice, we had to do it twice. <laugh>, Okay. Asiel: So much magnetic energy, It was just too much. The, the technologies broke down for the first time in words that moved me history. I lost a complete interview. The recording where They say, now Mercury's in the microwave or something. <laugh> people know the kids saying now, Yes there is. Well, Mercury is somewhere not on our side. Um, but here we are again. We're having this conversation for the second time and I'm actually thrilled about that because you and I have crossed paths professionally, only a small handful of times, but I have been attracted to your dancing and your way, your way of entering a room, your way of leading, your way of getting shit done. So that was like, that conversation was the first time we got to talk and now the people get to listen to us go even deeper. So I'm excited about it. Um, thanks for being here. You know, it's crazy. It's crazy because you said that before and I'm like, Oh God, you make me wanna cry again because I respect your gifts so much. So they hear you say those words I don't take lightly. It's like a great, it's a great morning my friend. Great morning to have a chat. It is a great, this is perfect. I can't think of a better way to start the day than this. Exactly moment right here. Um, alright, so you know the deal. You've done this once before. Sorry about it. Go ahead, take the floor. Tell everyone what you would like us to know about you. Hey guys, I'm Asiel Hardison, a kid from the south side of Chicago, a black kid from the south side of Chicago who had a dream, a dream of performing. Um, didn't know how that was gonna happen, but, um, I just followed instinct. I followed my intuition, I followed my spirit guides. And now I'm here living in Los Angeles, living out my dreams and, um, still gone. Yeah, that's item <laugh>. Yes. You better go. And you are going far. So I'm very lucky to have you here telling your story. Um, I suppose a good place to start, and I was very interested to hear this from you. A good place to start would be your introduction to dance, cuz from, from what I recall, it's not your, not your typical, um, south side of Chicago kid. You, you were exposed to musicals early on, into companies early on. Tell me, tell me who introduced you and how that happened. How did you meet dance? I blamed my granny. Well, I blamed the family because the family's like a musical family. So, you know, barbecues and parties and all of that. But like, seeing it outside of the house, seeing it in the world on a bigger, uh, platform, I blamed my granny. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, my grandmother, she used to take dance classes in Chicago. She used to model. So she's very connected to the arts. She would take me to live shows downtown. I think she took me to one of my first auditions when I was maybe like eight or nine for the Christmas Carol. Oh, I wanna see that so bad. <laugh>. Yeah. I didn't book it, but, you know, whatever. Um, but she, So very few of us book our first auditions Assie. It's is, I Didn't know, says nothing about me's going On. I'm so glad I didn't book that. I wasn't ready for that <laugh>. But, um, she took me to live shows. Uh, she really put like culture into me, um, for a black kid from the south side of Chicago. And that time, this is not a normal thing, you know, we just do summer camp in school, summer camp in school. It's not the arts or cultural, um, heavy things is not like a part of our everyday scenario. But I blame her for taking me to theater shows. I remember one particular theater show on the south side of Chicago at eta, Creative Arts Foundation. Um, I remember her taking me there and there was this group of Tu dance theater. They were performing. There was drumming, there was African dance, and there was just like a energy that made my third eye, bright eye and bushy tail. I was like, What is that <laugh>? I need that. I need this. I think this is it. This is my thing. This is my thing. Um, so during intermission of this show, the theater, um, expresses that they have a summer camp for singing, dancing, acting for children, arts and crafts as well. I'm looking at grandma, I'm looking at mom on the other side. I'm like, Yo, handle this. Cause this is what it is, right? Yes. I've always been a kid to just kind of know what I want. Well not know what I want, but just kind of make my shit happen for me, Right? Yes. If this is what I want to do, I'm gonna like, make sure I'm steering the ship in that direction. So Granny and mom put me in this camp. Then after the camp, I auditioned for one of the children plays that happens from the fall to the springtime every Saturday as a children's production. And it's like, you get, wow, I got the professional experience, eh, as far as like theater, right? Right. So I auditioned for that At like, what age are we now? Are we like nine? Or what Are we, we're like, uh, 93. We're probably like 10. Yeah, we're probably like 10 11. 10 11. So 10 is the camp. After that would be 11. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> when I start, um, you know, professionally working, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative> not that we're getting paid, but we're getting the experience. I think they're giving us like a McDonald's free happy Meal. I don't know, whatever. Oh, what kind of payment? <laugh>. Listen, it, it, the payment is paying off today. Okay. Because wow, Yes, my experience at such a young age is what I blame for people like you, you say, Oh my God, your leadership, your professional. I'm like, Yeah. Cause I've been enjoying it since I was 10, 11 years old, You know? So it's like a secondhand nature. But anyway, I'm in this theater camp or in this theater show for kids. I, they gave me a acting role. I didn't want the acting role. Oh, like strictly acting. They, it was both, um, okay. Because people played different parts, you know, young, young theater shows, Right? They gave me a acting role. I didn't want the acting role. I was scared of the acting role. And I told them, Wow, I just wanna dance. I just wanted to dance because it was just something very comfortable for me to express myself creatively, acting like, even right now, I still get anxiety. This is why I don't like teaching. I don't like doing interviews. I'm like, Oh my God, talking about this. Oh. Oh, we're gonna get into that. We're getting, We're getting there because I this like, it, it, it's so funny the ways in which performing teaching and let's say choreographing just like to really round it out are so different and so the same thing. So I'm shocked. I'm like genuinely surprised to hear that everyone says that. Yeah. <laugh>. I mean, you'd be surprised to hear that I'm a shy person if you watch me dance. You would think like, Oh, that, Oh, he loves attention. He loves the spotlight. He loves. Yeah. No <laugh> being in a social setting, awkward aqua is for real. Right? So, Interesting. Okay. They gave me an acting role. They gave me an acting role, and I declined politely after like a week of rehearsal. I was like, No, this is stressing Me out. Not a good fit, not I'm like, No, we ain't doing this. I gave it up, gave it to someone. I was like, I just want to dance. I danced my heart out in that show. I, I developed a really, um, keen sense of connection with the choreographer of the show. She had, um, a professional dance company that would do shows around the city on the weekends, on the weeknights