Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / The Benefits of Having a Dance Mentor

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The Benefits of Having a Dance Mentor · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

0:46
SPEAKER_02: Hi everyone and welcome to this episode of Making Impact a Dance Competition Podcast.
0:52
SPEAKER_02: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and I'm here, of course, with my co-host, Leslie Mueller.
0:58
SPEAKER_02: Hi, dance friends.
0:59
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for joining us today.
1:00
SPEAKER_02: Yes, thanks so much for joining us, everyone, and thanks for listening through season two so far.
1:05
SPEAKER_02: We've had such a blast making this happen.
1:08
SPEAKER_02: We launched our 50th episode not too long ago, and we also just hit 50,000 downloads of our podcast in seasons one and two.
1:18
SPEAKER_02: Holy moly.
1:18
SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh, I can't believe it.
1:20
SPEAKER_02: It's crazy.
1:21
SPEAKER_02: So thank you to everyone who's been listening around the world because we can see you all across the world.
1:27
SPEAKER_02: It's so cool that we're reaching so many places.
1:30
SPEAKER_02: And uh thanks for sharing with your dance friends and listening with your dancers.
1:36
SPEAKER_02: And I hope that you've enjoyed it because we've really enjoyed making this podcast possible and we love each and every episode.
1:43
SPEAKER_02: They just keep getting better and better.
1:45
SPEAKER_02: So really excited to be here today with two fabulous guests, like always, that you'll meet very soon.
1:50
SPEAKER_02: We're talking about the benefits of having a mentor in the industry and what that means and how to get a mentor.
1:57
SPEAKER_02: And we're gonna tell you all about it.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: But before we jump in, like always, we just like to let you know what's going on over here in IDA World.
2:04
SPEAKER_02: And you've probably heard us talk a lot about IDA's virtual competition, and we like to just blast it out because it's such a great opportunity for dancers around the world to participate and get some feedback from our judges who are exceptional and pre-screened and always offer such valuable critiques.
2:21
SPEAKER_02: So take advantage of that.
2:23
SPEAKER_02: So we just wrapped and closed registration for our current March solo competition.
2:29
SPEAKER_02: So if you missed out on register registering for this one, don't worry because we also are doing an upcoming May solo and group competition.
2:38
SPEAKER_02: Independents are welcome to enter.
2:40
SPEAKER_02: Dance parents can enter solos only, and studios can enter solos and groups into our event.
2:45
SPEAKER_02: Super exciting.
2:46
SPEAKER_02: We have a top 20 live stream challenge.
2:48
SPEAKER_02: So much fun to be had at IDE's virtual competition.
2:51
SPEAKER_02: So if you want to learn more and check it out, head over to our website at Impact Dance Adjudicators.comslash virtual competition to learn more, and you can pre-register for our May event now.
3:02
SPEAKER_02: So, like I mentioned at this at the start of this episode, we're talking about finding a mentor today.
3:08
SPEAKER_02: And I'm really excited to share one of our new sponsors, which is Thrive Dance Experience, and they are an education-first dance convention providing workshops and specialized training for dancers and dance educators.
3:19
SPEAKER_02: But in addition to their conventions, Thrive Dance Experience is launching their Academy program this summer.
3:25
SPEAKER_02: The Academy is a new virtual mentorship and career development program for ages 15 to 18.
3:32
SPEAKER_02: If you love to dance, then why not pursue a career doing what you love to do?
3:36
SPEAKER_02: The Academy is a great opportunity for dancers to learn about the industry by engaging in exclusive classes, meet and greets with industry professionals, one-on-one mentorship sessions, virtual college tours, and so much more.
3:49
SPEAKER_02: If you want to learn more and sign up now about the Academy, then visit their website at thrive danceexperience.com.
3:57
SPEAKER_01: And another one of our sponsors is an oldie but a goodie, Dance Costumes by Urzua.
4:01
SPEAKER_01: Dance Costumes by Urzua offers high-end custom dance costumes and dancewear for everybody.
4:06
SPEAKER_01: What makes Dance Costumes by Urzua unique is their five variations of sizes slim, narrow, medium, curvy, and wide.
4:13
SPEAKER_01: Each of their beautiful designs gives you the option to choose the perfect size for your dancer, because all dancers deserve high-quality performance dancewear that makes them feel good in their own skin.
4:22
SPEAKER_01: Check out all their costume designs and dancewear, including the new Making the Impact line, at DanceCostumesByerzua.com and receive 15% off of your order using our podcast promo code IDA15 at checkout.
4:33
SPEAKER_02: Alright, listeners, it's time to meet our wonderful guests.
4:36
SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited to welcome two IDA judges from our roster joining us today for this discussion.
4:42
SPEAKER_02: And the first judge I'd like to welcome is a brand new judge to IDA this season.
4:47
SPEAKER_02: And her name is Jordan Baylor.
4:50
SPEAKER_02: Welcome, Jordan.
4:51
SPEAKER_02: Hi, thank you for having me.
4:53
SPEAKER_02: Of course.
4:54
SPEAKER_02: Super excited to have you.
4:55
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for joining us on the pod as a newbie.
4:57
SPEAKER_02: And also newbie IDA judge.
4:59
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the fam.
5:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, welcome.
5:01
SPEAKER_02: So excited to have you judging this season with us.
5:04
SPEAKER_03: I'm excited to be here.
5:05
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, excited to see all the dancers.
5:07
SPEAKER_02: I know.
5:08
SPEAKER_02: It's gonna be such a great season.
5:10
SPEAKER_02: So please feel free to share with all of our listeners out there a little bit about you, who you are, where you're based, any career credits, and what you're working on.
5:18
SPEAKER_03: Awesome.
5:18
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I am based out of Chicago.
5:20
SPEAKER_03: So I'm a Chicago-based professional dancer and teacher out here.
5:25
SPEAKER_03: And um, some credits, I recently got into opera work.
5:29
SPEAKER_03: So I've been doing stuff with the lyric opera here, which has been awesome.
5:33
SPEAKER_03: But I did cruise ships before that.
5:35
SPEAKER_03: Danced with a couple companies such as Deeply Rooted and Circa Rivera in the city.
5:39
SPEAKER_03: And now I'm kind of more into musical theater land.
5:42
SPEAKER_03: So I've switched over.
5:43
SPEAKER_03: So that's a recent thing.
5:44
SPEAKER_03: I love that you've done it all and around.
5:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
5:47
SPEAKER_02: Awesome, Jordan.
5:48
SPEAKER_02: Well, thank you so much for being here.
5:50
SPEAKER_02: Can't wait to chat with you.
5:51
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, thank you.
5:53
SPEAKER_02: And our next guest is a very, very close friend of mine.
5:57
SPEAKER_02: He's been on the IDA judging roster since the start of IDA.
6:01
SPEAKER_02: He's a wonderful dance educator.
6:03
SPEAKER_02: That's how we met.
6:03
SPEAKER_02: We've been teaching alongside each other for a long time.
6:06
SPEAKER_02: I don't even know.
6:07
SPEAKER_02: Probably close to 10 years, I bet.
6:10
SPEAKER_02: And he's just such a wonderful person.
6:12
SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited to welcome James Washington Manning to the podcast.
6:16
SPEAKER_02: Welcome, James.
6:17
SPEAKER_02: Hey.
6:18
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Courtney and Leslie, for having me.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: And Jordan, so nice to be here uh alongside you on the panel.
6:23
SPEAKER_02: Nice to meet you too.
6:25
SPEAKER_02: Yay.
6:26
SPEAKER_02: All right, James.
6:26
SPEAKER_02: If you wouldn't mind sharing a little bit about you, who you are, where you're based, career credits, and what you're working on.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: So I was uh born in Rochester, New York, originally from there, grew up dancing there, you know, uh not afraid to say it, competition kid.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: Um loved it, lived it, ended up going to Point Park University where I graduated from and entered a company that I danced for for four years, and then kind of stayed in that route, dancing uh in two additional companies from there, and then kind of got the musical theater bug and moved to New York City, really kind of transitioned and you know, wanted to take a dive into that and kind of solely, you know, focused on musical theater and voice lessons and acting and just that entire world that I had not been exposed to.
7:10
SPEAKER_00: I am now based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, again, where Point Park is.
7:13
SPEAKER_00: So I kind of made my way back, more so transitioning and have been, as you said, Courtney, on the educator side.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: And I am currently the dance department chair at a performing arts high school for grades, not even high school, it is also middle school, grades six through 12, like I said.
7:28
SPEAKER_00: So here in Pittsburgh.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: So I've kind of made that transition into that really being, you know, my full-time priority, you know, being an educator and alongside obviously creating these opportunities as, you know, mentorships for students and really, you know, establishing great relationships.
7:41
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and James, I know that you've actually started your own mentorship program as well.
7:46
SPEAKER_02: Do you want to tell the listeners a little bit about that?
7:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: So uh, you know, as everyone kind of allowed themselves to grow during quarantine, I took a dive into something that was unfamiliar again, you know, and this was definitely one of those things.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: It was something that I've always been really passionate about and I've tried to incorporate in, you know, other schools that I've worked in and now in the current school that I'm working in.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: I think it's really important for dancers, especially young dancers, to have and learn the essentials, the tools that they need to walk away with, you know.
8:14
SPEAKER_00: So my virtual mentorship was called Next Level.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: It was a four-week series for dancers ages 14 and 19.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: And it was, you know, centered around obviously we had movement each week, but you know, again, what I said, the importance of taking away the tools.
