Episode Transcript
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: Hello, Hello, my friend. Welcome to words that move me. Welcome to depending on where you live and depending on when you are listening to this, the end of summer, I live in Los Angeles and we're having a heat wave. So it doesn't feel like the end of summer, but from a strictly calendar kind of perspective, the summer is winding down. People are going back to school.
I don't go to school. I have thoughts about this. I would like to unpack my summer with you <laugh> today. Um, there is actually something that I really miss about going to school, and this is gonna be kind of confusing because ask my mother, I hated going to school. I did not mind school itself, but I really didn't like going to school, like the act of going to school. Anyway, I miss the back to school moment where I got a brand new five star trapper keeper, love to say trapper keeper. <laugh> by the way, I love pencil pouches, boulders binders, notebooks. PostIt O PostIts big fan of post-its, but the, the things are not the only thing I miss about that moment. Quite clear that back to school shopping meant back to school items and fun, but honestly, I have a lot of items still, and I have a lot of fun still.
The thing I actually miss is closure like punctuation, seasonal punctuation, one thing ending in order for another thing to begin, I guess I sort of think that because of my job, which is fun and because I'm based in LA, which is hot and sunny, always, I sort of feel like I live in this endless summer. Um, and I miss summer ending. I miss recapping, uh, thinking about the highlights and what I would relay to my school friends who weren't at nationals with me. <laugh> um, I miss thinking about what I would write, uh, when my teacher inevitably asks for 500 words on what we did over the summer, I missed that moment. Um, so I guess I'm a bit of a sentimentalist I love looking back. I love an opportunity for reflection. Um, I do have a few new year's rituals and I'm starting to build some pretty healthy birthday traditions, but right now today I'm beginning a new end of summer tradition unpacking my metaphorical summer vacation suitcase.
And I hope that you join me. This episode is designed to be interactive. Um, this is such again a great opportunity for reflection. Uh, but first, before we get into that, and maybe while you locate a pen and paper wins, we're gonna talk wins today as we do every day. Well, every not every day. Well, you know what, actually I do, I have kind of made a, made a practice of celebrating something even small every single day, but here on the podcast, every Wednesday, uh, we have a Wes Wes, like w E N S oh, Wilson, come on. We have a wins segment this week. I'm celebrating teaching a fabulous masterclass Monday at the performing arts center here in Los Angeles. Pat's self on back. Um, it was not fabulous because I taught it. It was fabulous because of the wonderful people who came and danced with me.
Thank you also very much. It was also fabulous because of the focus on movie musicals. I must admit the playlist was on point Chicago, the Wiz singing in the rain, Greece in the Heights, Lala land come through. And my favorite, the combo, <laugh> my favorite. I I'm re minded of how favorite this movie and this music is Hercules. We dance to zero to hero. And I think I, now that I say this out loud, I think I've actually celebrated this as a win on the podcast already. <laugh> that combo holds a special place in my heart, cuz it is so much fun and the music is so great. Anyways, I'm celebrating the opportunity to share my enthusiasm for the genre. Um, and I'm celebrating, giving people the opportunity to practice that ever so important money making skill of lip syncing while actually singing out. If you have a, a music supervisor who's worth a damn, they are telling you to sing out.
Even if your voice is not the one that is being captured anyways, um, this, this is such an important skill lip syncing or singing while dancing is a money maker. It is so important. We don't have many opportunities to practice. Um, I don't know. I get, maybe I just speak for Los Angeles in particular anyways, more on this in a future episode because I really think I've struck gold with something here. I love practicing that skill. I love giving people the opportunity to practice that skill. I learned so much. I hope you did too, if you were there. Um, and I will certainly be doing that again sometime. So stay tuned here on the podcast, cuz I always announce when and where I'll be teaching upcoming classes. Um, and also you can follow me on Instagram if you don't already I'm Dana Daners oh, can you even understand that? I'm Dana Daners all right. Moving on most important sub segment of the show, your win. What are you celebrating? Say it out loud. I think it's important. I think it's important. I think it's important. Hit me.
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Yay. All right. My friend, congratulations. Keep crushing it. Spring summer, fall winter all year round winning. I'm so proud of you. Keep it up. All right. Now, before we get into, um, these, these questions slash prompts that will help you unpack your summer. I'd like for you to personally start by defining what is the summer season to you? If you're a dance educator, it might be defined by nationals events and a recital. Um, if you are in school spent a really long time since I was in school, by the way. And for a while, I was part of one of those year round schools that had tracks. So I actively have no idea what school people do and when they do it and what summer means. So anyways, decide on what a summer season actually is for you decide on calendar dates. I consulted the Almanac and as it turns out in 2022 summer started on Tuesday, June 1st at 5:14 AM Eastern.
