Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / Welcome to Season 2!

Transcript

Welcome to Season 2! · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Each week, we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: Hi everybody, welcome to season two of Making the Impact a Dance Competition Podcast.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Courtney Ortiz, I'm your host, and of course I'm here with my co-host, Leslie Mueller.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, listeners.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: We are so excited to be back.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: So, so, so excited to be back.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: We took the summer off and we are here for season two.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: We're pumped about it.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: We have so many exciting new features and episodes to bring your way, which is what this intro episode is all about.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna share those things that are coming your way for the season and what to expect and get you all really excited.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: But we're very, very happy to have all of you here as listeners and for your support.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about how fabulous season one was because I'm pretty sure it was stinking fabulous.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: It was amazing, Courtney.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, we took the summer off.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: You've been traveling and teaching.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: We've both been having a summer because we never get a summer because we're always with competitions.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: So it's been kind of nice to have a little bit of a break, but we are so excited because we've been brainstorming all summer about bringing season two to you guys.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you are a new listener, welcome.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: We are so happy to have you here.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Just to give you a little bit of insight as to what we do.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Making the Impact Dance Competition podcast was founded underneath the umbrella of Impact Dance Adjudicators, which is Courtney's company.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: She started in 2014 that supplies dance competition judges pre-screened and vetted to dance competitions.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's the service that we provided and still provide, you know, to this day.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: But after, you know, a few years of doing that, we realized that we had other things to offer in addition to just providing judges.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: So we had this brainstorming moment.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Courtney came up with the idea to have a podcast, and Making the Impact was born.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: So we had a wonderful first season last year filled with tips and tricks and interviews and education and inspiration from all of our IDA judges.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it got so much amazing traction and feedback from listeners.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody was just hungry for this information.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: So we are just so psyched to have season two coming your way right now.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm I'm super excited and thanks for that little rundown for any new listeners that are joining us for season two, Leslie.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: That is all so, so true and so accurate.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: And like she said, I mean, it's just been really fun being able to get all of the judges on our roster involved in these hot topic discussions of the competitive dance world.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: I think that everybody, not everybody, but I would say a lot of people in the industry are always curious as to what goes on in the mind of a judge and what the judges really think when they're sitting behind the table or, you know, what the judges expect.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: And we're kind of trying to bring that over to you, as well as, you know, other discussions about studio training and professional dance advice and things like that.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: So it's been so great also for us to get to know so many more of our judges across the roster, because we have about 150 judges located around the United States and a few in Canada.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: So it's been great being able to chat with them remotely and they're very passionate about the topics that we discuss as well.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: So if you haven't had a chance to listen to season one, head over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify or your favorite podcast platform and give a listen because we had 37 episodes that we launched in season one, and they are all just filled with so much information and so many great topics that you should check out.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely do that now.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know, season two is now happening.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: So you have a lot of catching up to do if you're new, but that's okay.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: But the cool, the cool thing about I think most of the information in our podcast, I would say like 85% of the information in our podcast is still relevant, even if it's from last season.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's still information, you know, that you can take into your next competition, into your studio training, into your professional dance life.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we have a little something for everyone in season one and got some really amazing feedback from our listeners over the year about what they're looking for for season two.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, thank you to everyone.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: We reach listeners in the US, in Canada, in Australia, and Ireland.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: We've had over 25,000 downloads of season one only, which is that's a lot of that's a lot amazing.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: People clicked a lot.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: We're so grateful for each and every one of you that have tuned in and listened to any of our episodes.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: So, like we said, we have so many more coming your way for season two.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: And if you have enjoyed the podcast, if you are a returning listener and you were counting down the days till we were back and launching season two, which I've actually heard from multiple uh fans.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, oh my gosh, I can't wait for season two.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Hurry up and launch because we took the summer off.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: But so, like, now we're here, we're ready.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: If you have listened to season one and you've enjoyed it, or if you're about to listen to season two and listening to this intro episode, head over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: We love hearing from our fans and our listeners.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: And we'd love to share a review from a listener that we received over the summer during our hiatus.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: So this is from Abigail Winfrey on Apple Podcasts, and she said, My daughter and I started listening to the podcast in February.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: She loves learning more and can't get enough of it.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: Every time we would get in the car, she would ask to listen to it.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: I come from a horseback riding background, so I was eager to learn more about the competitive dance world and what the judges are really looking for.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: I always had an idea, but this is helpful for me.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: We were sad the season ended for the podcast, but can't wait for it to start back up again.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: I will tell everyone I can about it.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yay! So exciting.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: So, like I said, perfect example of one of our fans saying, I'm so sad it was over.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe she recently discovered it towards the end of season one, but we're back.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: So don't worry.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, don't worry.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: We're here for you.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: We are back.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: We are so ready for this season.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: We have so many new topics that I'm really pumped about.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: And we can give you a little, like, you know, sneak peek at some of the topics that we might be doing that are coming your way in season two.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have any off the top of your head, Leslie, that you're excited about?