or whatever, pay gig, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. That's how I started dancing in a company and started like, really doing it professionally. So, Wow. Yeah. The rest is kind of history. All right, well, let's talk about the rest. Okay. so, so jump to today. You are choreographing Vegas residencies, performing in big, massive Super Bowl commercials that I wanna talk about because how much fun was that? Um, you are working in film, tv, commercial, you function in different roles as an associate, as a co choreographer, and as the leader, the supervisor, the one, you know, driving the ship. So I see somewhat of a natural timeline, but what is different, I think about you is your scope, your understanding of big picture vision, no matter what role you are in. So I think a lot of dancers and even choreographers sometimes who perform in a dancer role limit the vision to being, I'm a dancer, you know, cog in a wheel, or what is it? Cog in a hole. I don't know what the word is, but, um, and they keep this narrow, narrow idea of what it means to be a professional dancer on set. Um, and I think that in every role that you serve in, you have a 30,000 foot view of what's being asked of the project. I think that's what makes you a great leader. I wanna talk about leadership, and I wanna talk about you specifically on that Super Bowl commercial. This is the, this is the first time you and I have professionally worked together. Was it the first? And, um, I'm pretty sure. I don't, can't remember what else that's so crazy. Would've been, It's crazy. It's not acceptable. That's so crazy. But yeah. But it's shame Not acceptable? You know, what's really not acceptable is that dance got cut from that commercial, like cut to Also shame on Hollywood. Also, shame. Never saw the light of day. Like it was that, I don't know about you. That was my first Super Bowl commercial for, um, Caesar, you know, Playbook. It was mine as well. And I booked two that year. One was just on the internet and this one I didn't see on tv. So I'm telling you, it was, it came out and I saw it and I saw you. I saw your dancing, not, not your face because you were the dance double for JB Smooth who was playing Caesar. There was this whole big campaign for Caesar's Playbook and JB Smooth plays. Caesar, you were his dance double and dancing in the style of James Brown. So we saw like some dancing feet, um, an evil canal lookalike riding a bike on tv. It was massive. I looked it up online because a friend of mine was in the band. Shout out Dre Babinsky. Love You. Hey Dre. Um, I was like, Dre, hey Dre, we love you. Um, I was like, Have you seen that spot? And she was like, Oh, yes, I have. It came out, but there's no dancing in it. They, they cut the dance. So I did eventually find it. Speaker 0 00:16:24 I can't find it anymore. I looked it up before this call. I cannot find it, but I will keep searching. And if I ever do, I'll put it in the show notes to this episode. So please check it out. But yes, yes. Yeah. Here's what I remember from that day. Cause I also, after having served in different, you know, roles, positions of the choreography team, I love looking at how people work. Also, this is why I'm a podcast host. Like, I wanna know how people think and how people get stuff done. So I'm always watching. And on that day, I remember being shook by how little guidance you were given and how much you did with your talent. You seemed to know exactly what was wanted and asked for, but very little communication was happening with between you and the creative team. And I, I just, I marveled at it and I was so impressed. I'm, I'm wondering if you have a technique to that. If you have guiding rules or principles that you follow on set, or like, is it just your nature? Tell me, tell me about it. Like, Yeah, gimme The, gimme the, the spiel, Right? Who am I gonna point the finger at for this now? No, I think, right. Again, it's like at a young age, I'm in these positions where, like I said, I, I became really close to the choreographer in that theater production, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, which then led to me, um, joining an African dance company, becoming a dance captain there, assisting the artistic director. I'm like mm-hmm. <affirmative> 13, 14 years old. Okay. So I'm always, I've always been around the leader <laugh> Mm-hmm. <affirmative> when it comes helping to facilitate, helping to, yeah. Learning, learning, learning the bigger picture. So I think that's why I have a sense of eagle eye view on totally This world, this profession, because that's all I know how to, That's, that's the only lens I know how to look through is the bigger picture, right? So I think that's what's kind of put me in these positions that I'm in now. Like, I remember, um, when I first booked Gaga's tour, we rehearsed for like two weeks, and then the day before we went out, Lauren Ann's talking to the four of us guys. And, you know, it was like two weeks of hell because none of us have ever been on tour yet. You know, we're trying to figure out what this, um, persona or brand is. Everyone's trying to figure it out, and we're just all like, winging it, <laugh>, but it's magic. Right? But before we, the day before we went on tour, Lorianne brings the four of us around, and she's like, Okay, so I'm gonna make ACI my dance captain. And I'm like, Oh, shit. <laugh>. Oh, oh, wow. Okay. All Right. Oh, oh, okay. Oh, okay. Dance cap. Great. Sweet. But how do you served in that position? Before, or just, or simply assistant out, out, Out here at that point? No, I have not served as dance captain before. Okay. At, at that Point. Okay. So this is a first. I, Yeah. I'm still like a, I mean, I still think I'm, I'm a rookie right now. I don't know. That's the humility. I gotta, I gotta clean It up. Yeah. It's, or whatever. It's a lifelong learner thing. I have it too. Sometimes it's, it works in our favor, like me from owning Yeah. When it gets too much. Yeah. Right. So you gotta own it. You gotta own your light. Right? Um, I had Choreographed some numbers by being a dancer on some jobs and producers or directors or choreographers coming up to me, Hey, you wanna, can you choreograph this section? Hey, can you, can you put a number on this show? Uh, Rena, my bestie Rena, she was on tour with, um, Gloria Stefan. And while she was in rehearsals, Liz Perio was trying to choreograph this opening number, and she wanted some Afro Cuban vibes. And, um, uh, it may not be a secret, but I study Afro Cuban religion. I study Europe EFI religion, which is from, uh, Nigeria. And, you know, it's my faith. It's my, it's my guiding light, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative> this as within this spirituality or religion, there's, um, a lot of dance and song, Right? Which I love. Mm-hmm. Oh my God, I get to talk to God through dance and song. Are you kidding me? Okay, great. So, But no acting though. No acting, Acting not a good fit, Right? No, it's all real. It's all real. So Rena lets her know, like, Oh, you want Afro Cuban movement? That's my, uh, friend, my roommate icl, she brings me in. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I'm just supposed to do like, give them like movements or workshops, some, uh, vibes or phrases with them. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, next thing I know, she's in that rehearsal. She, anyone knows Liz Imperial, you know, she's got that cane or that stick for the know, for the energy. Right? Which is great. And next thing I know, she's handing me this. She's like, Yeah, I want you just choreographed this number. So in that moment, She literally hand you the baton. Did she? Yes, she did do the stick. Oh, Liz is brilliant. I haven't talked about this in a while. I'm actually Like, she actively passed the torch like that actually. She literally, like in that rehearsal, and it was only one day. And, you know, tour rehearsals, what, like eight hours? Oh my goodness. Long. There's a lunch. So like, fuck, I've never done anything like this. I've never choreographed anything like this. I don't know what this is, but she's handed me the stick. She's in my ear. She's right on my shoulder the whole way through showing me like, Oh, well, maybe you should have this, or maybe you should bring them out here. Oh, can you, can you think of something that's kind of like, you know, she's like, I'm getting a crash course on how to choreograph a show for a tour. This is my first year in Los Angeles. So like that leadership role that we're talking about, it just, it just comes, I attract it, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And, and there we go. And then there was another situation on, um, there was a PBS special I was in with a bunch of legends, Uh, Ruthie, Liz, uh, Liz Ramos, Rena, Oh, uh, Stephanie Mosley, Resting Peace. She was in that, um, Oh my goodness. Yes. Alex Magno was choreographing Gustavos in that. Oh yes. This is Legend. Bunch of legends, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, we're at Sony Studios. There's a salsa number, a Cuban salsa number. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, Amy Tink is directing this show. One point during lunch, she comes to me with Alex and they're like, Hey, we want you to, um, choreograph a section. Or, I didn't do the whole song, but I did like a lot of sections in that, in that, in that number. Hmm. And, you know, again, I'm just here on this job as a, as a dancer. And then like last year, I'm doing the VMAs with Fatima. I'm booked as a dancer. She's talking to Kara, and then she's like, I see y'all. Come here, come here, come here. She's like, Can you clean the dances for me? And I'm like, Oh, okay. So, I don't know what it is, but it, it, it's ising <laugh>. What it is, is doing what it's doing. And yes, I just always end up being in this leadership role because I guess people can see that I have a, um, a overhead view of everything, and they trust me to help create the vision. There's no ego involved. And I'm really just trying to get the shit done and make it beautiful. It's, it's about the bigger picture for me. You know, How can I help out? So it, it happened. That's huge. You know what I'm picking up on. I, like, you're, you're saying a lot of, I've been doing this since a young age, leadership from a young age involved in on the stage and helping people out from a young age. I mean, like, Yes. And I'm also hearing that you do well in the moment of take the torch at doing something you've never done before. And it sounds like in that moment where you get to step up, you weren't stopped by the fact that you hadn't done it. It was, I, I'm, it sounds like, cuz this is the thing I have a philosophy about, um, confidence and, and if you, if you have to have done it before a thousand times to be confident at it, you're not gonna do very well in a creative field where we're constantly striving to do things that have not been done before. So if you rely on having done something millions of times in order to be confident enough to do it, you're in big trouble. And it sounds like you're not, it sounds like you're not a person who requires that million time thing. Even though you're, it's included in your story. You're like, I've done this a lot, I've done this a lot. But in the moments where you haven't, you don't stutter, you don't hold yourself back, you step forward. I mean, I'm always gonna face the fears. I'm scared shitless, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And you can even, you saying what you just said, I'm like, Dang, I need to take this with me in my heart. Because as a choreographer now, um, choreographing my first Vegas residency, you know, there's for Shania Twain woo woo, woo Woo. Oh, right. Sorry. See what I'm saying? I'm like, I'm just choreographing the show. <laugh>, <laugh>, I'm dance got, Oh, right Lady, gaga god, sorry. Excuse me. Right. But, which I, I do wanna circle back, but keep going. No, That's fine. It's just in these moments, I'm, I do meet, or I have my human moments of like imposter syndrome because I haven't necessarily been taken under any choreographer's wings and showed the ropes. Like, you know, I've always had to peek behind the curtain and see how things are going, because I always have that over. I view. So me on a dancer, me as a dancer on a job, I'm looking at everything. I'm looking at how you're talking to the director. I'm looking how you're talking to the artists. I'm watching how you're talking to the dancers. I'm looking at everything. I'm like, Hmm, I can, I would probably do this that way. Oh, I have a solution for what you're going through right now, because, you know, there's no pressure on me. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> mm-hmm. <affirmative>. But as, when, when it's my turn to be in that role, I'm definitely engaging a little bit in those insecurities and those, like, I hear you. I haven't done this before. I don't know, like on Shania's residency, when I'm walking in the room, you know, that moment before the artist comes in and all the departments we're all getting it together. We're making sure everything's ready so that when she comes in, you know, it's like people asking me questions, icl, what do you think? What should we do here? Icl? How, when is she wanna? And I'm like, fuck, fuck. There's no, You have to know answers. There's no fatma to, to answer to. There's no Richard or Lori. There's no, it's me. They're asking me, Oh my God. Oh my God. So it's like, I, in those moments, you just, you rise or you fly. I'm gonna choose to rise <laugh>, I may be wrong, but I'm always gonna, I'm gonna try like, whatever. Are you gonna figure it out? And that's also when you're in a creative environment, especially the, the building of a show, you know, this is before the editing, before the refining, the finishing, the polishing. There is no wrong. It's like, well, this is an option and this is an option and that's an option. We shouldn't do this option because that would mean that blah blah. But that's like, that's what, that's what answering means. It means giving options or imagining options, having vision. And that it sounds like you have in spades. But I, I commiserate with you and I understand this weird thing that's like, when I'm on set as a dancer, I feel like I can see everything. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, right? You got all the answers. It's like, from this little privileged position of having less responsibility, I'm able to see so much. But when it's on you and when you must answer the questions and when you must connect different departments, it's not even like you have to answer all things dance. Because dance and dancers choreography are unique in this way. We will touch on, we will interact with almost every other department. Dancers must engage with wardrobe. We must en engage with the production design. We must engage with lighting, props, all of it. Um, but it's like this, like for some reason in the dance position, I can see things. But when you're in that leadership position and you have to have laser point focus on a problem, sometimes you don't see as much as you might if you could step back. And that's why I love stepping back. Like even when I am in those leadership positions, I like to really be in it and crush and crush, but then hand it off to someone else and let me step back and kind of cross my eyes a little bit. Yeah. And see, like get that, like you said, that bird's eye, that 30,000. I'm understanding that too. I'm understanding that as I'm step, as I'm stepping into this choreography role, like, because what I already know is like, I'm man, me as an assistant, as a dance captain, the an, the way the answers come in this brain, I'm like, Oh babe, I got your solution right here. Boom, boom, pow powow. But when I'm in the, when it's on me <laugh>, I'm like, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Just hold on. Gimme five minutes. Let me think. Let me, uh, uh, uh, but it's like when I'm stepping back from the pressure role, it's like flowing like water. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, it's like no second guessing at all. It's like, Oh my God, this is exact, this is totally what you should do. You know, you go, And that's the answer to imposter syndrome, I think is, is releasing pressure and remembering that if you are there, at least you are in a space surrounded by people that you look up to, that you can learn from. And although you didn't have one mentor or one person guiding you, it sounds like you treated everyone during your come up as an opportunity to learn. And you and watched come the sidelines. You watched everyone. So you had 45, you had 50, you had a hundred mentors. But I understand, and I, it's something that I kind of wrestle with. And as we're creating the choreographer's guild, like from the ground up, right? It's the conversation that we're having. Other industries, like medicine for example, do have systematic structures for people to move up through ranks, be mentored, guided, evaluated as they go, and dance entertainment, we don't. Um, so it is something that we're kind of talking about value of. Well, and because there is less structure, right? There's not one way To, and I, I'll be honest, I'll be honest, there's moments where I'm working with a choreographer and there's this intimidation because I do have answers or I am so good at what I do. So there's that, that issue too, which is also another, that's a whole nother podcast. But let's just, you know, call this famous fade <laugh>. I think it's an interesting thing when our ideas and our values are what we're selling. So it can be tremendously, um, unsettling to feel, especially in the leadership position, that your ideas and your values aren't good or right. And that someone else's are, you know, how, how, I'm sure you've seen like onset dynamic and the hierarchy get rattled when the person at the top feels threatened. I actually had Jamal Sims on the podcast, we had a great conversation about how he collaborates. He, he talks so much about how feeling supported is that the heart of his, you know, kind of creative way. And so he always works with teams that are able to unleash the ego just as well as he is. And he genuinely is so good at that. Like, There are a lot of people that are that way. There are people that are not that way. And there are people are that, that are that way. And I've worked in both scenarios and mm-hmm. <affirmative> just seeing, I know that being in both scenarios, I know which way I want my room to be run. Like Jamal seems so, like Incanto, it's, he had the right people in the room to create magic. It's, there's no ego. There's no insecurities. There's just an allowing of greatness to happen in that room. Patina's another one. She's so good at putting people in the right lane so that they can flourish and allow. And that's why the work is always top stellar. You know what I'm saying? And that's something I've taken as I've gone through my career. That's how I want to be, because that's what makes the, that's what makes the shit great. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. When you let all the greatness in the room make the shit great, and it's not just all on you. So Yeah. It's that. I wanna talk about, as you're naming these people that you've kind of modeled yourself after. I wanna jump back to Lady Gaga really quick because you, you had been with her since 2008 and you were in the camp for how many years? Like 10 years? Something long, Long, 11 time 11, 12, I don't know. 2, 2, 0, 8 till, till, what is it? Maybe 18. So yeah, 10 years. Okay. And what were your biggest takeaways? What did you learn from her? Miss Stephanie? How to lead? Yeah. How to create, how to walk in a room. Okay. Is that where you got it? <laugh>. Oh. Because Man, I see if you ever on set with her, um, I'll tell this story about how when we were opening up for Pussycat Dolls in the uk, this is where that whole another plane, no sleep, shower show, club show, like, so. Oh my goodness. Show next city in the morning television show after that television show, another television show then Oh yeah. Tour show. After the tour show, another club show. But just I want to talk about, um, her in the room on these television sets as a new artist in a heavily male driven industry. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> as a young woman, demanding and commanding the space and the respect, the way she walks in a room, the way she answers the questions, the way she speaks on what she wants her image to be, how she wants to be perceived, how she wants to be shot, like as a new artist. You know what I'm saying? And I don't know if it's the New York in her or the Italian in her, but I watched that mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I watched that, that, that knowing that she had that, you know, this is who I am and this is what I'm going to, this is what I'm gonna give you. Right. Cool. She, the awareness number one, and then the communicating of it. Number two, like, you have to know what you're about to say, and then you have to say it in a certain way that it lands, or that people under share the knowing <laugh>, literally how she walked in a room. The walk changed. The walk changed. There's a, there's a walk in a room. Walk. <laugh>. Oh my God. I gotta be practicing mine. Actually, we, you know, what, will you teach class with me? And we're gonna do across the floor for an hour and a half, and we're just gonna work on the enter the room. Walk <laugh>, listen. That'll help you in the front. That reminds me of Frank Gatson auditions back in the day where you would book the job or the cut, the first cut was like walking across the floor work. Sometimes that's all you need to know. I taught a class two weeks ago and I was just gonna say, this is a great segue. Go for it. Tell Me. Yeah, go ahead. I was just saying, I taught a class two weekends ago, and the first eight count, or four eights or whatever, or four count was just a walk. And, you know, I learned from Richie and Laurie, like, high knees look good, you know, instead of dragging your feet, high knees looks great. And I'm, I'm, I'm sharing that gift with the world because I agree with it. It, it commands the energy. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> it get, like that's, God got walking in the room, there's high knees, there's a little swag to it. There's a little like confidence. Like it's not just the walk. Who are you, What are you saying? You know, I'm just gonna let that breathe as people try to answer that question <laugh>, Because who are you and what are you saying is actually <laugh> very, very difficult questions to answer. Right. To know yourself and what you want to say, and then represent those things in movement. Not an easy thing, my friend. So I'm glad you brought it to students. I'm glad that you allowed them to see that that's an not only an option, but a, a demand of the job. You have to know yourself and have something to say to fill space behind someone like Lady Gaga. If you don't, you, I mean, we'd be better off putting a little l e d light bulb back there. Like, there has to be an equal balance of power on stage. And, and sometimes it's by holding a, a, a position. Sometimes it's by walking. But I think there is, uh, you know, you're a dancer. I'm a dancer. We love doing eight counts, right? But as most dancers train at eight counts, they get excited about eight counts. They neglect the other training, which is the who are you? What do you have to say? How do you fill space with what? Yeah. And because most of the time it's not gonna be eight counts. It, it's, it's, it's, it's the story that you're telling. Now that I'm behind the table a lot. Um, I just assisted Jamal and Kait t at an audition this weekend for Disney For live action Encanto. I cannot wait. Right? So I, I couldn't, I couldn't keep my mouth closed anymore. Oh, I wasn't, Okay. Are you Choreography? I wasn't teaching choreography. I was just kind of helping them sign in and press and play and help, you know, help keep the flow go, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. But I'm watching these kids, once they start auditioning, I'm like, Dang. They're saying like, Yeah, so this is like a carnival song celebration. We wanna see the joy. And I'm like, they're not hearing them. They're not hearing them. And I blame class, I blame Instagram, which is all great. All this stuff is great. I'm not shunning on this stuff. But there's something that's, that we're losing as dancers because of these mediums. We're losing the acting. We we're losing the, the ability to read the room or read the job or read the brand, right? So this is Disney, this is, this is cartoon, Right? Actual magic. Actual magic. So you as your inner child, or you as a child, when you were younger and used to get your cousin, you guys used to act out a la to in the movie and performance for your mom, and, and you had the bright eyes and you were so dramatic. Like that's what this audition is calling for, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, this isn't the, the fierce face, the let me kill the step. Like you kill the step. But none of that matters, <laugh>. I need the acting because is a live action. You know, the film's gonna be played behind you. And it's also like in con, so it's gotta, like, I don't need you to be the fierce dancer that's getting all the likes on your post. Like, I need the acting, I need the joy, I need the magic, I need the mystery. I need the, the playfulness. So I, I, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. And after I stopped one time, I was like, Okay, hey Jamal, can I say something? See, this is a great leader. He's like, Yeah, sure, go ahead. I'm going, Okay guys. And then, you know, I, I gave them my, my spiel just to help them because, you know, I'm not that, oh my God, here it is not that vet or og, you know, it's so weird to say that. But you know, I've been out here a while and I'm not that guy that just withhold secrets. I wanna see everyone win. I wanna see everyone get the, the tools necessary to have a great career. You know what I'm saying? These are things that you, and I, I don't know if you had to learn this, but I had to learn this just by watching, just by booking the job with Fatma and punching GOs on it, and watching AJ and Pinky and Leslie like watching these OGs. I'm just watching. I'm absorbing, I'm watching how they're moving. Oh. So we're doing this African dance for Will Smith, for bt. Okay. So they're really like going out. So this is a different performance than I've seen them do behind Alia. So I'm watching them, you know, that's what kind of program me and my profession and my, um, approach to everything. So I'm really trying to give that back to the kids or the dancers. Yeah. The artists. That's huge. Actually, what you're saying is kind of giving me pause. And I wanna take back something I said earlier about there not being a systematic structure for people to advance in this field. And it's sort of true, but it's also not a fact. Because today more than ever, you have mentorship program on workshop, on mentorship, on podcast, on question, answer sessions, on like, on like Zoom stuff. The US there is so much accessibility to top tier professional working ass people that are sharing their insights and wisdom and it's so accessible. That's stuff. I mean, this is a great example right here. Yeah. And you still gotta be careful too, <laugh> for sure. And there is so only so much that you can learn by words or by watching some things, you really need to just go mess up. And that's how you learn it, <laugh>. But I think that is really a great point. And I'm grateful that you are in those rooms and so willing to share. Um, I wanna loop back to that, to the Bob City and Africa and America launch event. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that's what you were teaching for. And I saw you that night. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to class that day, but I talked to Jill Meyers afterwards and she was like, Dana Oie was so good. What he choreographed was pop, it was music video, it was tour. And that stuff isn't going anywhere. As long as people are making pop popular music, It's not going anywhere. People at the, they'll wanna tour albums and dancers need to know how to do that. It was so great. The hit a pose and hold for eight counts while the artist has a moment or talks to the audience or whatever. And so many people can't get over themselves enough to hold a pose for eight count and be full of their talent, is what I like to say. Instead of full of themselves. But it kinda, and Still, and still Serving like full of yourself, still serving, breathing, Still serving it, giving it to the artist, Right? Pointing, pointing the direction at them. Um, but anyways, you did that and I'm stoked for you. So whether you hate teaching or not, <laugh>, whether it stresses you out or not, <laugh>, I'm grateful that you're doing it. And that night, I don't know if it was the vibe from class or if it's just the way that you learned how to walk into a room, but I saw you at the after party and my friend, I haven't seen an entrance like that in a long time. You floated, you, I actually had flashes of your Super Bowl character who was clad head to toe and gold. And I was like, that's that guy. There he is. Look at him being like the Caesar. So will, I don't mean to like overflow you, but this is, it's just how I felt. It's what I witnessed. I will say I was on a, like a creative high that day. Um, I guess it's no secret that, ah, see, doesn't like to teach <laugh>. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, what are you gonna teach? Do you like to teach? What are you gonna teach? What are you gotta teach when you got to add to you? I'll teach in. I only teach in rehearsals. Right? That is special. That's, that's Because just the teaching world, what it is now, what it has to become. Because I used to teach before I went on tour, loved it. It was like, no thing. But now it's just a whole different ball game. And I'm trying to wrap my head around that and then also wrap my head around like st staying firm in what I am as a teacher and what I'm here to offer, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I kicked and screamed the whole way through to class. I mean, the whole way to class. I kicked and screamed during class. I'm like, see, this is why I don't like to you guys, whatever. But <laugh>, these students, these university students were like, you've taught overseas, right? And you know, the type of energy that they're mm-hmm. <affirmative> reciprocating in class is a hunger, Respectful For the craft. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, respect for the moment, respect for the dance over there and, And certainly respect for the teacher. Yeah. These, these, um, university students that Cara had that showed up to my class inspired the sh outta of me. Yo. Like I've, I, I haven't seen that in a while. Young dancers who hit steps that I'm giving because I'm not giving you the whoa, the, the new TikTok. I'm not giving you that. I'm giving you pop pop when it was in its prime in the early two thousands where you hit and right. And you look right that, that snap pop. Like that's what I'm teaching. And they were like hungry for it. They were eating it up. They were really, really trying to grasp this nuance that mm-hmm. <affirmative>, not that you don't see too often. There are some teachers that do teach at JR. I love him, the live music thing. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> perfect. Right. But you don't see this type of nuance taught often. Thank you To It's not flooding the feed. It's not No, Not at all. It's not in our face. Yeah. But then when they get, when you get on the jobs, this is what people are asking to do. And then now we have to like have a crash course on how to like stand and command. You know what I'm saying? But I'm saying like, these university students were so hungry, they inspired me so much. And as much as I, I have to stop saying I hate teaching <laugh>, but as much as I am. Yeah. It sounds like you, it's like Candle. I'm going through, Listen, it's the fall. I'm shifting. It's okay. Whatever. <laugh>, I'm having a shift. It's, and it's happening. It's happening. It's happening. So as much as I get anxiety about teaching, I really enjoyed that. And I was just so inspired. So after the class, I went to, uh, uh, a day party with rain and the other teachers. And then we came to the after party and I was just on such a high at like the students from that day. Even the conversation that we had with the students, one girl was so brave, asked about like, not, uh, normal. Like, so how do I get an industry question? She was trying to figure out something emotionally. And I was like that C See, that's why I do what I do because these, these dancers are still out here, these dancers that are going to give us emotionally what you and I do as dancers. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we know how to give the proper emotion or, or you know, ride the proper wave. So I'm like, she's on her right track. And I was just so inspired. So when you see me walk in that night, I was just like, on a creative high, like, man, That’s cool. I love that. Just basking in that happiness. Well that tracks, I could see that. Um, and I'm glad to hear this is a, it's a heartful story. I like hearing about young people that have heart and that aren't simply trying to get the, the key to the code to success, you know? But cause It's so fast paced now. Oh right. And it's easy to look for the hack, right? You want like the fast pass. But dancers who listen to the language of emotion actually have that fast pass. Cuz that's what we work in. We, we sell emotions, we sell, This is life without the product or the album. This is life with it. This is the emotion of being, you know, associated with this big pop star. This is the emotion of being out of love or in love. Like we deal in emotions. It's more that than the step. Yeah, for sure. Um, and especially having somebody who's sensitive, you and I talked about this last time. You love a sensitive dancer who can tell what's needed in the moment? Like, where are we at as a group? Are we lifting the artist or are they far past us? Do we need to get it together? Do I need to lift y'all? Like there is this like checking the temperature. Um, when we talked about it the first time, you, I took a note cuz it was so great. You said, I need to know where I'm at geographically, like on stage. Am I in the right place? Right? But also vibration wise, am I in the right place? And I think like, that's important. You have to be real. You have to be so good actually at hitting the steps that you can do those two things on top of that. Um, in a way I'm glad that people are out there getting good at hitting steps because that needs to be last on your thing, list of things to worry about. Uh, there's so much more to be done. Um, I, uh, thank you for bringing that story up. When we're on stage with, um, you know, as a dance captain for Gaga for my whole time over there. And uh, you know, sometimes she comes out or any artist, they come out for the prayer circle mm-hmm. <affirmative> before the show you kind of gate. That's where for me, that's check in. That's where I see, Okay. Yeah. Okay, so where are they at emotionally, Right. Sometimes they're like, Okay guys, let's just pray. Or they're really excited about their song hit number one. Or they're going through something personal and they're like, you know, they're expressing to their team, their support system. Like you guys, um, man having a day, my dad, my mom, whatever. And you kind of, for me personally as her dance captain, I'm like, okay, so say she's having a, a personal mom or a personal day, so she's a little bit down mm-hmm. <affirmative> in her vibration. She's gotta go out on this stage and lift up 20,000, 80,000, 10,000. Yes. 70 whatever. And she's gotta lead the, she's gotta lead the ship. She's gotta steer the ship. So as her leader of the dancers, I'm like, okay, I gotta make sure that this department is supporting her and giving her what she needs. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So, you know, I may turn up the volume on my performance, which then turns up the volume on my colleagues, you know, my opposite or whatever. And then now she's feeling vibrant and she's like, Oh man, I love my dance. Oh, I'm so happy. And you, you, I'm so happy I have you guys. And she's singing us praises after this show. Like, thank you guys. So, oh man, I couldn't have done it with that. You know what I'm saying? So that is important to me. Yes. It's not just collecting the check and hitting the step. It's about what is, It's that over eye view, that overhead view, that eagle eye view. Yes. Like what's needed to make this work. Well, you have to have the vision first, but then you also have to be at the command station of that energy dial. Like you have to know how to create more or how to match what you're standing next to. And that's, Yeah. Something i, I have been faulted for. I I, I do that well now. But that was not always the case. That was a steep learning curve Really. I think so. I think I've, I think I've overdone it before <laugh>. I'll be the first to admit you. But that's how we find balance. Assie. That's how we find balance is sometimes we, we over correct. And sometimes we, you know, that's how you find your leg. <laugh>. I, Well just let me get you some flowers really quick because I've watched you on the Justin Timberlake tour. I just fell. I just, this is what happens when I get flowers. I'm gonna try really to take it. Okay. We all do, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative> take it. But the 2020 tour, I think it was, um, there you were just like my favorite performer. There was such a season, there was such a, a knowing of just the right amount of salt, just the right amount of garlic pepper to put in. Like you were a star. And I couldn't take my eyes off of you. And it wasn't like I wasn't looking at Justin. You were still throwing it at him. You complimented his essence. This is what I always tell my dancers, like, I Like that you're an extension of the artist's essence. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, right? Yeah. So who they are, who their brand is, that's who you are on stage. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And you did that top tier stellar. I was just such a fan. I fell in love with your quality of movement, your texture of movement. Thank you. And I've been such a like, oh my god. So they hear you say the things that you were saying to me in the beginning of this, this podcast. I'm like, oh my God, I'm so like, oh my God. But you don't even know like what you do to me. And I don't get moved often. There's not a lot of dancers that can like move me because I need people. I need to feel something Jillian as well. Like, oh my God's one of my favorite movies sees. It's so honest. It's actually, it wouldn't So pure. It's almost unfair how into choreography and how well she's doing as a choreographer. Que I want her to dance always. I want to always be watching her dance. We deserve to see that that gentle and power. Power Worth. It's so Good. Too sensible. Thank you so much. I receive, Yeah, I appreciate, Thank you so much. And this is, I, I love the way that you, um, I don't know, I, I love the way that you see people. Uh, and I'm flattered that you see me in that way. Thank you so much for saying that. I appreciate it. Of course. Um, okay. I do wanna get to one last story because this is, I have never had such a, a visual, such a visceral move to LA story as yours that you told last time we talked and I have to, you've mentioned Rena Hidalgo a couple times now. Rena will be joining me on the podcast. I'm embarrassed that she hasn't already. I'm such a big fan of hers. Um, but will you please tell me a little bit about, Cuz Rain's from Miami. I talk to me about how you two Met. She's from Miami. That's Trip and how, how that like, Okay, cuz we started talking about the beginning and then we kind of got to where you are now. But I just need this one connective tissue cuz it's so Bad. Yeah. Yeah. This was the beginning of, of my new beginning or the beginning of the, the, the good times. Right. So I'm living in Miami. I'm, um, teaching at a dance studio. I'm dancing on the w b dance team to Miami Soul. This is where I meet Rena. Our choreographer. One of the chore, or no, he was the choreographer of that team. Ka Hinde. He booked a job on a film from Justin Kelly. Yes. From Justin Kelly. Thank you again for saying that again cuz people need to know from Justin to Kelly. Go right now. Actually this episode, first You need to watch. You have to see, you need to, you need to watch that because not the movie you need to know was great. But <laugh>, the, the iconic dancers in there, you need to watch them. We're talking about Dco, uh, Leo Mazuma there. Esman, no Osa. Melanie Bins. Melanie Bins, Gilbert. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, Travis Payne choreography. Stacey Walker. Oh, Oh My Legends. Right? Crushing. Yes. Legends are dancing in this film. Um, like I said, our choreographer, uh, friend is dancing this film. So one night we're all going out this spot called Nicky Beach on Miami Beach. Kristin ue Oh my God, how can I, oh my God. Christ Ney. Cause there was a moment, there was a moment down there. I'll never forget this. Uh, Buster Rhymes Make it Clap was playing in the club. Mm-hmm. And She, I know exactly what you're talking about. And me and Rayna were just like, now's open. Like looking at her like, Oh my God. And she wasn't like hitting all the steps, but it was the, she had the kago hat. This is when Kago hats would thing. Oh yes. It was like low. And she was just hitting these beats or whatever. So anyway, there's a night out, we're all hanging out. I think there's a moment where Teresa and Rena end up battling this girl freestyle. And I'm like, The fuck is going on? Like, we're we're in the club with like people that we are huge fans of and we're like hanging out and partying and priest on this all love and community, Right? Yeah. On a, and, and they're down here working on a big scale, like on a huge film. So I think we're at Denny's or, you know, whatever. After the club. After the club. And I'm, I'm like, Okay, so where are you guys living? So they flew you guys down. How Does this work? What do you do? And how Do you, Yeah. So like, what's going on? They paid for y'all to come here. You know what I'm saying? Cause in Miami or Chicago, that's not heard of like, you know, dance at that point. You, you, you weren't paid to do stuff like that. Uhhuh Gilbert, I think it was Gilbert who answered my question. He's like, Yeah, we're in la and then there Noso Echo. Yeah. Los Angeles. I was like, oh, say motherfucking less <laugh>. I think the next day I told Rain, I was like, Yeah, ge. So I'm hitting it. I'm moving. Right? Uhhuh, <affirmative>, and you know, Rena's from, uh, Latin family. So, you know, mom's always gonna want her daughter to like get a job. Oh yes. This and that. Not, not do anything to chase her dreams like that. I'm like, so she's a bit hesitant to make this step at first, but at one point she's like, No, bro, I'm with you. Let's go. So then me and Reyna, we packed our bags and Uh, like actual trash bags. August. Like, that's how my car was to the top of trash. No, no. What? Well, I actually, I moved back to Chicago first and she came I think three weeks later. Okay. Came to Chicago And then she stayed, came to Chicago. Okay. Cause I was like, well, I gotta like, you regroup Yeah. I was like, well, you know, just come to my family's house in Chicago. Stay with me for like two, three months. This was like October. And I'm like, Yeah. And then we'll move in January, we move top of the year. Love it, Oh, because that October was the Janet Jackson audition for the Super Bowl. There you have it. Right. So then after that, that's when She Oh, speaking of legendary, I'm gonna also include that in the show notes. You're welcome. <laugh> <laugh>. So, um, she moves, We we're teaching, I'm dancing back with one of my African dance companies. She's coming around, She's helping out with the show. She's getting, you know, all a little bit of, you know what my life is like mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, family takes her in. Then January 7th, we pack my, my Kia Sportage. Oh with those Oh. And whatever necessities we need. It's like the morning we're at my mom's house. My mom is like teary eye, but helping us pack, we're doing, going and shifts back and forth from the house to the car. Yeah. And we begin our journey to Los Angeles. It takes about two days. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, on this journey, what's really important and kind of funny, but really important to me, Rena is like whoever's in the passenger seat, like when they're napping, Uhhuh, one of us would always wake up because we're very spiritual people and very in tune. Right. One of us would wake up and be like, I just had a dream that I saw all the ancestors or spirit guys setting things up for us over there in Los Angeles. Right. And then one person would wake up and be like, Oh my God. I had a dream that like, celebrities were at my birthday party. Like <laugh> we're just like, Oh my God. I think, you know, we're like On the unconscious. We're driving to like our emal city or our land of Os and we're like, This is good signs. This is, you know, we're scared, but we're like, we're doing it. So we're like, Oh, this is affirmation and this is really gonna work out. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we get to Los Angeles two days later, it's like evening time. I think we, um, we booked the, well the apartment wasn't open, so I booked a mo we booked a motel at, um, temperature on Laker ship. Oh Yes. Across, Oh yes. Uh, something, whatever linker shin. There's like our roach crawling on the wall. Oh. We're, It was like, this is like a TV moment. This is like scripted Totally fully To me. And Rena's film to a and r Creatives film. Oh My goodness. This, Uh, there's a roach on a wall. It's a one bit, We're like, we look at each other and then we like, okay, well here we go. Good luck. Good night. Next day the before we go to the apartment, we go to super days class. I'll never forget it was a Friday at Old Millennium At 4:00 PM Old Millennium. He taught in that studio right to the left when you came In. Yep. Another one. He taught Minute Man by Missy Elliot. So strong. I remember what I had on like, it's just stuff that you'll never forget because this is just a part of that. Like this is that journey. And then like I remember afterwards Super Dave selling cakes for $5. Yeah. Super Dave Cakes. Then we're like, Wow, we're here right now. We're here. It's like it's happening. Then we go to the apartment we put due to down payment. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. We go into the studio, It's a studio apartment. We set up our clothes on one side as she set up her clothes on the other side and we sleep on our clothes that first night. You know, it's just like so much happening. We don't even have air mattresses yet, you know. Oh man. Awesome. And that was just like the beginning of, not the end, but just the beginning of the beginning. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> incredible. Yeah. It is so fun to look back and to look forward with you. Cuz I think you have a very bright future. But it's so much fun. I guess we're kind of, it's, it's fun to be in a similar position, right? Like you and I are both like students for life, right? Humble pie. Oh, who me? No, I just, you know. Yeah. I mean, I do, I choreograph a little Yeah. World tour or whatever. But, um, there is something really cool to imposter syndrome aside being, owning our current positions as leaders while still learning. And this is not in either or. And this is just our decision. And the, the way that we've decided to live our life is by leading and by learning. And thank you for being such a great example of both. It's an inspiration to me. And I'm so grateful to have shared the mic with you today. Cause I learned a lot. I know people listening to it as well. Thank you. Thank you for being here. I'm grateful. I'm honored. I'm honored to, you know, have a platform to speak and tell my story. Um, yes. Humble pie, but then too much humility can make you sink. That's True. You know, you gotta, you gotta own who you are. You have to believe in trust. You have to have a little bit of confidence. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you don't have to be arrogant. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you don't have to be nasty, but too much humility can make you sing. So this is definitely the way to, like, you explain, it's, that's how you swim. It's true. You just face it and you keep a little bit of humility. You know, you're always learning. I guess you're always learning. And with that, I bet you would do enjoy the rest of your When the hell day? I don't even know. Well, it must be Monday. Yeah. Is it Monday? Listen, I don't know. It sure is. I need rest. Yeah, you do. Thank you. Go get some rest. Um, I love you bits. I'll talk to you soon. We'll, we'll do this again. Hopefully we won't have to, but if we do have to, it wouldn't be the worst thing. Bye. Love you. Bye. Love you. Bye. … Dana: Okay, my friend. What did you think about that? My love cup is full. Um, I really loved hearing Asiel's attitude about teaching and kind of unpacking the highs and lows of that moment with him. Um, I really love how Ossie reminds us of the many responsibilities of choreographers and dancers that are not moves our responsibility to community, our responsibility to professionalism, our responsibility to an energy and upholding it, uplifting it. Um, I loved his emphasis on the importance on watching and listening and, uh, honestly, this move to LA story, sleeping on clothes. I have, I I have been there. I've seen it, I have done it. And I'm just, my heart is exploding for all of the success that Osiel and Rena had algo both have had since that first night in la. I hope that you found that story as riveting and inspiring as I do. Speaker 0 01:06:56 I hope that if you are moved by this episode, go find Osiel. Go find Rena Hidalgo. I will also link to everyone else that was mentioned in this episode. Um, give a follow and if the podcast is moving you, please leave us review in a rating. It helps other people find the pod so useful. And, um, yeah, really also encouraging. I love hearing from you guys. I love hearing what you like and I love feedback of all sorts. I mean, come on. Also lifelong learner over here. Raise his hand, uh, even at our 150 plus podcast. Mark, I know that the numbers of the episodes are deceiving, but with several bonus episodes. And our first actual podcast was episode 0.5, so we have passed our 150 mark. I'm super stoked about that. Thank you for listening. Thank you for your reviews and ratings and feedback. And thank you for going out into the world and keeping it super funky. I'll talk to you soon. … Outro: This podcast was produced by me with the help of many music by Max Winnie, logo and brand design by Bree Reetz, and big thanks to Riley Higgins, our executive assistant and editor also massive, thanks to you. The mover, who is no stranger to taking action. So go take action. I will not cannot stop you from downloading episodes or leaving a review into rating. I will not ban you from my online store for spending your hard earned money on the cool merch and awesome programs that await you. There. I will. 100% not stop you from visiting wordsthatmoveme.com. If you wanna talk with me, work with me and make moves with the rest of the words that move me community. Oh, and also I will not stop you from visiting thedanawilson.com. If you're curious about all the things that I do that are not words that move me related. all right, my friend, keep it funky. I'll talk to you soon.