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Intensive Talk - Strategies For Choosing the Right Dance Intensive · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_02: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_02: This is Making the Impact, a dance competition podcast.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_02: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_02: Summer and winter intensives are an exciting time for dancers to hone their skills, make connections, and experience a focused environment where they're immersed in their craft.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_02: Joining us today is Preston Miller, owner of TDA Prep, to discuss various topics within the world of dance intensives, from choosing the right program to navigating the monetary and emotional costs of attending.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_03: Hey Dance World, welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_03: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and I'm here with my co-host, Leslie Mueller.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_03: Hey Courtney, it is podcast time again.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, it is.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm really pumped for this episode because we are talking about summer and winter dance intensives that your dancers can attend this season.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_03: And we wanted to put this early on in the season because before you know it, summer will be here.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_03: Winter is very close, obviously, but summer will be here in a moment's notice.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_03: And you gotta get those uh audition videos in ASAP to be considered for some of these summer intensives.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so we're excited to hear some new information from a brand new guest.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, neither Courtney nor I really did any summer intensives, so we're learning here as well.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I love I love these episodes where we can get an education too.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I'm excited to dive right in shortly.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, and we're keeping this intro short and sweet.
• 1:42
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• 2:54
  SPEAKER_02: Moving through a competitive dance season comes with a lot of excitement along with top-level goals.
• 2:59
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• 4:36
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• 4:42
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• 4:50
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• 5:02
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• 5:06
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• 5:14
  SPEAKER_03: Alright, Dance World, we're jumping into this week's episode, and this was a highly requested topic from so many of our listeners, because now we are talking all about summer and winter dance intensives.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_03: I'm sure some of your dancers have attended many of them.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe your studio hosts their own summer intensive programs.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe you're interested in exploring what else is out there in the dance world.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_03: And guess what?
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_03: There are a lot of options these days.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_03: But because of that, we want to determine which ones are the ones that you should be looking at, which ones are the ones that you can put onto your professional dance resume that are going to help enhance that resume and also give you amazing training in the process.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_03: So we are thrilled to talk about this and bring this to you all today on Making the Impact.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_03: And we have a brand new guest joining us on the podcast.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_03: I am meeting them for the very first time, but I have been admiring the work that they're doing and bringing to our dance world from a distance on social media.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_03: They are doing some really great things with their company called TDA Prep, which is a pre-professional dance program and training opportunity to help prep dancers and parents to help navigate them into the next chapter of their dance career, whether that's college or pre-professional or professional.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_03: So they're doing some really great work over there.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_03: I can't wait to learn more about their program and they know a thing or two about some great summer and winter intensives that they're going to share with you today.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_03: I'm excited to welcome Preston Miller to the podcast.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome, Preston.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, thank you.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: I am glad to be here.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for that introduction.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm usually the one introducing people, and I'm they always say that was such a great introduction.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: And now I'm saying it, that was a great introduction.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Courtney.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Courtney, you're very welcome.
• 6:56
  unknown: Yeah.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm glad to be here.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_03: Awesome.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I knew that you would be a great guest because with all of the mentoring that you're doing in your program at TDA Prep, I'm sure that's that intensive summer and winter intensives probably pop up in the conversation with a lot of the parents asking those questions and even dancers looking to attend.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm sure you know a thing or two about them and can't wait to hear what you have to share with us today.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: That is, there's actually a we do one-on-one coaching, very personalized.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure we'll get into it.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: But it's a part of our year, like where we, you know, in in November, December, we build our summer strategy.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: What are we going for this summer?
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: Winter, we play a little bit more loosely.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: We we talk about it casually in August, September because the opportunities are a little bit different and and the the strategies behind how you want to spend your time is a little bit different.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm excited.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: I am going to let me just preface it with this.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: I want to, I like to start off with big talk.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: So let me preface it with some big energy here, okay?