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, I am I am so excited about almost all of them because, you know, we've the way that we've been thinking about this podcast since day one is like we've always just had like a little brainstorming list of topics.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: And anytime, you know, one of us thinks of one or we hear something that somebody's talking about, it just goes into the brainstorming list.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I think my my the one that I'm really excited about is gender in dance because we've just got humanity has always been just like a beautiful spectrum of kinds of people.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: And but, you know, the way that society works is in a binary.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that excludes so many people from dance, even from an early age when you have, you know, just sort of gendered ideas of what dance class should look like.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm super pumped to kind of break that down and see, you know, what it means, not only just for class, but like for competitive dance, for professional dance.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: You know, how do we be more inclusive?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: And we've got we have had some great responses from interested judges for that one.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm super excited to to bring that to you guys.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm excited as well.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: There's some really great topics.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really excited to kind of I'm I pulled up our episode list.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm commenting at what's coming up right now.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, and give the people what they want.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: Give them some one of the like, yeah, one of the I think an episode that like everyone talks about all the time on all of the dance forums, probably have you know, is discussed at the studio is age appropriateness.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and we are finally tackling that hot topic this season, which I'm very excited about because it's a topic that needs to be kind of broken down and discussed in full detail, especially for the competitive dance world.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: And there's a lot of judges who are very passionate about keeping this stage age appropriate.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I think just kind of laying out what the judges expect with that will help Claire keep things clear for teachers as they're choreographing and dancers who are performing and things like that.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: So pumped about that, we're gonna kind of talk about judging.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: We have an episode just about like what it's like to be a judge and what we look for and how it works and things like that.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: And then we have some great episodes about just like jazz dance, yeah, hip-hop, navigating those genres.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: And even really specific.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Because as we've discussed on the podcast before, sometimes we seem to see a lot of dance styles kind of blending and morphing into new fusion styles in the year 2020 and the future moving forward.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: So it is going to be exciting to reminisce on the history of these dance styles and really dissect them and clarify, you know, where they come from and their origins and things.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: So excited for those.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: We have a lot of great topics.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: So be sure to stay tuned for all of that.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: And if you and, you know, we are always, always 100% interested to hear what you want to hear.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: So if there is something, listeners out there that, you know, you're dying to hear about that we haven't already covered, you know, you may be in for a treat when you see that it is already on our schedule.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: But feel free, send us an email.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to hit us up and share your thoughts on a pod or give us an episode suggestion for a future podcast, then you can shoot us an email at podcast at impactdanceadjudicators.com, which you can also find on our website, which is impactdanceadjudicators.com slash podcast.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: And you can shoot us a contact us email right through the website, and we'll also include that in our show notes as well.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: Let's chat a little bit about what we've been doing since the hiatus with IDA and life.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: I know you brief you briefly mentioned that you we've been doing our own thing this summer, which it's like Leslie said, it's very nice to have the summer off.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: And we kind of structured the podcast to be around the dance season, which typically starts at the top of September once kids go back to school and ends usually around the end of May or top of June.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: Recital usually happens at that time.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: And since all the kids are usually taking the summer off or only doing summer training, we decided let's take the summer off from the podcast so we can regroup and really, you know, focus on neck the next topics and prep for the next season.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: But over the summer, I personally was actually in the West Coast, went out there to explore some beautiful scenery and teach at a fabulous studio.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: Shout out to Elevate Dance Academy.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: I love you guys.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: It was just really inspiring, especially after the, you know, pandemic.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: And Leslie and I, we both live in New York City.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: So being confined to our microscopic New York City apartments for five months has been hard.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's been a good summer for me.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: Happy to be back.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm, you know, looking forward to the future and seeing what our season and what our dance life is going to look like.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Which, speaking of, our other episode that we're launching today, which you can now listen to this very moment, is about navigating the new normal in the dance studio world and what the dance industry is looking like moving forward and what we've kind of been dealing with for the past few months and just kind of talking that out and predicting what's next for us.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely be sure to click next on your podcast app after you listen to this because that is where what the discussion was all about.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm sure that we can all relate to uh that discussion currently in this current state of the world.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: So some of our listeners know that we had a really kind of a cool surprise that we didn't even know about this season that kind of ties into what we do at IDA with our virtual competitions.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we had mostly we recorded all of our podcasts kind of early on in the season so that we as judges would have time and sanity during the season.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: So we weren't really, you know, recording too much in the spring.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: But when the pandemic hit, we f all of a sudden found ourselves with a lot of time on our hands, like a lot of other people.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Most of, you know, most of the IDA judges are freelancers and performers and dance teachers.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, so our our work was all kind of canceled.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: So we came up with this idea to have a virtual competition and it blasted off, so to speak, in March.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: And we were able to successfully run four events from March to July.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: We had over 1,500 participants, which is just mind-blowing thinking about how many people were so interested in having this opportunity.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: And what the my favorite part of doing this virtual competition and all of the events that we did was that, you know, IDA, as we mentioned earlier, is not a competition.