8:27
SPEAKER_00: So we worked on, you know, how does your headshot look?
8:29
SPEAKER_00: How does your resume look?
8:31
SPEAKER_00: How does your bio look?
8:32
SPEAKER_00: How to write the bio, you know, it's not four paragraphs, it's not a full page, it's, you know, 50 words.
8:37
SPEAKER_00: That's just enough.
8:38
SPEAKER_00: That's all you need, you know?
8:39
SPEAKER_00: And also just I had a few guests, you know, in areas where I didn't think that I knew everything.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I think I'll obviously get into that, but I think it's important to have outside perspective and, you know, just additional words to bring into.
8:51
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that was a four-week program that I started and and was really successful and enjoyed that process for those four weeks.
8:58
SPEAKER_02: Are you planning to do like more sessions in the future?
9:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's another thing, you know, that's kind of on the to-do list for most likely the summer as the school year kind of wraps up and as I'm, you know, in it right now, there's not a lot of additional time or extra time for something like that.
9:13
SPEAKER_00: But I think summer's a great time.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: And again, virtual is a is a way to connect and reach dancers that I would not have been able to re reach or meet, you know, on the regular in any other situation.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: So this has kind of been a blessing in disguise because, you know, if we would have said a year ago what Zoom, you know, a Zoom code was, no one would know, you know, and it's allowed us to literally just connect and, you know, face to face and give feedback and talk and chat through things.
9:37
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's on the to-do list for this summer.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: So hopefully coming soon, we'll have, you know, next level part two or 2.0.
9:45
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
9:46
SPEAKER_02: Love it.
9:46
SPEAKER_02: Well, y'all are wonderful.
9:48
SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for joining us for this discussion.
9:50
SPEAKER_02: Can't wait.
9:51
SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
9:52
SPEAKER_01: So let's jump right on into mentorship.
9:54
SPEAKER_01: I know, I know for Courtney and I, like we both can point to people in our pasts who were mentors for us, you know, getting going all the way back to childhood and then, you know, staying with us for our for our lives.
10:06
SPEAKER_01: But let's talk a little bit about what just what is mentorship?
10:09
SPEAKER_01: What does it entail?
10:09
SPEAKER_01: Is it, you know, is it therapy?
10:11
SPEAKER_01: Is it, you know, just dance related?
10:13
SPEAKER_01: Like what is mentorship in the in the capacity that we're talking about it today?
10:17
SPEAKER_00: For me, I think if if we go to, you know, I always think of like what with that question, what is a mentorship?
10:22
SPEAKER_00: You know, if we want to think, you know, a technical definition, you know, a mentorship or a mentor, you know, it's it's receiving guidance, right, from someone who has a skill set in a specific area, right?
10:33
SPEAKER_00: But I think, you know, with dance, Leslie, as you just mentioned, is it therapy?
10:38
SPEAKER_00: Is it, you know, hearing just additional information?
10:42
SPEAKER_00: I think it it kind of encompasses everything as a dancer.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, for me, it's it's just having someone that maybe has inside knowledge and a little bit of wisdom to then share with you.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: Because I think that's something also, you know, within our community, sometimes people are hesitant to sometimes share exactly what they know or who they know, or that, you know, the the inside key, you know, and I think that's really important when you have a mentor that can kind of help you and allow you to move forward.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: I think that's the most important part, you know, and in my opinion, as a mentor and wanting to be a mentor to mentees, just allowing that inside knowledge to be shared.
11:18
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I always look to have a mentor very similar to James, in that I kind of think about it as like a life coach almost, like a dance life coach.
11:26
SPEAKER_03: So it's kind of what you need at that time from that person.
11:30
SPEAKER_03: Like you need to do the work and come prepared as well.
11:33
SPEAKER_03: But being able to bounce step off someone that has experience and expertise in a field that you want to go in.
11:39
SPEAKER_03: I always recommend to my students that I teach, I'm like, hey, find a dancer that has a career you want and reach out to them.
11:46
SPEAKER_03: Like, what's the worst thing they could say to you is no, I can't.
11:49
SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry, I'm busy.
11:51
SPEAKER_03: And you're like still where you are, you're in the same place.
11:53
SPEAKER_03: So why not reach out to the people that you respect or that you're like, hey, that's what I think I would be good at.
12:00
SPEAKER_03: Let me talk to somebody and see how they just even how they got there, you know?
12:04
SPEAKER_03: Right.
12:05
SPEAKER_03: I think it's really important.
12:07
SPEAKER_00: I like what you said, Jordan, in in terms of like reaching out to someone or a specific time frame.
12:12
SPEAKER_00: Because I think that's something as I've thought about with a mentorship.
12:15
SPEAKER_00: And um, Leslie, you said, as as you have a mentor, maybe that's from childhood, you know, into being an adult.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: I think there's something or there's sometimes a misconception of a mentor has to be by your side or guiding you throughout all of it.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: And I don't think that's necessarily true.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: And Jordan, you said, like in that moment, what you need.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: I think that's something too that's really important for dancers to understand.
12:35
SPEAKER_00: You kind of have to take what you learn, put it in your pocket, and kind of sometimes keep moving.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: One person can't kind of provide all the answers, you know.
12:42
SPEAKER_00: There is gonna be someone sometimes that really takes you under their wing, but it's almost better to have all the perspectives, you know.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: And again, it's like you put it in your dance pocket, you know, your your dance purse, and you just, you know, you keep going.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: So to me, I think that's really important having the numerous views and perspectives to bring along.
12:59
SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
13:00
SPEAKER_03: I feel like in today's dance, especially, it's very rare to find someone that does just one style, one field, one realm of the dance world.
13:09
SPEAKER_03: You have to be versatile.
13:10
SPEAKER_03: So to find a multiple people to talk to.
13:14
SPEAKER_03: Like you just said, James, like I'm jumping into musical theater, so I'm doing the voice, acting.
13:18
SPEAKER_03: Like when I jumped in, I knew nothing about speaking on stage.
13:22
SPEAKER_03: I never spoke in my life.
13:23
SPEAKER_03: So I like went to an actor and was like, what do I do?
13:26
SPEAKER_03: Like, how do you?
13:27
SPEAKER_03: This is an art form.
13:28
SPEAKER_03: How do you prepare?
13:29
SPEAKER_03: Do I talk to somebody?
13:30
SPEAKER_03: Like, what do I and it's like yeah, it's like being willing to kind of admit I think that you have weaknesses in your training, and that's okay.
13:38
SPEAKER_03: Like it's okay to be vulnerable about that.
13:41
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
13:42
SPEAKER_03: I think that's useful.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: Do we think every dancer needs a mentor?
13:47
SPEAKER_00: I kind of go back and forth with that because I wouldn't say I per se had a mentor that I can name, you know, right off the bat that I would say was my mentor, you know, growing up as a dancer, or even say right now, you know.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: You know, there are three people specifically that come to mind for me.
14:04
SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna give them a quick shout-out.
14:06
SPEAKER_00: Please, please do.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: Greer Reed was uh the first artistic director for the first company I danced for, and then two professors I had in college, Keisha Lalama and Jason McDole.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: They, they all three of them have had a lasting impression, and they're the type of people.
14:18
SPEAKER_00: And I think what what solidifies for me that it doesn't have to be someone that you're constantly asking the questions.
14:24
SPEAKER_00: I haven't spoken to some of them and, you know, it could be months, right?
14:27
SPEAKER_00: But I could still pick up the phone or send a quick text and they're gonna call me right back and we're gonna have a conversation and they're gonna guide me in the right direction.
14:33
SPEAKER_00: So I think that's something important for dancers to understand.
14:36
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to always be this constant relationship or a necessity to have.
14:41
SPEAKER_00: But Jordan, you also said something in terms of just allowing ourselves to understand we don't have the answers or not knowing.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: I think dancers sometimes right now, and especially, you know, just with the age of social media, it's like we're able to see everything.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: We think we know everything.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: And in reality, I think that's something that some of these, you know, those specific three I mentioned kind of taught me.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: Like you don't know everything, or, you know, someone that's gonna help you is maybe giving you information that you need instead of want to hear.
15:08
SPEAKER_00: Right.
15:09
SPEAKER_00: So it's like we're always, we always like want to hear something specific.
15:12
SPEAKER_00: And then in reality, it's like, oh girl, you need to take a seat.
15:15
SPEAKER_00: Like, we need to like, you know, let's let's pump the brakes, let's reevaluate.
15:19
SPEAKER_00: Like you're saying, like, do I sing, do I talk?
15:21
SPEAKER_00: Do like what do I wear to the audition, right?
15:23
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, that mentor, hopefully, or someone you're gonna reach out to is gonna tell you.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: You don't want someone to be like, yeah, wear what you want, be like, do you?
15:30
SPEAKER_00: Like, in a sense, of course.
15:31
SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, you know, it has to be almost allowing ourselves to take a step back and say, like, I'm reaching out to this person for the answer.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: I need to receive it.
15:40
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I like that.
15:41
SPEAKER_03: I think that's a really interesting question.
15:44
SPEAKER_03: I don't think so.
15:45
SPEAKER_03: I don't think someone needs a mentor all the time either.
15:48
SPEAKER_03: I'm kind of with James on that.
15:50
SPEAKER_03: That it's it's kind of like how you utilize your teachers in the studio, right?