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: Every every day we do a masterclass for our parents.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: And there might be people who are listening to this masterclass.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: You're like, you look you're listening to this podcast, and you you're like, man, my dancer is really, really serious.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a serious dancer.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: Every day we do a masterclass for parents and we go in.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm about to go in on this chat with Courtney and Leslie.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like, this is our masterclass.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: I this is what we do every night.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Let's talk the talk, please.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_02: Amazing.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_02: I can't really learn too.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, oh, can I take this class?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_03: I'm right here.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_03: I'm I'm ready.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_03: Let's tell me on the masterclasses.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_03: I'm here for it.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_03: Well, Preston, before you tell us about more about TDA Prep, can you tell us a little bit more about you?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_03: Where you grew up, what your early dance training was like, any career credits that you'd like to share, and what you're working on now.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, absolutely.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I was, it was a fall day.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: I was in October, baby.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_02: Happy birthday.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's it's the month.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's the month.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I I think the story for me, you know, the quick parts.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: They I was a hip-hop dancer.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: That's how I I was introduced to dance in middle school, a part of a hip-hop company.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I told my parents in the eighth grade, I got really good at it.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: I told my parents I want to go to, I don't want to go to college.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: I want to go to the LA, I want to go to the West Coast.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'm from Chicago, I want to go to the West Coast and dance professionally.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so for my parents, you know, they had already sent three kids to Morris Brown, Michigan State, and Yale.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: And so they're hearing me say that, and they're like, all right.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: So eighth grade, I want to be the backup dancer for Janet Jackson at this point.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: And my parents, it's a solid goal.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's a solid goal.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: So my parents found a performing arts high school, and that was kind of their thing is he's not gonna do hip hop, he's gonna do ballet, he's gonna do modern, he's gonna do jazz, he's gonna do all that stuff, and he's gonna figure out if this is you know what he wants to do.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: And more importantly, you know, we're gonna get him off this off this LA West Coast kick and get him on a path that makes more sense to us.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: I fell in love with all of it.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: It was it was like hip-hop became the thing, ballet became the thing, modern became the thing, jazz became the thing.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I was that kid that didn't think I was good at any of it but hip-hop.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like I knew I was a good hip-hop dancer, I was in commercials, I was in TV shows, I was in movies in high school.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like I knew I could do that.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: But ballet and modern jazz, I was training in that, and I felt like trash every day, every day.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: But there were signs, right?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like I got into Ailey Fordham senior year, and I remember not thinking I was good enough to apply.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: I was too scared to apply to Juilliard.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: I got to New York and found out that I was actually a pretty good dancer in my class.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: Now I've seen other dancers.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: I never did summer programs, I never did that stuff growing up.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I had no idea.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: I was the, you know, I had the boy privilege of just kind of walking through the door.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I found out, man, I'm I can actually cut a rug a little bit.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: I can dance a little bit.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: But then, you know, all throughout college, I just I still you you still feel like, you know, this ballet has a special way of humbling you and you know, these art forms.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: And and I just I I don't think I was really like what it took to be a dancer.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think I discovered in college that I didn't that's not my greatness.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like my best version where I'm gonna be the the the top of the top of what that is, is more as an educator or a coach and less as the person who goes in the like I wasn't waking up early and doing the things that I coach dancers to do.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to be the best at at what you do, that's not what I wanted to do in the dance in the dancer part.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so I had to find that.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I spent years after college, you know, kind of figuring that out on what is that?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: I graduated from A.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Lee Fordham, got my degree, and immediately started to coach and teach.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I had a love for film.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: I made dance movies and worked with dance companies making big movies and uh virtual galas and things.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: And it was about, I'd say, five years after graduating college, working with some of the best dancers in the world as their coach, where I taught a class and the parents stood out, like I quickly realized like, you have no idea what's going on.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like you have no idea how this local studio situation is supposed to go to a professional career.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: And you're you're putting your energy in all these weird places that don't actually deliver you there.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: And that was the beginning.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: That was the beginning of you know, wanting to build a platform that that housed these specially talented kids that work 30, 40 hours a week for their dream and these parents that are trying to support it, right?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like most adults don't do that.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's just what it was.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: So that was the beginning.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: That was that's kind of how it started.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's how I got to to this point, and you know, since then it's just it's been a blur.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: Now we do what we do.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_03: I I love that.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_03: Very inspiring story.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_03: I love hearing it.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_03: And when it comes to your program at T DA Prep, so is this like a studio that people come to on the weekly, or is this more of like a is can anybody do it from anywhere, or is this like elective style, like supplemental training?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna date this because I'm gonna hit you with the TikTok trend.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: B O A F.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's both.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's both.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's both.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: So we have uh we have a virtual platform.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: So really what we're about is we want to keep in touch with our clients.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: We want to be able to do as as customized as their life allows, as they desire from us.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: If you want us to be your main coach, we want to be able to be that.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: If you want us to be just like a supplemental training situation so that you know you're on the right track with what you're doing, we want to be able to be that.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: So we have these engagements that allow us to touch to touch base.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: And whether that's a virtual uh class that we do weekly, we do training classes with a ballet, Horton, Graham, um, and just a general technique awareness class uh Monday through Thursday.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: We have virtual dance parent masterclasses that I was telling you about at the beginning of this class, uh at the beginning of this call for uh parents that just we have guests on every day that are just you know sharing their stories.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: Beyonce's choreographer, the director of uh Juilliard, uh Sofia Lucia, just any anyone who has a perspective that can help a parent navigating a scenario.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna come on and chat with them.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: But then also we do in-person weekends, which are kind of like I mean, it was birthed from the idea that if dancers will fly to compete, there's a group of dancers that are so serious about getting better that they'll fly to train with some of the best coaches that they can.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what this, that's what this became.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: So we have dancers who fly in from across the country on the weekends and we cut a rug, we get busy.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_02: Gosh, that makes me want to get get my dancing shoes out and come out from retirement.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go bring it out, bring them out.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the cool thing from what I'm understanding about your program is that because I remember this distinctly, you are like a guidance counselor for dancers, but on steroids, because my high school guidance counselor at public school in Marietta, Georgia was just at a loss as to what to do to help me get into the school I wanted to get into.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I didn't have, I mean, I had my dance teachers who they went to college, but they went to Ballet Modern College, which is not where I wanted to go.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_02: So they also had really no idea what to do to get me into a commercial program.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_02: And by the grace of something out there, I got in.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_02: But man, if I could have had your help.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like I mean, that speaks to your tenacity, though.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like our whole generation had to be tenacious enough.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like, and and luckily though, we had the internet.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like, right, I don't even know what it would have been like to try to find these schools that were outside of our grasp.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately, it's still like that today.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: There's I'd say the majority of dancers that we meet, their high school counselor is clueless on.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we had a dancer who we knew for a fact last year was going to be a high scholarship recipient at Juilliard.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: And this dancer came in and told us that her college counselor told us that that's kind of a far stretch.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: You should probably look more local and temper your dreams a little bit.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: And that was their guidance.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: That was their guidance.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_03: So you and that was like a regular public school or was that at an art school?