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: We are a service that provides work, you know, for judges and we provide work or uh we provide judges to competitions.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: So we didn't have a setup for this.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't have a platform for this, we didn't have any of the technology that some of the big guns that, you know, ended up running competitions uh later in the season did.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: We s we did all this from scratch in like eight hours.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: I still can't believe that it all just came together somehow in eight hours.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: I know countless more hours, obviously, as it got started.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: But we created something from nothing in a time of the world, really, that was just, you know, we say the word unprecedented so often, but like, let's say it again, it's unprecedented.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: We reached 1,500 participants.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: We reached seven countries.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: We had participants from as far as Singapore and New Zealand and Spain and Australia and Ireland and Canada.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, not to mention everybody across the United States.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think at one point we were at like 46 states I counted, where we had people dancing with us.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it just goes to show that dancers and creative people are incredibly resilient, smart, resourceful, and able to just make it work.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that's one of the things that I think competitive dance teaches us is you know, you have to be able to change at a moment's notice.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: You have to evolve, or you are not going to succeed.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, that was a big part of our summer before we before we took the summer off, rightfully so, to give ourselves a little bit of a break from like, okay, we podcasted for a whole year and now we're gonna do this competition forever.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: And whew, yeah, we deserved a break.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: We did, we did.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: We worked so hard and we had a fantastic team on the back end.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: Shout out to Marissa and Maddie, who helped also run the virtual comp.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then we had we were able to provide work to over 70 people throughout.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: We had at least 50 judges in the roster working remotely from home and critiquing from home, which, you know, I think that's really what it was about.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: Our virtual competition, we wanted to really make sure that the feedback and the quality critiques were still getting out to dancers, regardless if it was a video that they sent in from a previous competition in costume and on the stage, or if it was a dancer who made it work in their garage and laid down a little makeshift dance floor and put popped up their iPhone camera and recorded their solo.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: We really saw so many variations of videos.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: And no matter what, our goal with our judges and our critiques was to really provide that quality feedback that IDA is known for.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that we really achieved that because we got so many great reviews and feedback back from customers and and participants who just said, wow, oh my gosh, your guys' feedback was fantastic.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: This really helped motivate my dancer.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it kept them positive in this in this hard time.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: Couldn't be happier to have this virtual competition option.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: So we're really grateful that we were able to make this event happen and shout out to all of the IDA judges on the roster as well who were a part of it.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: We're excited to hopefully offer some more virtual events in the future.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: We also had some fantastic sponsors that jumped on board to help gift some prizes to all of the participants.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: So gonna give a quick shout-out to them commercial dance intensive, Chanteloupe, Apollo Shocks, Costumes by Urzua, Artist in Motion Apparel, Level Up Dance Supplies, Go Show Yourself, Dance Device Lab, Next Level Dance Mentorship, Just Dance Invitational, and Spirited Dance Awards, which are both IDA affiliated competitions.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you all for donating fantastic awards.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: I know I've actually got a few responses back from recipients who said, Oh, I love my sponsored award.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: So we couldn't have done it without you guys as well.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: So we really, really are grateful for all of that.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that we're excited to hopefully launch some more virtual competitions in the near future.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: So be sure to stay subscribed to our newsletter and follow us on social media to stay up to date with that.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: We're hoping to launch another in the fall, maybe around October, November.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: Either way, stay tuned because if you didn't have a chance to enter, it's a really fun experience with a live stream and a top 20 challenge and things like that.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: So stay tuned, y'all.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: One of the fun things we did this summer, kind of in the interim while we were taking our break, was we were really excited to change up our cover art for our podcast.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: So if you look at our, you know, if you see our podcast, you know, on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, we've got two lovely dancers that just grace our cover art.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: And we wanted to give other dancers an opportunity to shine.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: So we did an a fun Instagram contest this summer.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: We had over a hundred entries.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: We also asked the dancers to just give us a little taste of why dance makes an impact on their lives.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: And we had two beautiful ladies who ended up winning.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: They had to make sure people voted for them, and it was just very, you know, it was very competitive.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: It was super fun.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: So we just wanted to give a quick shout out to our winners.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: We have Madison B.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: She is 16 years old from Fort Myers, Florida.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: She dances at Robin Dawn Academy of Performing Arts.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: Congratulations, Miss Madison.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: And we also have Erin H.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: She is 12 from Indianapolis, Indiana, and dances at Tippitoes School of Dance.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, ladies, we are so happy to have you on our cover art.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: You are beautiful.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: You're pictures are amazing.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, we love our new cover art.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: And we hope to make this like a reoccurring contest each season as we continue on with making the impact.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: So if you want to be a cover art dancer and our feature for season three, then stay tuned next year.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: And we might be running this contest all over again and looking for the new face of impact.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: So thanks to those ladies for entering and all of the contestants who entered our Instagram contest.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: It was super fun watching all of your photos roll in.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: So what's coming up for this season?