15:54
SPEAKER_03: Like you, they're there all the time and you're around them and you take class, then, but you only go to like your ballet teacher if you want to go to an intensive and you're like, hey, do you mind looking over my audition video?
16:05
SPEAKER_03: Like it's like picking and choosing when you can recognize that someone else needs to look at your craft other than yourself.
16:13
SPEAKER_04: Right.
16:14
SPEAKER_03: Like totally.
16:16
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
16:16
SPEAKER_02: So I'm trying to think of like my personal experience with having a mentor, and I don't really feel like that I ever really did.
16:26
SPEAKER_02: I had people I looked up to, and I had a few people that I could ask some questions to, but in my personal experience and like my dance teachers growing up, of course, like every dance teacher at your dance studio is a mentor in a in a way, shape, or form.
16:41
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
16:42
SPEAKER_02: You go to college, your professors are mentors, but like what happens when you get to the real world and you're navigating that pretty blindly or jumping in without any understanding.
16:53
SPEAKER_02: Because, like you kind of mentioned, James, when it comes to the tools, a lot of those tools aren't taught to you before you jump into the experience itself.
17:03
SPEAKER_02: So I feel like looking back when when that would have been a vital time for me to have someone to guide me, I really didn't.
17:10
SPEAKER_02: And it was just kind of like jumping in and figuring it out.
17:14
SPEAKER_02: And I think my network and my community in New York is what helped me kind of expand the experience.
17:21
SPEAKER_02: And I mean, like Leslie and I met on our very first job together.
17:25
SPEAKER_02: Leslie and I moved to New York practically at the same time.
17:28
SPEAKER_02: Leslie was way more musical theater than I ever was.
17:31
SPEAKER_02: So, like there were, I'm sure there were times when I had to reach out to Leslie and say, like, get knowledge from her.
17:36
SPEAKER_02: Hey, I'm going to a musical theater audition.
17:38
SPEAKER_02: Well, like, how does this work?
17:40
SPEAKER_02: Like, what should I do?
17:41
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'll never forget the first time I had to go to a musical theater audition and I didn't have a song.
17:46
SPEAKER_02: I didn't know what a book was, a song book was.
17:49
SPEAKER_02: Right.
17:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
17:51
SPEAKER_02: Same boat.
17:52
SPEAKER_02: I think that's I think that's if I remember correctly, and I don't remember what store it was, but there was a music store in Times Square that sold music books, probably around Broadway area somewhere.
18:02
SPEAKER_02: And I went and I bought like the stereotypical song, 16-bar song book cut that had all the songs you're never supposed to sing at an audition.
18:10
SPEAKER_02: And I learned like Roxy from Chicago because I've heard it at competitions growing up.
18:15
SPEAKER_02: And I brought the actual book and sang that.
18:18
SPEAKER_02: Like if I had someone that could have guided me and be my mentor and say, that's a no, no, don't do that.
18:24
SPEAKER_02: You're setting yourself up for failure.
18:26
SPEAKER_02: Walk in with success, then I it would have been a a very different experience for me.
18:31
SPEAKER_02: And I I do like, I don't feel like I really had a strong mentor.
18:36
SPEAKER_02: And I feel like I am okay.
18:38
SPEAKER_02: But I maybe I would have gotten further quicker if I did.
18:42
SPEAKER_02: Right.
18:42
SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
18:43
SPEAKER_02: Because I feel like the first like two to three years in New York, I was just learning.
18:47
SPEAKER_02: And I was just like trying to figure out the game and how this worked as a professional.
18:50
SPEAKER_00: I think there's two sides to that too, Courtney, because there's something really important about you being able to say, like, I did figure it out.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: You know, I think that's obviously that is the goal.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: You want to be able to figure it out, and obviously you have learned throughout time.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: But I think there's also the flip side of that.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: I feel like maybe it is social media media, maybe it is, you know, 2021 or 2020.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: True.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: Where I feel like people are more willing to help.
19:15
SPEAKER_00: But again, even on the flip side of that, people have to ask the questions, you know.
19:19
SPEAKER_00: But I I do feel that people are willing to kind of, you know, if you ask, of course, take a look at your resume.
19:26
SPEAKER_00: Or, you know, what is what is the 16 bar cut?
19:29
SPEAKER_00: Like, what does that actually mean?
19:31
SPEAKER_00: Right.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: Because I don't know.
19:32
SPEAKER_00: I just felt like, you know, for a little bit, that was very taboo to kind of ask, or even you didn't know who to ask.
19:39
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, maybe it's just because of social media, as I continue to say, you feel like you have the world at your fingertips, or you see someone doing what you want to do.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: Right.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: And if you're bold enough, you could just message them and ask, like, how do I do that?
19:50
SPEAKER_00: What do I do?
19:51
SPEAKER_00: How can I move forward?
19:52
SPEAKER_00: You know, so I think that maybe has changed a lot of people's perspective with maybe trying to help others.
19:57
SPEAKER_00: Totally.
19:57
SPEAKER_00: But again, there is something really, really wonderful about yeah, I figured it out and I've been successful.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, even if you had to, you know, learn not to bring that right wicked book from the store into the you know trial and error in your audition.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: Right.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
20:13
SPEAKER_01: I learned real quick, y'all.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: Right.
20:16
SPEAKER_00: That's not it.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: Definitely not it.
20:19
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
20:19
SPEAKER_03: I do think that's really important.
20:21
SPEAKER_03: And I think everybody has those like experiences because I walked into my first musical theater audition and pink tights and a black Leotone.
20:29
SPEAKER_03: Because like, right, yeah, like I think actually, I think it was black stirrup tights, if I remember my pink ballet shoes.
20:34
SPEAKER_03: Cause I was like, oh, we're doing ballet for Beauty and the Beast.
20:37
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
20:38
SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna come ballet, right?
20:39
SPEAKER_03: Like ballet kid.
20:41
SPEAKER_03: I'm like snatched, like ready.
20:44
SPEAKER_03: I brought my point shoes, and then I was like, um, why is everybody in a full face?
20:50
SPEAKER_03: Because like in concert dance, you come very clean versus like done.
20:55
SPEAKER_03: Right.
20:55
SPEAKER_03: And so very different.
20:56
SPEAKER_03: And I just remember sitting around and going, Well, I learned today.
20:59
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I need some lipstick.
21:02
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think I need lipstick and a curling iron.
21:05
SPEAKER_03: Like, right.
21:06
SPEAKER_02: But that's like such a perfect example.
21:08
SPEAKER_02: And I also think like why this like you two are so great for this discussion is how versatile your careers have been, and that you've been, you've you've experienced all sides of the industry in probably every way that you could, you know, and I'm sure maybe you've dabbled in TV and film, like that's the other side, or like commercial work style stuff.
21:27
SPEAKER_02: But like it's I think what you said, Jordan, at the top, which is really important that I didn't even think of, is like you said, finding someone that's doing what you're doing and asking them because they've experienced it and they've made it work.
21:42
SPEAKER_02: But that person, I think maybe maybe James, you said this, is not gonna be the same person for every aspect of the industry.
21:49
SPEAKER_02: Because there's n there are many dancers that have hit all sides of the industry.
21:54
SPEAKER_02: But then there's others that focus strictly on concert or strictly on TV and film and strictly on music videos or Go to LA or go to New York.
22:01
SPEAKER_02: You're gonna have, you need to have a mentor that you can ask questions to from each side of that.
22:06
SPEAKER_02: So you can get like the the most accurate answers and the most current answers too.
22:12
SPEAKER_02: I think that's another important thing because there might be mentors that had like a successful career and they're like vets in the industry, and that was 20 years ago.
22:21
SPEAKER_02: It is not the same world.
22:23
SPEAKER_02: And that advice does not carry through sometimes.
22:25
SPEAKER_02: Right.
22:25
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
22:26
SPEAKER_02: Not at all.
22:27
SPEAKER_02: So you have to have to be someone that's kind of living in it now, that's surrounded by it currently.
22:32
SPEAKER_02: Even if they're in casting or if they're, you know, on the other side of the table, at least they're still involved in it and they're not just like living in suburbia completely disconnected from the audition scene.
22:44
SPEAKER_02: If that's the path you're going.
22:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think there's, Courtney, you said in terms of, you know, staying relevant.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: I think obviously, as we all know, the tides are always turning, you know, in terms of the way something looks or the way something's being presented, or, you know, the way you need to walk in the room or what you need to be wearing, that's always changing.
23:00
SPEAKER_00: So I think as a mentor, too, you know, for dancers to know and understand, hearing from your mentor that they don't know the answer is actually okay because I think that takes a lot of courage as well.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: As a mentor, and that's why in my program, when I when I had the guests, you know, a guest speaker, one specifically as a casting director, and then one was specifically someone who's only done, you know, work on Broadway.
23:21
SPEAKER_00: Like I wanted to be able to present the students or the mentees with the tools that I didn't know.
23:27
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's also really important because I know that, you know, say as I was growing up as a dancer, I I found it hard sometimes.
23:33
SPEAKER_00: My my teachers wouldn't admit when they didn't know something.
23:35
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes I think that's a big step back.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: Also, I've learned as an educator, you don't know everything.
23:41
SPEAKER_00: And as always, like the times are always changing.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: So it's like, I'm gonna provide the answer or someone I know to then ask someone else who knows, you know, to get you the answer.