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh regular public school.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: This is a kid.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_03: I feel like the art school would see the potential and wouldn't wouldn't say that.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_03: And the public school has no idea and thinks it's a dream they could never achieve.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think the art school kids or the public school kids, they're like, you know, we look at them as these like superhuman, you know, uh superheroes walking around trying to, you know, figure out their place, but they just know no one's no one's helping them.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: But the art school kids, that's kind of a different dynamic because the guidance counselor's there, they know the schools, but they're there to really help you talk through more about how to financially make it happen, what resources are available for you.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: They're you know, we meet with the directors of all these colleges every year.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: We sit and have conversations, sometimes monthly with with schools.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: I've met with about 35 schools so far at the top of this year, um, just to get to know what is this school like?
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: Who is this school for?
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: What's the the energy of the programs?
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: You guidance counselors at the highest at the highest school level don't have time to do that.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: So you know it's a it's a cool service to be able to provide.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_03: Well, thank you for providing it because it's definitely needed, and I I hope that a lot of listeners uh look into it and take advantage of it, and we'll have all the links in our show notes as well so you can really uh make sure that you get into TDA prep because it's doing great things out there.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, come join us, come join us.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: And to be I wanna I want to make it clear the TDA is for the dance artist.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: We're the dance artist prep.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_02: There we go.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and I think too, like you're saying, you know, a lot of our listeners are parents.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of our listeners are dancers, and they're parents and dancers that maybe don't attend an arts high school.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe they are that public school kid who has that dream, and this is a place, this is a resource for them, you know, and you were you also sound like you sort of have tiers, like levels of engagement that you provide.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_02: So that it's like, okay, well, if I'm a dancer who can't afford to fly every weekend, you also provide these other things that I can afford, that I can afford in my time, not only my money, but my time.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, I think this is we're so excited to have you on for not only your purposes, for your business, but to share with us your knowledge about the intensives that everybody can access, which let's jump right on in.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_02: Guys, there's so many.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_02: We are like overwhelmed with dance intensives these days.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_02: And I can only imagine having to try to pick the right one.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_02: So, first of all, Preston, where are people finding out about these opportunities right now?
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_02: It's no longer just written in dance magazine.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_02: Where are we finding out about them?
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's happening at uh conventions.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, where it's kind of this is the one where it's always been, and this is the scary one.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's the other moms.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's what they're finding out, you know, the the moms in the lobby, the moms at the competition.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: That's like the the the main underground source of info.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: But then Google, Instagram, it's all about, you know, I think a lot of people, I meet a lot of kids and parents that when I ask them, you know, they'll say, We want to go to this program, or I'll ask them why, you know, what'd you hear about it?
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: And when we really dig down deep, it's like, well, they posted a photo on Instagram and the photo looks cool.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_02: And that's all it takes.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: That's what I'm saying.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: Is that just good photos photography?
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, you know, like is that marketing?
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: Is that a good like what I don't know where that fits?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: Or or it'll be, you know, they they're they'll follow the the careers of dancers that they like and look up to, you know, dancers that might be two or three years older than them, and they uh, you know, they see the programs that they went to and then all of a sudden they associate that with, oh, this is the best program because the best program that I could see, you know.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: So it's uh it's interesting, it's a smorgasboard of places.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I I agree.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, obviously social media comes into play a lot now with a lot of decisions that are being made in the entire dance industry.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_03: It's influencing a lot of people, it may be flashy and and exciting to look at, and something might catch your eye, and you think you gotta be there, or the marketing might be really, really, really good.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_03: But is the program actually really, really, really good?
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_03: And is it actually going to, you know, give you what you need for that high dollar price tag that I'm sure it's probably charging?