If you must know and ends on Thursday, September 22nd at 9:04 PM. Eastern guys, if you're listening to this on the day of its release, that's freaking tomorrow, summer ends tomorrow. If you're listening to this on, on the Wednesday, it came out, um, and whoa, that's wow. Time flies. Okay. Anyways, decide how you'll define your summer and let's get into it. Grab something to write with, um, or open a fresh note on your phone and get ready to play. Pause at your heart's content. As you unpack your summer with me, here we go. The first prompt is what is your proudest moment from the summer?
I think my proudest moment is organizing, assembling, executing. <laugh> the, um, words that move me screening and premiere of eight counts. The words that movie, the event itself was a massive success. A lot of organization, a lot of friendly, fun faces and brilliant work that I got to share on a big, big screen, uh, with friends, family, and fans of the podcast. That was massive. Very proud. Um, thank you again to my team. Mattie Miller slash Mattie LA Cobra for helping me organize all my volunteers on the day. TA Lee, Courtney Darlington, Riley Higgins. Thank you so much. Big, big, proud moment. Next prompt. What was your best purchase of the summer best purchase of the summer, please, please pretty please reserve your judgements. As I tell you that over the summer, in fact, on one day I bought not one but two pairs of Christian Lutons and I love them.
They make me think thoughts that make me feel emotional and powerful in all of the right ways. And I, I, I love them. Sometimes I wear them around the house and I feel fantastic in them. Um, I do wear them for short intervals cuz the feeling fantastic in them doesn't last like multiple hours. Uh, but they're fantastic best purchase by far two pairs. You guys, I couldn't, I genuine, I could not decide biggest surprise. What was your biggest surprise from the summer of 2022? I had to really think on this, but I ive decided that the biggest surprise, the moment I felt most shock or the moment I felt the most in awe, which is probably slightly different, a different thing. But my biggest surprise was looking at the grand canyon. I mean I expected it to be beautiful, but I did not expect a full out emotional experience.
I felt small. I felt grand. I felt truly surprised by its beauty. Um, and that was, that was striking. I, I will never forget it. All right. Favorite class? What was your favorite class from the summer of 2022? I know a lot of you are out there taking those summer intensive. So there have been a lot of classes. Um, yeah, let's say the favorite class taken or taught. I did not train very much this summer. I taught a lot. Um, and I actually think, even though I already celebrated this a win teaching zero to hero for the first time, I actually taught it in a junior ballroom at NYC D a nationals was the most fun I have had teaching a class in a long time. It was before I got really technical about the lip syncing element. Um, we were simply there to dance to a simply fantastic song and some of them are so young that they were not familiar with the film Hercules.
So also introducing that to them felt extra special. So I think I would cite that as my favorite class of the summer of 2022. Um, kind of flip side of that coin. What was your favorite performance from the summer of 2022? Um, as a performer or as an audience member, either one, this one's a toss up for me and an actual tie and a technical tie because you cannot compare these two shows. <laugh> zero comparison. The first is meno directed and choreographed created by Tuy Barcelo, um, podcast guest, two time podcast guest Tuy Barlo it's so fantastic. Um, I did, I certainly have celebrated that a win in the past and the second is a show that I went and saw with the sisters in Canada called tea party. Um, tea party was a absolutely incredible hysterical and very fun, um, nostalgic show, uh, featuring music and moves reminiscent of the very early two thousands.
We had your Britney, we had your Cisco, we had your Christina, we had your Justin Timberlake. It was, I was captivated of genuinely on my feet or on the edge of my seat for hours on end. And the dancing was spectacular. It was so good. And that time period really calls for that type of dance, like really full out dance, which I've gotta be honest with you is not what I default to in my personal free time dancing, but I was rocked to my core. So, uh, thank you Nate. The host, I'm gonna shout you all out in the show notes of this episode. Thank you Nate, for having us. Thank you, Meg Lawson. I love you so much for organizing and bringing me along. Of course. Thank you, Joey, cuz watching dance with you is the most fun and uh, Richie Luton. That is his name, not, not Luton spelled like the shoe ma is a lot of Lutons in this episode. Um, and Britney good for choreographing that show also to all the dancers you guys are fabulous. That was great. Oh my God. Okay. Moving on. What was your biggest risk this summer? What was your biggest risk?