23:50
SPEAKER_00: I will go above and beyond to do that.
23:52
SPEAKER_00: But I think that's a part of humility too.
23:54
SPEAKER_00: As the educator, we have to also understand and realize we don't know everything, we just don't.
23:59
SPEAKER_00: There's no way to know.
24:01
SPEAKER_03: I love that.
24:02
SPEAKER_03: I think that that's so important.
24:03
SPEAKER_03: And it's so funny, James.
24:05
SPEAKER_03: I've been thinking about that a lot in teaching, and I've worked with put in my plug, off the lane with Mustard Lane.
24:12
SPEAKER_03: They do a mentorship mostly based out of New York, and they're trying to work over to the Midwest.
24:17
SPEAKER_03: So I'm going to be one of the mentors there.
24:20
SPEAKER_03: And that's something that we've talked a lot about.
24:22
SPEAKER_03: Like, do you keep a mentee a long time?
24:25
SPEAKER_03: Like, do you like how long do you keep them?
24:28
SPEAKER_03: Like, what's going on with that?
24:30
SPEAKER_03: And I was like, I don't think so, because is my kind of opinion, because I think it's important.
24:37
SPEAKER_03: While I understand people are like, yeah, but you want to be loyal and make those connections.
24:41
SPEAKER_03: And like, yeah, but you talking to other people is the same as like networking, right?
24:46
SPEAKER_03: So you're not unloyal by just asking another opinion about it.
24:50
SPEAKER_03: The more knowledge is power.
24:52
SPEAKER_03: So the more information you have, the more you can decide your own path and what works for you.
24:57
SPEAKER_03: Because like what works for me isn't gonna work for Courtney, isn't gonna work for Jane.
25:02
SPEAKER_03: Right, potentially.
25:03
SPEAKER_03: So I really, yeah, I like that idea of like bouncing around.
25:08
SPEAKER_03: And if someone doesn't know, it's okay to ask somebody else.
25:12
SPEAKER_03: And it's okay as a mentor to like point them to another direction.
25:16
SPEAKER_03: I think that's great.
25:17
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
25:18
SPEAKER_01: And that probably is what makes a good mentor is the ability to have that network of people to point to.
25:23
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: You know, it's like you, James, you have all these people that you were able to invite into your program because you knew them.
25:29
SPEAKER_01: You knew they had the skill set, you knew that they respected what you do and you respect what they do.
25:34
SPEAKER_01: Um, so I do think a lot of mentorship comes down to the big the just the very beginnings of networking and how to teach networking to these kids.
25:47
SPEAKER_02: Diving into the professional dance industry isn't easy.
25:50
SPEAKER_02: And I can definitely say that's true from experience.
26:30
SPEAKER_02: Learn more or sign up for the Academy Dance Experience dot com.
26:38
SPEAKER_01: Turning the tables a little bit, as a student, because we do have a lot of dancers, younger dancers who listen, how do you know as a student when you're ready to be mentored?
26:48
SPEAKER_01: As I asked earlier, are you does every dancer have to have a mentor?
26:52
SPEAKER_01: And I think the answer to that is no.
26:55
SPEAKER_01: But if you if you want to go that route to have a mentor, you have to be ready to take on the responsibilities of being mentored.
27:01
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
27:01
SPEAKER_01: You know, you can't just sit back and absorb information and then not do anything.
27:05
SPEAKER_01: So let's let's talk about that a little bit.
27:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think, Jordan, you said this, it's it's being able to do the work, you know.
27:12
SPEAKER_00: I think that's something that it's almost supposedly, as you said, you can't sit back.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: You have to, you have to be prepared with what, you know, someone is going to provide you with or suggest that you do.
27:21
SPEAKER_00: And I said this before, it's it's the one thing I kind of ran on in my program.
27:24
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, sometimes a mentor is gonna tell you things you don't necessarily want to hear, but it's like if you are seeking that information, you have to hear that in order to grow and to move forward and maybe grow as an artist.
27:35
SPEAKER_00: I think there's also something in that, though, as a mentor, and I've learned this as well, we have to understand sometimes our goals as an artist or what we think is best for, say, the student or the mentee is not always the best.
27:47
SPEAKER_00: We have to sometimes meet the student or the dancer where they are.
27:50
SPEAKER_00: What do you want to be doing, right?
27:51
SPEAKER_00: Even if it's not the career path or what we think is best for them, that also kind of affects their mindset as to what they're gonna be able to do or accomplish.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: I understand we all have our views on what we think, you know, a student should be doing, but their opinion and their voice also really matters.
28:07
SPEAKER_00: And I have seen that tremendously in students, I think right now, in having a voice and saying, like, actually, like, I don't want to do that.
28:15
SPEAKER_00: Like everyone has told me, you know, for 10 years I should be doing point and only studying ballet.
28:20
SPEAKER_00: Like, I want to do musical theater.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: Like I think that's also something really great to have having a conversation with a mentee or younger student to see what they want, really what they want.
28:29
SPEAKER_02: Right.
28:30
SPEAKER_02: So you can guide them the right way, you know.
28:32
SPEAKER_02: And if you if they say that, if they say, everyone's pressuring me to do ballet, I don't love this anymore.
28:36
SPEAKER_02: I really want to be on Broadway, then you say, Right, awesome.
28:39
SPEAKER_02: Let's get you to Broadway.
28:40
SPEAKER_02: This is what you need to do, you know?
28:42
SPEAKER_00: This is what we need.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: Not to keep going on this, but that topic, I think, with what, you know, telling someone what they need to do.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: I think that comes up often when kids are deciding if they want to go to school, you know, being told like you must follow this track or you must do that.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: And I don't think that's necessarily true.
28:57
SPEAKER_00: I think also there are kids that don't necessarily want to go to school for dance or, you know, that would love to go for something academic, but then still be dancing on the side and still be booking and doing what they're doing and learning that way.
29:09
SPEAKER_00: So not everyone's path or the path that you had as an educator is maybe for, you know, the students that you are mentoring.
29:15
SPEAKER_03: Totally.
29:15
SPEAKER_03: I think that's an interesting place to start with a mentor, because that's something that I've thought about is I wish I had somebody when I was looking at colleges because I didn't come from a family of dancers.
29:26
SPEAKER_03: And I was one in my studio that was actually like, I think I want to do this in school, and I didn't even know what I wanted to do with dance.
29:35
SPEAKER_03: If I'm being honest, I was like, Well, I guess I'll be a dance teacher because that's what everybody around me is doing.
29:41
SPEAKER_03: So, like, and I didn't even think because I was always told at a bat I was at like more of a competition, but we had a very strong ballet program, and so they were like, Oh, well, you're really short, and so you know, professionally, I don't know if there's much you can do.
29:56
SPEAKER_03: So I always thought, oh, okay, I'll just teach.
29:58
SPEAKER_03: And like, if I I didn't even know where to begin to research, so I think that's so awesome, especially like James hearing about what you're doing because finding the kids in that niche, because like, how do you find that other than it being in their studio?
30:14
SPEAKER_03: Right.
30:14
SPEAKER_03: And so, you know, like that's like the hard disconnect.
30:17
SPEAKER_03: Cause I feel like it's so much easier once you're in school to find a mentor because you're like going out, taking classes, seeing more companies, you kind of get to get a little bit involved.
30:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
30:26
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes in the studio, you're like closed into just your studio bubble.
30:30
SPEAKER_02: You don't really see what else.
30:31
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
30:32
SPEAKER_01: And especially if you're at a studio, Jordan, like you said, you were the one.
30:35
SPEAKER_01: You're the one who wanted to do anything with it.
30:37
SPEAKER_01: So, like you really, you're even more in a bubble.
30:39
SPEAKER_01: Right.
30:40
SPEAKER_01: You know, and I was the same way.
30:41
SPEAKER_01: I didn't, I was the only one who wanted to pursue it.
30:43
SPEAKER_01: And even though my mother owns the studio, she didn't go to college for dance.
30:47
SPEAKER_01: I'm very short.
30:48
SPEAKER_01: I got right and left.
30:49
SPEAKER_01: You're too short.
30:50
SPEAKER_01: You're not gonna, what are you gonna do?
30:51
SPEAKER_01: How are you gonna make money?
30:52
SPEAKER_01: Don't do it, don't I mean, even again, my mother, a dance studio owner, was like, no, don't go to college for dance.
30:58
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I had I had to reach out.
31:00
SPEAKER_01: I had several, several of my my high school dance teachers were my mentors, and still to this day, like I am one of those people who has kept mentors since middle school.
31:09
SPEAKER_01: And these are women, you know, that is yes, I consider myself very lucky.
31:13
SPEAKER_01: But, you know, they were the ones that said, listen, you are gonna have to do this work.
31:17
SPEAKER_01: Like, yes, it will be harder for you.
31:19
SPEAKER_01: Yes, you are gonna have to struggle, and like it it may be terrible, but if this is what you want to do, you have to do A, B, and C, which meant go take class at other studios, which meant take a voice lesson, which meant, you know, do everything possible to make yourself marketable to to negate the fact that you're short.
31:35
SPEAKER_01: You know, like yeah, right.
31:37
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, you really do you have to find that bubble that's wider than your bubble.
31:42
SPEAKER_01: And if that means, you know, reaching out to another studio, reaching out, like trying to keep keep your integrity and keep your loyalty, but also, like we said earlier, reaching out, finding other avenues and other mentorship opportunities to just widen your scope.
31:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
31:58
SPEAKER_02: And like, like you said, like uh, I think James, you said it, how more accessible things are.
32:04
SPEAKER_02: And we're we're all around the same age on this discussion.
32:07
SPEAKER_02: We're all referencing back to our time in the studio and our time heading to college.
32:12
SPEAKER_02: I I am so with you, Jordan.
32:15
SPEAKER_02: I had no one to talk to.
32:17
SPEAKER_02: No idea.
32:18
SPEAKER_02: Clue where to go to school.
32:19
SPEAKER_02: My dance teachers pretty much sat me down and told me that I'll never make it in New York, I'll never make it as a professional.
32:25
SPEAKER_02: There's hundreds of court New Ortizes out there.
32:28
SPEAKER_02: How are you gonna stand out?
32:29
SPEAKER_02: Like that.
32:29
SPEAKER_02: And I was it was on it was honest and it was the truth.
32:33
SPEAKER_02: Like it was, you know, and it kind of put some fuel under me to figure it out.
32:39
SPEAKER_02: I was like, you know what?
32:40
SPEAKER_02: I I appreciate your your insight.
32:43
SPEAKER_02: I don't like how you don't really believe in me that this is possible, but like I'm gonna prove you wrong.
32:47
SPEAKER_02: And the same kind of exactly the same felt with my parents too, you know.
32:52
SPEAKER_02: I've and I'm sure we have all felt this, like getting the making sure our parents accepted our our career path and and this choice to go.
33:00
SPEAKER_02: Because, like you said, Jordan, let's I highly doubt, except for you, Leslie, everybody the rest of us don't have parents that grew up in dance or know knowledge of dance, so they can't guide us.
33:12
SPEAKER_02: And then we have our high school counselors.
33:15
SPEAKER_02: They don't know what to do.
33:15
SPEAKER_02: Let's be real.
33:16
SPEAKER_02: Oh my god, those poor people.
33:18
SPEAKER_01: They didn't know what to do with any of us.
33:20
SPEAKER_02: I was like, I think I'm getting to Marymount Manhattan.
33:23
SPEAKER_02: They're like, What's that?
33:24
SPEAKER_00: Like, they're like, I was educating them.
33:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
33:29
SPEAKER_02: Right.
33:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so like we are we are gonna have a college dance discussion on the podcast, but very much needs to happen and hopefully bring some insight to about different dance schools and options and to the kids that are making that hard decision because it is very hard.
33:42
SPEAKER_02: But I agree.
33:43
SPEAKER_02: I wish we would have, I could have had a mentor to help guide me.
33:46
SPEAKER_02: And I it is more accessible now with social media and being able to follow people that you look up to.
33:52
SPEAKER_02: But something that you mentioned, James, actually, all of us have have mentioned it about like putting the work in.
33:58
SPEAKER_02: Something that kind of like I love being a mentor for dancers.
34:02
SPEAKER_02: I love because I didn't have that, like I mentioned.
34:04
SPEAKER_02: So I love giving back to the next generation and helping in every way.
34:07
SPEAKER_02: The hard part for me is when I, you know, give my time, which I'm happy to do because I want to help them, but then like you mentioned, James, I think they don't take, they don't follow through with the advice that I'm giving.
34:18
SPEAKER_02: And I'm sitting, I'm listening.
34:20
SPEAKER_02: You told me what you want.
34:21
SPEAKER_02: If this is what you want, this is my advice, this is my way to guide you.
34:25
SPEAKER_02: If I told you that your technique isn't at the level that it needs to be for you to be able to pursue this career that you want to have and you need an extra ballet class year later, you're still not taking that extra ballet class.
34:36
SPEAKER_02: What was the point of me mentoring you?
34:37
SPEAKER_02: Right.
34:38
SPEAKER_02: At that point, it just becomes a it comes across as like, should I really continue to give you my time?
34:44
SPEAKER_02: Because let's be real, time is money.
34:46
SPEAKER_02: And if I'm willing to do this for free, which um so many of us are happily willing to, you know, if we care, then it just kind of feels like you know, a step in the wrong direction if you're not really gonna follow through with our guidance.
34:58
SPEAKER_02: You if you sought us out to get it.
35:01
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
35:02
SPEAKER_03: I think it's I'm at the same boat.
35:04
SPEAKER_03: I always say, like, just don't waste my time.
35:07
SPEAKER_03: Like, I will listen and you can decide that something you want to pivot step and go a different route.
35:12
SPEAKER_03: That's cool.
35:13
SPEAKER_03: But and if we're communicating and that's clear, great.
35:16
SPEAKER_03: But don't waste my time.
35:17
SPEAKER_03: After I've like sat there and told you what to do, don't rely on me to solve your problem.
35:23
SPEAKER_03: I'm not here to solve your problem.
35:25
SPEAKER_03: Like, you need to solve your own problem and you need to at least try.
35:28
SPEAKER_03: Like, give me some effort.
35:30
SPEAKER_03: And then if it's not working, we can like go back to the drawing board and find a way that works for you.
35:36
SPEAKER_03: But it's just when people come in and are like, oh yeah, you told me to look that up, but I I didn't have time.
35:42
SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, Well, I don't believe you because you were on TikTok and you got four TikTok videos, and that I know that takes like about an hour, two hours.
35:54
SPEAKER_03: So instead of maybe doing your little TikToks, you should have been researching your stuff to be here, or you should have been doing a virtual class now since you have the option.
36:05
SPEAKER_03: And there's so many more resources, and stuff moves so quickly now that I think that there's no like, oh, I had to have someone drive me to the library to look it up anymore.
36:14
SPEAKER_03: Right.
36:15
SPEAKER_03: No, you have yeah, you can get on your computer, okay?
36:18
SPEAKER_02: And what you just said, Jordan, goes back to the question that you asked Leslie.
36:22
SPEAKER_02: Are you when are you ready for a mentor?
36:24
SPEAKER_02: That example that you just gave of the dancer who was doing TikTok instead of researching things that you asked them to research as their mentor, they were not ready for not ready.
36:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was like mom told them to come ask questions, you know.
36:37
SPEAKER_02: It's like it has to be the dancer, has to want it.
36:40
SPEAKER_02: The dancer has to really and and there have been times when like moms have reached out to me, you know, because maybe they don't want their dancer to reach out to me personally.
36:48
SPEAKER_02: But like dancers who are 17, 18, 19, who are making that transition have personally reached out and I'm totally cool with it.
36:54
SPEAKER_02: And I'm happy to help guide you in whatever way you want because I can tell you're taking this seriously, you know.
37:00
SPEAKER_02: But it is that the mom knows that they need to push the kid, but then the the kid doesn't maybe not have the heart for it, doesn't want to do it, you know.
37:08
SPEAKER_02: There is that fine line as so, like when when are you wasting someone's time as a mentor and when you're really, you know, being utilized to your fullest.
37:17
SPEAKER_03: And I think it's okay to admit that.
37:19
SPEAKER_03: I think like, you know, sometimes we cho we take off more than we can chew.
37:23
SPEAKER_03: And so, like saying to someone, hey, like, I know I reached out to you for this, but I signed up for X, Y, and Z, or like I got a lot of work in school, and I don't think I could fit this in, but I really want to revisit this with you.
37:35
SPEAKER_03: I think being like upfront and addressing that early on is really important because you're already making connections when you're dealing with people that are in the field.
37:46
SPEAKER_03: So then, if I had a bad experience with you not showing up to my mentorship, I then question, well, for a rehearsal, will you show up?
37:55
SPEAKER_03: Like, will you be prepared?
37:56
SPEAKER_03: Like it's totally everything relates now.
37:59
SPEAKER_03: And so to that.
38:00
SPEAKER_03: And I think that's important for especially young dancers to remember, not just, I know we say it all the time in the classroom, like, be nice to everybody in the audition room.
38:10
SPEAKER_03: It's kind of like just be a good person and treat people how you want to be treated.
38:14
SPEAKER_03: So if you don't want your time wasted, don't waste other people's time.
38:18
SPEAKER_03: And if you would like someone to shoot you an email to let you know that they're too busy for this right now, then you should do that too.
38:24
SPEAKER_03: Right.
38:25
SPEAKER_03: And that would be good so much better.
38:27
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
38:27
SPEAKER_03: And then it's it just like keeps you in a positive light.
38:31
SPEAKER_03: You always want to be looked at, like be your best version of yourself for people, right?
38:37
SPEAKER_03: So why not start now?
38:39
SPEAKER_03: Right.
38:40
SPEAKER_01: As you get further into a professional career, there like there will be, there will always be somebody else who is willing to put in the work and who is willing to show up.
38:51
SPEAKER_01: And that's just the truth.
38:53
SPEAKER_01: It may not be the truth that your dance studio right now, you're the person that's showing up to doing to do the work.
38:57
SPEAKER_01: And like you're the one that's that's that person all the time, but you can't let that slip once you get further into it.
39:04
SPEAKER_01: And I think that is what you run run into once you get into that sort of 1819, like we didn't quite know whether we were gonna go to college, haven't quite moved to the big city to pursue the thing.
39:15
SPEAKER_01: It's that sort of demographic of of dancers, I think, that they're either gonna do it or they're not gonna do it.
39:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
39:21
SPEAKER_01: And Sally on the street's gonna show up.
39:22
SPEAKER_01: Uh-oh.