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_03: So it's it's hard to kind of sift through and find that right program that's going to help your dancer where they're at and what goal they're trying to achieve.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_03: Because, you know, in in your opening, you said that like around eighth grade is when you knew you wanted to kind of do this and pursue this, but you all only had experience in hip-hop, and then you broadened your horizons into extending into jazz and ballet and modern and things like that.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_03: Like there's probably a lot of dancers that are like that, that are maybe looking at summer intensives to either continue on the path that they're currently going or maybe to open their eyes up to other styles of dance that they haven't had access to or even dabbled in and might be that light bulb for them to be like, I want to go to Broadway because I learned musical theater at this summer intensive, and that's my path now.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I like I think that's what's really great about summer intensives in general is hopefully it's exposing you to different similar to dance conventions in a way, exposing you maybe on a more intimate level than a dance convention for a longer duration as well.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: And and I mean you you brought up two points there that are at least one point with two examples that are it's it's the main thing.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like why are you going to this intensive?
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: What why why are you going to any intensives?
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: What is this year about for you?
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's kind of the foundation of where we start all these conversations, is strategy.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: And you said it's it's either for exposure or it's because like you kind of know your path and you're trying to you're trying to back it after it.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you want to be around some folks that are really doing this at a high level and you've already set your your direction.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: And to know that, to state that, it then opens up a whole new path of what summer programs, what winter workshops, what fits for you, because now you know what you're looking for.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, there's a great I actually never really attended them growing up.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_03: And I I I like to share this very quickly because I feel like it is interesting.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_03: It actually like affected my career, my professional career, because I didn't attend summer intensives, which is kind of wild.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_03: Uh you would you wouldn't think that I didn't obviously think that.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_03: And my studio actually didn't really encourage us to go and go out to summer intensives.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_03: And at the time I would say there weren't as many options as there are now back in the 2000s, but there were a lot of ballet intensives and a lot of more concert-based.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: Company style intensives that were two weeks long, four weeks long.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_03: And our studio never really encouraged it because it took us away from the studio.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_03: They didn't want us to leave the studio for that long because we had nationals or we had rehearsals or we have to be at their summer classes, you know, and things like that.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_03: And so I'm sure that's a part that we can absolutely dive into as well because that's an issue and also a good and a bad, you know, we can think about that.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_03: But I like to also just share that I will never forget this.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_03: So I never grew up going to any summer intensives and had none on my resume.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_03: I was strictly a comp kid my entire life.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_03: I did not get a job in my professional career.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_03: I was it was down to me and one other girl for the West Side Story International Tour, which, if you know my career, I did eventually do the show.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_03: But I didn't get it the first time around because the the choreographer told my agent that she didn't have enough ballet heavy training on her resume.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_03: You, talking about you.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_03: And I act and if you look at my resume, it doesn't look like I do.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I am a well-trained ballet dancer, but when you look at my resume, I don't have any ballet intensives, I don't have any.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't go to this program, I didn't go to that program.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_03: And when I and then you know what I did?
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_03: I went and looked at the girl who got it, went and looked at her resume.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_03: And guess what?
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_03: She had summer intensive after summer intensive listed on her resume.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_03: And it was like a light bulb for me because I was like, oh my gosh, I didn't set myself up for my career.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_03: And I didn't realize that this could impact me in my professional career.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_03: It's not always just about your talent.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_03: Because when it comes down to who are we gonna pick, it might be that that one resume credit or that one connection that you have that can set you apart from someone else.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_03: Crazy.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: That is you just opened some eyes because that I didn't I've never really considered it from that perspective.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think as a choreographer, yeah, totally.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like we definitely look at what programs you go to, but like I've always had I didn't go to summer programs either, right?