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: We got a lot of new things coming your way, which I'm excited about.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the very first things that's slightly different than last season that you might have noticed is today's Thursday, which means what?
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: Why?
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: Why Thursday?
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: We usually launch on Mondays.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: Why are we on Thursdays now?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: We changed it up a little bit this season.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: We decided to switch to a Thursday release day.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: So FYI, if you're waiting for your notification on your phone on Mondays for making the impact to pop up onto your screen, you're gonna have to wait a few more days because we have switched our release date to every Thursday, weekly starting now September 10th until June.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: So we wanted to just give you a heads up on that.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you can, you know, you can listen.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's kind of perfect.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: So once we get into competition season, which fingers crossed, we're gonna be going to a physical competition starting in January or February.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: You can listen on Friday on your way to competition.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: You can listen on Thursday, you know, before or after dance class.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: They'll be up and ready for you every Thursday.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: So stay tuned.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: And another awesome new feature that we're adding to the mix this season is a spotlight episode.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: So every other month we'll be selecting someone in the competitive dance industry, whether they're a current dancer, student, or someone who has used to be in the competitive dance world, who has now moved on into a professional career, or even teachers in the competitive dance world who are making an impact in the industry.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: And we're going to bring them on for a special spotlight feature episode.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm really excited.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: We have some awesome guests lined up, and I can't wait to get to know them even more.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: So one of our upcoming episodes, our very first spotlight feature, is a very sweet dancer friend of mine who I get to uh teach and dance alongside.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: And to give you a little hint as to who that is, this dancer one, Dancing with the Stars Jr.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: So if you know the answer to that little hint, then you may know who our guest is going to be.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: And stay tuned for that.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: It should be coming your way in the next few weeks.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: We also we've got a bunch of new sponsors coming your way, which we'll be announcing kind of on a rolling basis.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are in the market for some cool new stuff, we've got some people that may have what you need.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: So stay tuned and listen for that.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: And something that's not new for this season, which we did last year, was QA with Courtney episodes.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: So if you are new to the podcast, you might not be familiar with this.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: But if you're not new, then you definitely have probably listened to a few QA with Courtney episodes.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: And what that is all about is you as a listener or a fan or a dancer or a teacher or a parent, whoever you are, can send in questions for us to answer.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I typically host this episode, and sometimes I'll bring on some special guests, and I will select questions from our listeners to answer in full detail.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: So we're really excited to continue on with the QA with Courtney and we are really hoping to incorporate the live aspect of this that we introduced at the end of season one.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: So last uh year at the end of season one for our final Q ⁇ A with Courtney episode, we did a Facebook Live where we scheduled the time, told you where to be, you can log on to Facebook and you can actually watch Leslie and I talk to you and respond to your questions in real time.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: So you can actually type in a question right on Facebook and we'll answer it right there.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: So that was really exciting, was really fun and interactive, really enjoyed that aspect.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: So we're hoping to incorporate the live version of the Q ⁇ A with Courtney more into this season.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: So stay tuned for that.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: We're super pumped.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, guys, that's season two, just sort of giving you a little bit of a taste as to what we're gonna bring you um these next couple of months.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: So, Courtney, I think we're I think we're ready to just launch them right into episode one.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're we're really excited to kick things off.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: So, like we mentioned earlier, we're launching two episodes today.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: The one you're currently listening to, which is our intro into season two, and episode 28, which is navigating the new normal, where we sit down with two studio owners and discuss the ins and outs of what the past few months have been like in the pandemic and what we see the future is going to be in studio life, competition life, things like that.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: So you can listen to two episodes today, press next right after you're finished with this one, and listen to episode 28, which launched today.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks everybody for listening, and we hope that you enjoy season two of Making the Impact.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: Season two is full of new hot topics, listener questions, and interviews with the pros.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: Coming up in the next few weeks, we have topics that include music at competition, our very first spotlight episode with a very special guest, and topic class, studio and appension.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: If you're a longtime fan or a new listener, we would love to hear from you.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, send us an email or DM us on Instagram with your feedback.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: You can find us at Impact Dance Adjudicators across all social media and at podcast at ImpactDanceAjudicators.com.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: And don't forget, make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher so you don't miss out on any of our upcoming episodes.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: We release every Thursday this season.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: So if you like what you hear, tell a friend.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much for tuning in, and we're pumped for season two.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: Till next time, keep dancing.