39:23
SPEAKER_01: Sally's here.
39:23
SPEAKER_01: Sally's always here.
39:25
SPEAKER_01: Sally's here.
39:25
SPEAKER_01: She has a ride.
39:26
SPEAKER_01: She has a ride.
39:27
SPEAKER_01: Sally on the street.
39:29
SPEAKER_01: But like Susie on the street is coming right up behind her.
39:32
SPEAKER_01: Susie! You know?
39:33
SPEAKER_01: So, like, Sally, you gotta move your butt.
39:35
SPEAKER_01: You gotta do it because Susie's coming right up behind you.
39:37
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
39:38
SPEAKER_00: It's the it's the power of communication in general.
39:40
SPEAKER_00: I think it's something that, you know, dancers just have to remember, you know, communicating, like, I am doing too much right now, I want to revisit this.
39:49
SPEAKER_00: Like you said, Jordan.
39:50
SPEAKER_00: I think that also, me as a mentor, seeing, say, a 17-year-old, 16-year-old write me that email or say that to me, you know, in our conversation.
39:59
SPEAKER_00: I think that has a lot of power as well because it's like you're then seeing an enhanced or a mature version of that dancer and that they're able to kind of establish their schedule or, you know, understand their priorities.
40:10
SPEAKER_00: And you can say, like, you know, this dancer had to step away from the program, but I did recognize how they were able to understand their schedule and know that this was too much at the moment.
40:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, so I think, you know, I try to always tell my students just, you know, the power of communication and allowing people to understand where you are, right?
40:27
SPEAKER_00: It's, oh, my mom signed me up for this, you know, right?
40:29
SPEAKER_00: It's just like, let's be honest, let's be really honest.
40:32
SPEAKER_00: Or if I really do want this, I'm telling you that, and I'm gonna put the work in.
40:35
SPEAKER_00: And I think something also for dancers to understand and remember, if you have someone, you know, say it's a resume template, providing you with that and then asking, allow me to see it, send it back to me, allow me to make edits, I'll send it back to you, or let me read your bio, they are they are taking their precious time to help you, right?
40:53
SPEAKER_00: It's sometimes we don't always understand that that that person is stepping out to help me, right?
40:58
SPEAKER_00: It's like that, that is, that is grace, right?
41:01
SPEAKER_00: There, because not a lot of people would do that.
41:02
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
41:03
SPEAKER_00: We said that at the beginning, that's rare.
41:05
SPEAKER_00: So if someone is allowing you and providing you with tools and then following up and saying, let me see it, or do it this way, that doesn't look right, you know, there's a lot in that.
41:13
SPEAKER_00: So I think dancers have to also see that, like, you know, I didn't get anything out of that.
41:17
SPEAKER_00: That was that was like it wasn't anything that I was interested in.
41:20
SPEAKER_00: No, well, maybe you weren't doing exactly what was being asked of you.
41:24
SPEAKER_00: You know, I think there's there's always a flip side to two situations.
41:27
SPEAKER_00: That that would be just, you know, in my opinion, in terms of like seeing that someone is trying to help you and not always understanding that that was their way of helping you.
41:36
SPEAKER_03: Like be more grateful, you mean for it?
41:39
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
41:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
41:40
SPEAKER_00: Just understanding, like, you know, at times, I don't know.
41:44
SPEAKER_00: I think as a young dancer, as I reflect, like when I was younger, I saw it sometimes as, well, maybe they don't like me, or maybe like they're giving me feedback that doesn't always, you know, feel appropriate to like me as a dancer.
41:54
SPEAKER_00: But then now looking at it, it's like they were just trying to prepare me for, you know, the next situation or, you know, when I was a warping dancer.
42:02
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's like being grateful for the things that are being presented to you.
42:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
42:07
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about for sort of our we have a lot of dance teachers that listen, we have other judges that listen.
42:13
SPEAKER_01: If somebody is interested in becoming a mentor, I know that, you know, a lot of us, all of us here, you know, have said that we like to give back.
42:20
SPEAKER_01: It is something we wish that we had had growing up that we want to give to the next generation.
42:24
SPEAKER_01: So, what would the first steps towards becoming a mentor be?
42:27
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I don't know if you can just pluck a kid and say, you, I'm mentoring you.
42:31
SPEAKER_01: Right.
42:31
SPEAKER_01: You are the lucky one, but like our mind.
42:34
SPEAKER_01: How do we get there?
42:35
SPEAKER_01: How do we get to that position?
42:37
SPEAKER_03: Well, I think honestly, looking on social media, I know that sounds silly, but like looking for there's a lot of like non-for-profit arts programs.
42:47
SPEAKER_03: I know here in Chicago, especially because of COVID, there's a lot of programs that are up for that.
42:53
SPEAKER_03: And reaching out to them, I feel like there's a lot of good resources.
42:57
SPEAKER_03: I have also found that going to places that for musical theater, like more like acting, singing schools, and going in and being like, hey, I'm a dancer, and like I don't know if you would need dance subs or if you have any students that want private and then have been connected to kids that way.
43:17
SPEAKER_03: Also, I worked for a brand marketing company, Mustard Lane.
43:21
SPEAKER_03: They just started, if you're in New York off the lane, they're looking for more mentors, actually.
43:26
SPEAKER_03: They just did a post about it, so it's literally at off the lane.
43:30
SPEAKER_03: And if you check that out, you can send in your application to be a mentor or a mentee.
43:36
SPEAKER_03: And that's cool.
43:38
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's kind of like an outreach program for artists.
43:41
SPEAKER_03: They just started over the pandemic as well.
43:44
SPEAKER_03: Nice.
43:44
SPEAKER_03: Those are all I got.
43:46
SPEAKER_03: Games, the silver linings of the pandemic.
43:49
SPEAKER_03: Seriously.
43:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
43:50
SPEAKER_00: I just think, you know, in terms of say, you know, a studio owner or even dancers that are looking for, say, a mentor, I think it's it starts with we've said it over and over, just asking.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: Of questions.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: I think there's never a question that you can't ask someone.
44:03
SPEAKER_00: And Jordan, I think you said this at the beginning, like what's the worst they answer and say, I'm too busy, or again, the I don't know, right?
44:09
SPEAKER_00: And then maybe they can point you in the right direction.
44:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, I think for me it's it's finding people in the path, and we've said this as well, that are on or on the journey that you kind of want to resemble or get close to, or something that you want to step out of your comfort zone and step into.
44:25
SPEAKER_00: You know, see if there's someone that maybe has done that, you know, even if it's someone that you follow on social media to ask them their guidance.
44:31
SPEAKER_00: And maybe that could lead to someone that they were mentored by or, you know, took a lot of advice from.
44:37
SPEAKER_00: You know, I think the biggest thing for me also is allowing, you know, even parents specifically as we take the journey from, you know, preparing for school or understanding, you know, that transition from a dance studio to a college program or a, you know, a training program, again, about those tools in terms of, you know, what does the dance resume look like?
44:54
SPEAKER_00: You know, what does the bio look like, or what does even like your headshot look like?
44:58
SPEAKER_00: You know, is it a senior photo, which is more so like a portrait photo, or is it, you know, a specific headshot with a specific photographer?
45:06
SPEAKER_00: You know, so I think for me it's it's allowing parents or even studio owners to kind of create relationships with people who have those answers to then help you and guide you and move forward.
45:16
SPEAKER_02: I I'm kind of like as you were saying that, James, I started thinking like, well, how did I learn how to do that stuff?
45:22
SPEAKER_02: Because, like, let's be real, I don't think there's many, if any, one that sits down in a dance studio unless it's an actual like seminar type class and says, This is what a professional resume looks like, not a business resume that mom uses for applications.
45:37
SPEAKER_02: Like, if you go to a dance audition, your resume needs to look like this, your headshot needs to look like this.
45:42
SPEAKER_02: Like, even in college, I didn't have that in college.
45:45
SPEAKER_03: Even in college, exactly.
45:46
SPEAKER_03: I didn't yeah, I know musical theater.
45:49
SPEAKER_03: I've been talking with friends, musical theater programs had like a whole class, and then they even had casting directors come in, and I'm like, why don't dance programs have that?
45:59
SPEAKER_03: Like, I remember like taking a picture with my phone and like sending it to Walgreens and printing it off, and it was like not even an eight by ten.
46:08
SPEAKER_03: It's like a five by seven little guy that I like clipped on the back of my resume, and I was like, that's right, right, right.
46:16
SPEAKER_01: They wanted a picture.
46:17
SPEAKER_01: Here's a picture.
46:18
SPEAKER_02: But we don't know any different, right?
46:20
SPEAKER_02: I mean, we really don't know until we learn.
46:22
SPEAKER_02: I think that like I would maybe say someone that really guided me at the very start of my career was actually my agency because I was lucky enough to get an agent very quickly, and the reason I did was because I had a connection in the dance world and I networked.
46:38
SPEAKER_02: And you know, goes back to networking.
46:40
SPEAKER_02: It's all about who you know.
46:41
SPEAKER_02: I knew a dancer whose brother was an agent who hooked me up at Block NYC.
46:46
SPEAKER_02: Like, that's how I did at 19-year-old Courtney Ortiz rolling up to New York City with one credit Royal Caribbean on the resume.
46:54
SPEAKER_02: Not even six months.
46:55
SPEAKER_02: Right.