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: But I had the boy experience, which was like, you know, you kind of float through things.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: No one really makes you commit.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: You can you can you can come.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: They're just you're just so like you I missed a talented boy.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you get away with so much that kind of it also sabotages you in a sense because you don't learn the game and the structures within the game in a in a certain way.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: And that's like I'm learning that now as a coach through the young women that I coach because of stories that just like that, that like they that didn't hit come into into my periphery.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: But wow, and that makes total sense because of course you're just you're just training.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm getting after it.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm training.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_02: Like well, and under, I mean, at that point in your career, you you weren't super old either.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_02: You didn't have the extensive career credits that you're I was like 20, I think.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_02: So it really was probably came down to well, sh you're not a tried and true entity right now, but she has a at least a couple intensives under her belt.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_02: So I know that she's not gonna injure herself.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_02: She knows how to, you know, take direction in a balletic sense of whatever.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_03: Like, yep.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: That's you know, and and but that's one of the hard things too, I think, about just the career.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_02: And this is like a digression from our conversation, but I'm a great tap dancer.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_02: I'm a great tap dancer.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_02: Didn't look like it on my resume.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_03: Me too.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_02: Nobody booked me for a tap show.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_02: I'm 4'11.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_02: I can't be in Dames at Sea.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_02: I can't be a raquette.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_02: I can't there's a lot of things I can't do because of my height that are almost required, it feels like, for tap.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's something that I'm sure, you know, in your in your working with people, like you have to figure out how to get all that information out there so that people know.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I can't shove it down your throat that I know how to tap dance, but somehow you have to get it out there.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_02: So that's that's such an interesting point that even, you know, in the intensive world, like you have to that might be a strategy.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_02: Go to a tap intensive, go to, you know, something just to get it on there.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: Just to get it on.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_02: And a reputable one.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it can't, it can't be like, I mean, especially now being on the other side of the table a lot at uh for cruise ship castings, and I see everyone's resumes and there's a training section, and you're listing your home studio and you're listing your college program and all the names of people that you've trained with.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_03: But like, and we can dive into this, like, you know, I don't really want to see like dance convention, like dance competition names as your summer intensives, because that's gonna categorize you into that world.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_03: That's gonna, that's gonna make you feel like that that's all you've done is just been a competition dancer.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm not saying that it's bad training or or it's not qualified to be on your resume, but you wanna make sure that you're uh representing yourself to this new batch of people behind the table in a very specific way.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_03: And maybe it changes based on what you're going in for.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe you put those competition credits if you're going in for something that's commercial or if that teacher works on that circuit or something.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_03: You know, like you have to kind of finesse it as you go.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_03: And that was something that like I'm still learning to this day as as we have more of these conversations or being on the other side of the table.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_03: But like, you know, something like a rocket intensive or something like a commercial, like a CLI or something, like that could read really exciting in the eyes of who's casting you if you put that on your resume.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_03: But if it's like a rando, random thing that no one's ever heard of, it's not gonna, it's not gonna be as, you know, prestigious in the eyes, yeah, of the others.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, and even this is how this plays out in like company land too.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like it, it's it's that it's this exact same dynamic that we're discussing, but it's it's also like it's personal.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: So what summer program did you go to?
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I know the director of that program.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I know who you I know who taught you.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: And if I know who taught you, I have an idea, true, true or false, about how you work, who you are, what your standard is.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_02: What you know, what they like.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's uh it goes a long way.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_03: No, it's absolutely hey parents.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_03: Does your dancer want to have a career in dance post-high school graduation?
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_03: Are you already stressed out about the upcoming college application process?
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_03: Should your dancer get a BFA in dance or pursue a degree in another field?
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_03: You can have all of these questions answered by attending an upcoming virtual college app workshop with Francisco Bella Dance Group.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_03: Let them help you and your dancer discover the best school options and programs that will pick off all of the boxes in your desired college.
• 28:21
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• 28:29
  SPEAKER_03: These sessions are ideal for seniors and any dancer wanting to prepare early.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_03: Parents are encouraged to attend, and one-on-one consultations are available to help navigate the college dance process.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_03: Visit Franciscogletance.com for more information and register using our exclusive podcast promo code MAKINGTHEIMPACTINAS for$75 off.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_02: So now we kind of popped into company-based summer intensives.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_02: And so now I'm curious what your sort of thoughts are around company-based versus college-based summer intensive.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_02: Like what might be the differences that you would seek out one or the other.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: Timing, right?
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: So you know, the way that we the way that we break down summer is when we're looking at someone is let's say that you come in from eighth grade and you say, you know, we I want to join TDA Prep.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: That's when we meet you.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: You're 13.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: Will you have about seven good summers?
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: Seven good summers of productivity, of growth, of networking.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: And these are going to be some of the best experiences of your life.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like that you're not going to be in school, you're going to be free, you're going to be like unique time, right?
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_02: You don't have to pay bills yet.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to pay bills.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: You're meeting friends.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: They haven't stabbed you in the back yet.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like you're growing.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_01: The whole thing is just exciting.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so we want to think about it like, you know, well, where do I want to spend this time?
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: And to your specific question, junior year of high school is when you want to start to become knowledgeable, whether that means on the front end of junior year, like the summer before junior year or on the back end, the summer after junior year.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: You want to start to know something as a pre-adult.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: I won't say young adult, like as a pre-adult.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_01: You're still in the game where like you don't have to have the answers, and you're going to get away with that when people ask you, you know, what do you want to do with your life?
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: You'll get away with you know not really knowing you don't have to have an answer, but you should start to get some info in your head about what are what are certain colleges, what are these things like.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: And so we recommend those college summer programs for that time frame.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: The company summer programs, those most of the time well, it's it's tricky because a lot of times the training at those big company programs is trashy, trash, trash.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so you gotta watch that.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: You don't know which.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, big box.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's kind of like you know, big box summer programs.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: But but but some of them can also provide like an energy, a healthy, like athleticism that you're like motivated to go work harder and try harder because you want to compete for attention that you're never gonna get, right?