I think for me renting of the theater and investing much of my own money to convert, um, the films that I plan to screen at the words that move me screening in fundraiser, converting those like MP four S or mov files into, uh, digital cinema package, AKA DCP. That was a huge risk that costs a lot of money and I was not sure, uh, how it would turn out if it would work, if it would look good, if people would come. That was massive. So I guess my proudest moment was also my biggest risk, which tells you what <laugh> Hmm. High risk high reward. Anyways, that would be it for me, but I'm so curious and I would love to hear if you're comfortable sharing tag the podcast. I wanna know what your biggest risk was this summer and if it, uh, how it, how it paid off for you.
Okay. Next up. What did I learn about me? Or if you're right along with me, what did you learn about you this summer? I'm gonna go a little deep here with you this summer. I learned like I had a genuine breakthrough here. I learned that. I think about being deserving a lot. Like for example, I worked really hard. I deserve two pairs of Lutons <laugh> or, um, I worked so damn hard on that. I really deserved credit whether that's true or not thinking about it, like thinking about being deserving or not deserving, implies judgment and judgment. Isn't all bad. My judgment keeps me alive every single day, but when I keep score like that, when I judge my worthiness of, of love, of respect, of success, of credit of Lutons, I don't feel entirely, uh, I don't feel entirely good about it. And I think that's because of that judgment part, I don't like acting as the judge. So to wrap this up, I have learned that I prefer to trade my judgment of what I am or am not deserving of for the decision that all of us, every single one of us on every single day is worthy of the full human experience. That means worthy of really, really great things and really, really great feelings and also worthy of really, really shit things and really, really shit feelings.
Yes, this summer I learned that I am worthy and capable of the full spectrum of human emotions. And I like that. I like that a lot. Oh, I think, I think there's a deeper dive on that subject coming in a podcast soon, but that'll be, that's the seed I'll plant that seed right there. Next prompt. What are the things that I wanted to happen that didn't oh man, I have been itching for some sort of like exotic getaway or like a European adventure or you know, traveling to a land that maybe I've never been to before or seeing something totally new or experiencing like I, you know, call it the COVID chapter, but I have been craving out there, different new, um, I've I've been craving like a brand new stamp on the passport, which is funny because that brings me to <laugh> the things that I wanted to happen that did happen. I left the country, but I went to Canada, which I've been to several times, although I visited Calgary and I had never been, I'm talking of course about my, um, my seaweed sister sabbatical. We it's not as sabbatical if you work, I guess. So we went to Canada to work and to play, to build and nurture new ideas and we had a freaking ball. So that was something I wanted to happen that did stoked about that. Um, next prompt. What can I leave behind?
I would like to leave behind this summer and every summer forever, the feeling of frustration that I get when I think that I don't know how things will end. I get so frustrated. Like I wanna know how the movie ends. I wanna know what happens. I wanna know what I should do so that it can happen in the best way. You know, the ending that is. And I am tired of that frustration. Um, I believe that none of us know how it will end, including those of us who may or may not have degrees of clear Voyance I just, I, I am okay. Not knowing. Um, so I guess that brings me to my last prompt on the flip side of what can I leave behind the thing that I'd like to bring with me? The thing that I would like to keep is a willingness to feel it all. I would like to keep a willingness to feel my feelings and an openness about the things that might or might not happen.
Oh, all right. My friend, that is what I have for you today. I'm gonna rattle these questions off just one more time. What was your proudest moment? What was your best purchase? What was your biggest surprise, your favorite class, your favorite performance? What was your biggest risk? What did you learn about you? What are the things that you wanted to happen? That didn't, what are the things that you wanted to happen that did? What are the things you would like to leave behind and what is going to come with you into whatever season is next for you right now? <laugh> all right. My friends, I hope you unpacked your summer right along with me. Or you know what? Now that I say that out loud, I hope that you have unpacked, whatever in the hell season you are in or coming out of. I think that these type of questions only serve as offering insight and they can do that at any stinking time stinking who says that?
I don't know, I'm wrapping it up. Y'all that was a lot of unpacking for me. Um, hats off to you, if you unpacked right along with me and of course, please let me know how that went for you. I would love to hear the answers to any or all of those questions. Holler at words that move me podcast on Instagram and I will see you all next week. Get out there, see you. I won't, I won't see you, but I will be talking to you next week. Get out there into the world, keep it exceptionally funky. Bye.
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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.