46:55
SPEAKER_02: Like, did I really I didn't go to college drop college dropout, Royal Caribbean?
46:59
SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, like did I really deserve an agency handed to me?
47:03
SPEAKER_02: Probably not.
47:04
SPEAKER_02: And then at the same time, like my agent said, Here's your resume template.
47:07
SPEAKER_02: This is what it's supposed to look like.
47:08
SPEAKER_02: Here are the list of head chat photographers that you need to go get new headshots.
47:12
SPEAKER_02: This is the look we're looking for.
47:13
SPEAKER_02: I mean, all of those things, and I learned really quickly because of their guidance.
47:17
SPEAKER_02: And if you don't have that going in, which not a lot of dancers have that, you know, like I feel very lucky in that sense.
47:23
SPEAKER_02: But like, unless there's platforms and different seminars and things that are way more accessible now than that was for me over 10 years ago, then how are we gonna learn these things if our studio is not providing it for us, or even if our college isn't providing for upfit?
47:37
SPEAKER_02: Because you think as a dance parent that you're sending your kid to school for$30,000 a year because that's how much every dance program costs, unless you're going in state.
47:45
SPEAKER_02: And you think that by the time they graduate, they're gonna know those things.
47:49
SPEAKER_02: And we just sat here and told you that none of our colleges taught us that.
47:52
SPEAKER_02: Like we didn't learn until we got dropped into the real world.
47:56
SPEAKER_00: Or even how to adjust, say, specifically if we talk resume, you know, even as we say there's the difference between a business resume and a performing arts resume, there's also a big difference between, say, like a concert dance resume and a musical theater resume.
48:10
SPEAKER_00: So that's also something absolutely right.
48:12
SPEAKER_00: TV film or even just print, like you've only done print work.
48:15
SPEAKER_00: All those resumes look a little bit different, or even, you know, the difference of having, say, a choreographic resume and then a dancer resume.
48:22
SPEAKER_00: Like you wouldn't combine those two.
48:23
SPEAKER_00: I mean, yeah.
48:24
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely right.
48:25
SPEAKER_00: All of those things are different.
48:27
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's something that Cornese, you mentioned within these school programs, like, I don't know if that was ever told.
48:33
SPEAKER_00: Like it was like, just create your resume and it's all on one.
48:35
SPEAKER_00: And it's in reality, it shouldn't be, right?
48:38
SPEAKER_00: You wouldn't put, you know, your TV work, especially if you're more so then on the other side of the table as a choreographer, on your dancer resume.
48:45
SPEAKER_00: Like it just needs to be two separate resumes.
48:47
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes you will send all three.
48:49
SPEAKER_01: I just applied to a job where I was like, well, they need to know my performance credits, but they also need to know my teaching credits, but they also need to know that I'm a human being who has had other jobs.
48:58
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
48:59
SPEAKER_01: Here's all three of my resumes.
49:01
SPEAKER_01: Like you can put it on one, it would be three pages long.
49:05
SPEAKER_03: I was just discussing this with another dancer about reels because after doing multiple.
49:10
SPEAKER_03: That's a good episode topic.
49:13
SPEAKER_03: Because I was like, wait a minute.
49:14
SPEAKER_03: I was looking over my reel and I was like, I think I need to separate it.
49:18
SPEAKER_03: I was like, I have concert, yeah, cruise ship, musical theater shows on one.
49:24
SPEAKER_03: And I was like, this doesn't, it works for now, but when you're really gonna submit for yeah, like when you it's getting to the point where I'm like, this isn't gonna work anymore.
49:34
SPEAKER_03: You guys, so like when you separate it, do you put all three up on your website?
49:39
SPEAKER_03: Like, I wish those things, like even a website.
49:42
SPEAKER_03: I took a website class outside of college, and all these kids were coders, and I was like doing basic coding, and it still didn't help me with my website.
49:51
SPEAKER_03: So I feel like those kind of things, you're you kind of have to be a go-getter and either figure them out yourself or like don't be afraid to ask somebody that's working.
50:03
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, don't be afraid to ask because it'll just make it so much easier for you.
50:08
SPEAKER_00: Like I think too, like pandemic has also taught us that everything needs to almost be one step ahead, you know.
50:16
SPEAKER_00: And I think I I try to tell a lot of my students that as well, you know, in terms of like a real think about it.
50:20
SPEAKER_00: Like if someone hasn't been dancing now for almost a full year, you know, literally a full year, is that real ready though?
50:27
SPEAKER_00: And if someone's asking to see you dance, right?
50:30
SPEAKER_00: And they're booking the job, it's a television show, it's filming, it's you know, tomorrow, like they need to see it.
50:35
SPEAKER_00: So it's almost having that stuff and those tools.
50:37
SPEAKER_00: Again, I know I keep going back to that word, but those tools always ready, right?
50:41
SPEAKER_00: Always accessible.
50:42
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, here's my website or Leslie's.
50:43
SPEAKER_00: You say, here are the three resumes, here's everything, you know, take it as it is, and you know, hopefully you'll you'll book me.
50:50
SPEAKER_00: So I think that's something too during pandemic.
50:52
SPEAKER_00: I've told students, like, we've been given this time to learn all these new skills.
50:57
SPEAKER_00: We have to just put them to use and, you know, create as much as we can.
51:00
SPEAKER_03: One thing actually, my dad used to say to me that always sticks in my head when you were saying these things, you're like, You've been given this time in the pandemic.
51:06
SPEAKER_03: He would say, Anytime you're resting, someone else is working.
51:10
SPEAKER_03: And I used to always be like, oh.
51:12
SPEAKER_03: So then you think about it so even when you're sitting and watching your Netflix show and you're like, hey, maybe like while I'm watching this, I'm just gonna like edit, update my resumes here real quick.
51:22
SPEAKER_03: Because we've all been there when you like are on the train and you pull out your phone and you're like, oh my gosh, I have to send my resume in.
51:29
SPEAKER_03: Shoot, like, I've done two shows since I updated this.
51:32
SPEAKER_03: Why didn't I do this earlier?
51:34
SPEAKER_03: And you're like on the train trying to Google docs your like resume.
51:38
SPEAKER_03: And it's like if I had just taken five minutes, I was already sitting and just like did it.
51:45
SPEAKER_03: Stuff like that, just really like maximizing, especially right now, since you have the time, you're at home, you're bored with Zoom stuff.
51:52
SPEAKER_03: Like, why not reach out to people and be like, hey, I need to learn these things, or I have questions about colleges.
51:58
SPEAKER_03: Like, use as much time as you can to utilize towards the thing that you want to do and you're passionate about.
52:04
SPEAKER_03: Because now's the time, and when you get there, you won't want to do it.
52:11
SPEAKER_02: I think like what you like while you were saying all of that, and I love love that advice from your dad.
52:16
SPEAKER_02: I feel like I I live by that now.
52:20
SPEAKER_02: One of the things that came to mind for me as dancers, and if you and if young dancers are listening and they haven't figured this out yet, a word that you're going to live by is the word hustle as a dancer.
52:31
SPEAKER_02: We know how to hustle the most out of anyone I've ever met in my life.
52:36
SPEAKER_02: We wear a thousand hats, we'll do whatever it takes, we're a team player, make it work, make it work.
52:42
SPEAKER_02: Oh, you need me to be here on this day?
52:44
SPEAKER_02: Boom, I got you.
52:46
SPEAKER_02: Oh, you need me to cut my hair to book this job?
52:48
SPEAKER_02: Cute, I'll do it.
52:49
SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, it's what it's yeah, and then like like you said, oh, I really want to watch this Netflix series, but oh man, I gotta get my re website updated.
52:58
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna work on that.
52:59
SPEAKER_02: You know, we're always we're always a step ahead.
53:01
SPEAKER_02: We're always trying to, you know, squeeze in everything that we can to make ourselves the most successful.
53:07
SPEAKER_02: And I mean, all of us, we've all been professional dancers.
53:10
SPEAKER_02: Every morning I would wake up, hit playbill, backstage, dances for dancers, actors equity, what auditions are today, put them in my calendar.
53:17
SPEAKER_02: I mean, as a part of my routine, yeah, that we we all got a part of.
53:21
SPEAKER_02: Like that's the hustle that you have to have and find as a dancer when you don't real you don't really realize that until you're again thrown into it.
53:29
SPEAKER_00: In it, yeah.
53:30
SPEAKER_02: You know, you don't realize how much hustle it needs to happen to make a successful career and get to the point that you want.
53:35
SPEAKER_02: And hustle includes networking.
53:37
SPEAKER_02: And networking starts from the very, very beginning.
53:41
SPEAKER_02: And finding a mentor is a first step in networking because you're going to establish a connection with someone that's willing to guide you and help you and refer you.
53:50
SPEAKER_02: I can't tell you how many people that I've mentored in the past that I've just really took under my wing.
53:54
SPEAKER_02: And anytime when I'm doing my daily audition check, pre-pandemic PS, when I'm doing my daily audition audition check, there might be something that I that fits that person that I mentor that's in a different place in my like their career than I am.
54:08
SPEAKER_02: You know, I I'm past my cruise ship, been there, done that cute.
54:12
SPEAKER_02: But this answer is where I was 10 years ago, and I'm gonna send them this cruise ship gig.
54:16
SPEAKER_02: That's you know, I don't have to do that out of, you know, that's they should be hustling and finding this on their own.
54:22
SPEAKER_02: They should say thanks.