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_01: But like, but you but you want to compete for that.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so the it can provide some value for those programs, but those are more about networking.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: Those are and you don't want to go too young because they'll see you as a kid forever.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_01: You want to go, you know, once you're kind of college, like once we get to freshman year, sophomore year, that's really a wise, that's when it starts to be good.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: If we're talking ballet companies, well, do you have to play that game at 14, 15, 16 years old?
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_02: But that's almost a different story entirely.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: Completely different.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: So it just kind of depends, but that's the timeline that we kind of look at.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_03: So with the company, um, and when you're saying like you should be at the college level when you're going to them.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_03: So like you're in college, you're on your summer hiatus, and you're recommending if there's a company that you are interested in pursuing aft post-graduation or you're interested in working for on the concert side, that you should be attending those summer intensives with those companies.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_01: As far as company auditions go, and like even Okay, and it's a caveat.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm so like, you know, back and forth because we customize everything that we do for everyone.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_01: So one piece of advice for one person might not be the same piece of advice for another person, right?
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm trying to generalize this as much as possible.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: But like on an on another end, you also have to maximize your time because when you're in college, uh freshman year, you have more time, sophomore, you know, as you as you go on, it gets less and less time.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so the summer time that you have becomes more and more valuable.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: So a six-week program at you know, such and such dance company, when it it's not that high on your list, it could happen, it could not happen.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's a big time suck for, you know, it just kind of depends.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like a Jacob's pillow, that's a great time.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's where you want to give your time to.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: But like a come a company that is just a company, you might get FaceTime, you might not.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: Someone who makes decisions might see you, they might not.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's a big time suck for something like that.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_02: And I just all I all I ever think about when I think about company like companies is there's like 10 people in a company.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_02: They've been there for 10 years.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_02: You're gonna get one spot, maybe, maybe there's one spot available when that person has a baby, retires, or gets devastatingly injured.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's not about it.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_02: There's just not that many spots.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so that would be my, you know, if my strategy was to start doing this now, like I don't know that I would be headed that direction.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_02: That feels like a very, very specialized choice.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_01: Very extremely like if you are, and you'll know, like that's the that's the hard reality that I think is tough to sit with parents and like really let them have.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_01: But like if you're going to that ballet competition bat ballet summer program at 14 and you get invited to stay for the fall program, well, there's levels to that.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like you know, at least they want you a little bit.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: But then if they offer you a full scholarship to stay for that fall program, well, then you know, like, oh, I'm on the right track.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: If you're that kid that does not get asked to stay, there's a version of reality that we have to face to figure out are we gonna work harder to become that kid or do we need to pivot?
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that's, you know, like those are the real conversations that you can look at summer programs and kind of see where's the water leading me if you're brave enough to look at it.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_02: Gosh, oh, I just I'm like, I want to go back and do this all over again myself 25 years ago and have your like this is just golden nuggets of just honesty, just being honest.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that is something that at any given time in history, people just aren't honest with parents, with kids, with dancers about the realities.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's why what you do is so important, what we do is so important, is to say there's there is a world in which you can be a professional dancer.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_02: It might not be this world you're thinking of, it might not be the direction you thought it would be, it might be not be this company, but there's a strategy to get to the places you want to get.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that is something that people need to hear even more of.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, oh yeah.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: There's to have a life in dance, in and around the arts is a beautiful life.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's a beautiful, and even if your dream is to be, this is the crazy part.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_01: If your dream is to be a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey or principal dance with New York City Ballet, you're gonna get, let's say you get there, you're gonna get there at 28.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: You still have a long life in dance.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: There's so much that this thing is gonna provide, and that you can provide this thing that yeah, there's uh it's the the radical honesty.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm thankful for this new, it feels like there's a new generation of us that are like, yeah, we need to help.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we need to help because we didn't know how we want to.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_03: And exactly.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_03: So I have a question, and when it comes, I'm sure people are curious.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of different types of intensives in the sense of you have to pre-audition and send in a video and get screens and pay a fee and all the things.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_03: There's ones where you might have to actually audition in person and be invited, or there's ones that you just sign up and you're in.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_03: So is there is there more prestige to one than the other?
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_03: Is it do you you know, is it is it more exciting and and impactful if you actually get selected for an intensive.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_03: Do you feel obligated to participate in that versus one that you can just pay and go to?
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_03: And does it make one better than the other?
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a great conversation.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_01: The um the pre-screen, you know, essentially like that.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's a mixed bag, but I think like in general, the general rules are like if there's a pre-screen, it's gonna be uh there's a they're looking for something.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_01: And it might it's not like you know a stereotype they're looking for necessarily, but it's their their version of whatever it is, right?
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_01: And so like that to be chosen for that, that's a great, it's a great for any program.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's a great show of confidence that you're heading in the right direction, that you're not um wasting your time, that there's some potential there, right?