54:22
SPEAKER_02: I've already got it in my calendar.
54:24
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
54:24
SPEAKER_01: That's the answer they should have, yes.
54:26
SPEAKER_02: But like I think also like as a mentor to hear it coming from someone that says, This is perfect for you, right?
54:32
SPEAKER_02: You need to do this, you need to take my advice and go to this audition.
54:36
SPEAKER_02: Then that is like a stepping stone to help them in their career.
54:39
SPEAKER_02: And hopefully, again, they take it.
54:41
SPEAKER_00: That's yeah, that's exactly Courtney, what I was saying earlier.
54:44
SPEAKER_00: It in in taking it and saying, like, they're helping me by sending me this.
54:48
SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, absolutely.
54:50
SPEAKER_02: So important.
54:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
54:51
SPEAKER_02: Because you can't just sit back and hope that your mentor is gonna send you every audition notice.
54:55
SPEAKER_02: I'm not your agent.
54:56
SPEAKER_02: You know, I'm not sure.
54:57
SPEAKER_01: And even your even your agent sometimes not sending you everything.
55:00
SPEAKER_01: You still gotta look for stuff.
55:02
SPEAKER_00: Right.
55:02
SPEAKER_00: That's that feels like a total different conversation in terms of being your own advocate and finding and booking your own work.
55:08
SPEAKER_00: But I think in terms of everything we've said with communication and you know, asking the questions, there's also just I I try to say this as often as possible with young dancers.
55:18
SPEAKER_00: There's so much in the two words, thank you.
55:21
SPEAKER_00: Also, that's like a follow-up.
55:23
SPEAKER_00: It's also uh, to me, a um just a sign of gratitude that you are listening.
55:28
SPEAKER_00: It's allowing you to create relationships, literally sending a handwritten thank you to, you know, a choreographer you worked with, or you know, it's something I've really created great relationships with studios, sending, say, a handwritten thank you after I was there for a full week in choreographed five dances and you know, got to meet everyone's family and cousins and all of it, whatever.
55:46
SPEAKER_00: But like to me, that then allows them to remember or see me as a human, like, oh yeah, we want to bring him back.
55:52
SPEAKER_00: So I think that also is a part of the communication.
55:55
SPEAKER_00: That's also a part of the hustle because it's like that's the next step to then allow that invitation to come for next year.
56:01
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
56:01
SPEAKER_00: It's it's I think dancers need to understand that too.
56:04
SPEAKER_00: And I think there's the power of those two words, thank you, is it means so much.
56:08
SPEAKER_00: It really does mean so much, and it doesn't always mean a thank you, you know, via text or you know, a direct message on Instagram.
56:14
SPEAKER_00: It's sometimes, you know, going above and beyond, and like I said, a a handwritten thank you or you know, something being sent just just little to allow them to remember you.
56:24
SPEAKER_03: It's similar.
56:25
SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah.
56:25
SPEAKER_03: Oh, I love stories.
56:26
SPEAKER_03: Not very long, but uh, I was at, I got my first lyric audition from a thank you because Austin McCormick, who's a choreographer, obsessed with men to Chicago for this audition.
56:39
SPEAKER_03: They were looking for men, and I was like, I don't even care.
56:42
SPEAKER_03: I wanna go because I want to be in his stuff.
56:44
SPEAKER_03: So I just showed up and like there were four girls because they basically said, like, we're only looking for men.
56:50
SPEAKER_03: Went in, loved his work, just shot him a message and was like, Hey, I'm gonna be in New York in a week.
56:56
SPEAKER_03: And I loved your class that you gave at this audition.
57:00
SPEAKER_03: Just wondering, like, are do you teach any classes in New York?
57:04
SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much for coming to Chicago.
57:06
SPEAKER_03: Like, I just want to, like, I just want to take from you again.
57:09
SPEAKER_03: And literally a week later, I got a call that one of the girls that he was bringing with him from New York dropped out, and so he wanted me to do it.
57:18
SPEAKER_03: And I was like, Wow, I love that.
57:21
SPEAKER_03: And I always to the same, and yeah, I always to the same wonder is it because I sent that message?
57:27
SPEAKER_03: Right.
57:28
SPEAKER_03: Because and I kind of think it was.
57:31
SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
57:32
SPEAKER_03: All the girls, great, there were only four of us, like they were awesome, and like, but I always wonder, I'm like, I wonder if it's because of that.
57:39
SPEAKER_03: And he like got back and was like, hey, I don't teach class, but thanks so much, and I'll be back at this time.
57:44
SPEAKER_03: Maybe you can like come and take class with me if I do a class in Chicago.
57:48
SPEAKER_03: And I always I I'm pretty sure, like, I'm almost positive that it's because of that.
57:53
SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
57:53
SPEAKER_02: And I was just that's an awesome story.
57:56
SPEAKER_02: Like, it really works, guys.
57:58
SPEAKER_02: Timing is everything too.
57:59
SPEAKER_02: It works.
58:00
SPEAKER_02: Timing is everything.
58:01
SPEAKER_02: You never know when you're that light bulb in someone's head, that email pops in and you're like, oh, actually, that person, I forgot about them.
58:08
SPEAKER_02: They'd be perfect for this.
58:10
SPEAKER_00: Right.
58:10
SPEAKER_00: It could be the perfect timing, just that email, that message, like, oh yeah, I can use them.
58:15
SPEAKER_03: Because we have so much coming in.
58:17
SPEAKER_03: Like, like we said, we hustle, we all do a million things.
58:19
SPEAKER_03: Like, how many times have you like left a room and like you come back later and you're like, Oh, yeah, that person was really good.
58:26
SPEAKER_03: Like, you for you kind of forgot because they like I'm at five other studios, but yeah, that little yeah, it goes a long way.
58:33
SPEAKER_00: It really does.
58:34
SPEAKER_02: This dance world small.
58:35
SPEAKER_02: We say it all the time.
58:36
SPEAKER_02: All the time.
58:37
SPEAKER_00: Tiny.
58:38
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
58:39
SPEAKER_02: Well, y'all, I feel like we had a really lovely discussion.
58:43
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
58:44
SPEAKER_02: And I really hope that this was some new information for for listeners, whether you're a dancer looking for a mentor, whether you're a dance parent seeking a mentor for your dancer, whether you want to become one, whether you're a dance teacher and want and you know, want to find a mentor for your dancers who are looking to pursue a professional career, like really take some of this this guidance that we gave you and and reach out.
59:07
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you here's here's four people who are like willing to help you.
59:11
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
59:12
SPEAKER_01: Reach out more than willing.
59:14
SPEAKER_02: There's so many.
59:15
SPEAKER_02: And I don't I don't I think like we said before, sometimes people are just afraid to ask, and the least they can say is no, I'm sorry, I'm too wrapped up right now.
59:24
SPEAKER_02: Stay connected with me.
59:25
SPEAKER_02: Here's another person I I think would be great for you, you know.
59:28
SPEAKER_02: And it's it's a small, tight-knit dance community, everybody knows one another, and the more you know the better.
59:34
SPEAKER_02: So network, mentor, all of it.
59:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
59:37
SPEAKER_01: And even, you know, even a plug for our Facebook group.
59:39
SPEAKER_01: That is the perfect place for if you have a one-off question, if you have, you know, if if you need something that is maybe not so long-term in terms of mentorship, like that is a reason we created the Facebook group, is that so we can do more of this.
59:53
SPEAKER_01: You know, we can't have a podcast every day.
59:54
SPEAKER_01: We can't have a podcast 24-7.
59:56
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
59:57
SPEAKER_01: You know, but you've got you've got this this giant group of judges and educators in the Facebook group that you can reach out to at any time.
1:00:04
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, go for it.
1:00:05
SPEAKER_02: Reach out to us.
1:00:07
SPEAKER_02: We love it.
1:00:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:00:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:00:09
SPEAKER_02: Well, thank you both Jordan and James for joining us for this lovely discussion.
1:00:14
SPEAKER_02: It was really, really great uh chatting with you.
1:00:17
SPEAKER_02: And uh how we typically lead out on our episodes is we have our guests give uh any final thoughts about the topic or any words of encouragement, guidance to dancers who may be listening, teachers, who may be listening parents, whoever's listening, if you want to send us out.
1:00:33
SPEAKER_03: I would say don't be afraid to ask, be a go-getter, and you know, just go for it.
1:00:38
SPEAKER_03: Try it.
1:00:39
SPEAKER_03: Ask the person that you look up to the most.
1:00:42
SPEAKER_03: If you're a teacher or someone that wants to start a program, hey, James did, and he's here.
1:00:48
SPEAKER_03: Reach out to him.
1:00:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think mine, you know, piggybacking off of that, don't be afraid to ask questions, always say thank you, send a thank you, and you never know who's watching.
1:00:59
SPEAKER_00: You never know.
1:01:00
SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, with that, just always, always, always, you know, present as as much as you can, the best put forward, as always, as we want to do.
1:01:11
SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for joining in and listening to the fun talk about it.
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1:02:30
SPEAKER_01: Season two of Making the Impact is a full swing, and you won't want to miss what's next.
1:02:34
SPEAKER_01: Stay subscribe for our upcoming hip-hop episode, how to take your solo to the next level and teamwork in the studio.
1:02:41
SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for joining us for season two of making the impact.
1:02:44
SPEAKER_02: Until next time, keep dancing.