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_01: But then also that's all it is.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's not uh, it's not like uh you have to go, if I don't go to the summer, they're gonna take it as disrespect.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, in six years, when I circle back around, they're not gonna let me.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's not real.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's not real.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you're just kind of a name for all intents and purposes.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_01: If this summer program allows more than 25 people in it, summer, summer intensive, you are a name on a list.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_01: And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's not necessarily a bad thing.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_01: They might like Alvin Ailey, they have a summer program that delivers excellent athleticism, excellent standard of discipline, but also there's a hundred so there's hundreds of kids moving through there.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_01: They do what they do well, and you get the opportunity to flow through that.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas like a smaller summer program, 25 kids or less in that intensive.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we we wanted you here to serve a very specific role, and we're excited to get to know you to do that.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_01: They're different, two different things, but both of them are great signs of confidence.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and at that point, when you're in a program that's that small and truly intensive, you you can then put that teacher's name on your resume because that teacher knows exactly who you are.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_02: That teacher knows what you can do, what you can't do, could be able to say, Oh yeah, Courtney Ortiz, she's a really great jazz dancer, she needs to work on this, but I would I would hire her in a minute.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_02: At your giant summer intensive, I don't know, Sarah.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know, Sally.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_02: She she came here, but I can't tell you anything about her.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's real.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_01: I can I can speak to it.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_01: We the director of Juilliard is also a friend of ours.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_01: She danced with Jackie, the other director here at TA Prep, my wife.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_01: And she she's been in some of my projects, just a great friend.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: Every I'm always impressed by her because every year they do the summer intensive.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_01: We have we have students that want to audition, and some get in, some don't get in.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_01: But for the ones that do get in, she reaches out to us and says, like, hey, I'm excited to have so and so first and last name here from their videos, they look like, and then she goes on to describe what she's she's invested in them.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_01: She she and that's a that's the power of a small program.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_03: Totally.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_03: How many people get accepted into the Juilliard Summer Intensive?
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_03: Do you know?
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not extra off the top of my head, but I just based off of uh what I've heard from my students, it's it's no more than 25.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's no more than 25.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's highly competitive.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just like a school.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_01: And if you get into the summer program, it doesn't mean you're getting into the school.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it doesn't like it's it's not and if you like I've I've had kids that got into one summer program and then applied a second year in a row, didn't get in the next, you know, like it's not one of those things to that point that you were making, Courtney.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a it's not one of those things to take so personally of like, oh, this means I'm this or this means I'm that.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_01: It just means that you're on the right track for this type of vision, if that's what you want to be.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_02: I think you we we brought this up recently that the new generation of people are our age, you know.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_02: We we are now the people behind the table.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_02: We are now the people doing the hiring, doing the casting, doing the admissions.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it's it's really telling that it's a different ballgame now because we all went through something that was vastly different than what it is now, and we want to make it better for everybody.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that, you know, that's that's the exciting part of of what what this industry has become is that it's we have really evolved to a place where it feels more accessible, it feels more available to more people.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_02: But on the flip side, it also feels well now everybody has the opportunity, now it's even more competitive.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_02: You know, more people know about this, more people are training at a higher level.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_02: And so my my question now, all of that to say, what happens when you just can't get there, when you can't afford it, when you can't make the time, when you don't have the you know, ability to make it happen?
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_02: Is it still possible to find a career in dance without going to Juilliard summer intensive?
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's possible.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's possible to find a career in dance without going to the big box programs 100%.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: Because those I don't need I'm not even a believer that those are the best programs.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like those are, if we were being like very general, the best.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_01: There is no such thing.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't I don't I'm not a big believer of big box programs for most people, right?
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_01: But and and you know, we've worked with families that just don't have.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_01: And there's a way to go about that.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there's a way to go about having and there's a way to go about not having.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's not, I don't even think it's about I think when when families look at it as these are this is the money I have, and so this is what my limitations are, it's a it can it can create barriers that might not exist if you went into it a little bit differently, right?
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_01: And just were like, this is my dancer.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_01: My dancer works hard.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_01: My dancer is gonna change the environment of this room.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's just real.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_01: You can't be broke and lazy.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_01: That's just what you know, like if you're if you're gonna come to a place and say, I can't afford it, but dot, dot, dot, you have to be an environment changer in order to really be able to consistently keep that up at the next level, the next level, the next level, the next level.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so, like, no, it's it's very possible, but it's all about who you are.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's all about how you how you come to this thing.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_03: And I think it's important for parents to remember as well, like where if, you know, based on everyone's financial situation and how much money a family has and is willing to invest in their child's future into their training, you have to really look at the overall picture of the whole entire dance season.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, we're speaking on summer and winter intensives right now, but what about the whole rest of that season that just happened?
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_03: How many dances are you doing a competition?
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_03: How much did you spend on that solo costume?
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_03: You know, all these other things.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_03: How, you know, if you're a studio that attends seven regionals, think about the amount of expense that is, where one of those regionals could have gone to you attending that summer intensive that you really wanted to go to.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, you have to really look at the bigger picture because I think that there's ways to make it all work and you can dabble in in a little bit of everything or scale back on certain things to then, you know, you're like as a competitive dancer, and that's primarily who we're speaking to on our podcast, like those goals are going to change through your time as a competitive dancer, and so should your training, and so should the opportunities that you're presenting to your dancers.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_03: You know, if you're in 20 dances at age 12, maybe you're only in five dances by age 14 because you're putting that money towards your future, which is college or dance team or or prepping for a professional career, and that might mean an intensive instead of a group dance.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like that point, bam, bam, bam, bam.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like, let's drop the lasers for that.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's such a great, because you know how these things come about.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's like some teacher who has no idea about how much this stuff costs is like, you know what?
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_01: Costume change.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_01: We're going with this costume, money gets shelled out just because a person, an artist who were all artists on this call, like our our ideas are mini and close together.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's like, you know, you could these choreographers or these directors or these, you know, artists that are in charge of these things could have an idea, and then boom, that's another$800, just quickly added to whatever your bill is.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_01: So there has to be boundaries, there has to be an awareness because that stuff affects who you get to meet.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's real.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_03: Now, I will say, on the flip side of that, is that, and we can kind of discuss this briefly, is that we've talked about ballet and we've We've talked about company and we've talked a little bit about different college intensives.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of different commercial style intensives that are out there.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_03: And a lot of them are coming from the competitive dance world where you might attend an event, let's say that's part of your studio's regular season.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_03: And guess what?
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_03: You got a random scholarship to an intensive that you've never even heard of at this event, which is exciting because it's an it's a new opportunity.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_03: It's a new training intensive that you can partake in for maybe a little bit of a cheaper fee.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_03: So mom's enticed and kids excited because they won this award.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, that those those programs do exist.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_03: And I think it's just a matter of researching them heavily, making sure that you see who is on the faculty, what they're bringing to the event.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_03: Talk to others who have done it.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_03: Ask your studio owner, is this legitimate?
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_03: Because you would hope, and most likely an event wouldn't endorse or promote an event that they didn't also believe in and give away things as well.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_03: But you also never know.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_03: There's so many competitions these days.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_03: And I feel like everyone under the sun is starting a new dance competition or starting their own version of a dance intensive.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, I think that there's also like the flash of I won an award, there's a deal.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_03: And oh my gosh, look at all these amazing instructors that are going to be a part of it.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_03: But you again, like you have to do the research because there's a lot of places where the teachers are just coming in, getting a paycheck, and leaving.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_03: And they don't really care about your kid.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_03: They're just, they're just on their tour of their summer intensives.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_03: Like, are they giving hands-on instruction?
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_03: Are they giving one-on-one training?
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_03: Are are they really mentoring the kids?
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_03: Like, you know, there's so many aspects to think about when you're selecting a summer intensive.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_01: Here's a good shortcut.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_01: You just inspired this.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_01: This is new.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I would say if you want like good advice for parents, if you want to be able to suss through that, what's a good summer program, what's not a good summer program from these big box, like big competitions, go to the teachers and look up the faculty.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_01: Number one, do they have the faculty announced?
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_01: If they don't have the faculty announced and and they're already selling the program, that tells you right there, like their mind is not on the best quality education, right?
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_01: So then doesn't necessarily mean it's a terrible thing, but it's just it's not on the quality of teachers right away.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_01: So then let's say look up the teachers.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_01: Let's say they're announced, they're on the thing.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_01: Look at their Instagram.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_01: If their Instagram has videos or photos of them teaching, OMG, you're in, you're in a you're in a really good spot.
• 46:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_01: And and that might be unrealistic because they might need a big name to sell the intensive, and then you know, 90%, then they're gonna bring in somebody like me to really love teaching, and then they'll bring in a celebrity dancer to be the the the you know to sell it.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_01: And that energy, as long as I'd say, you know, 50% for a commercial program, as long as 50% of the teachers teach, like actually teach.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_01: The rest of them can have amazing careers, and you'll have a little bit of of both.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_01: But a person for the parents that don't know, like what a pr uh an artist who's in their career and living deeply in their career, there's not a lot of room for them to care about your kid as much as you might be looking for.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so you got to really be aware of that and like blend it.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_01: Blend it up.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, and you make a really good point.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_02: Just I mean, everything's a business, and these companies are trying to attract people.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_02: So, like, like you said, make sure, make sure there's educators on a panel, make sure there's educators in the faculty that, like you said, love to teach because let's face it, how many times have you heard a dance competition critique from somebody who you can tell doesn't teach?
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_02: And if they do, they don't love it because you can tell.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_02: They're just there to make a paycheck.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_02: And so you you gotta, and yeah, I definitely think there's there's a bunch of commercial options out there now that like I know me and Courtney can absolutely endorse because we know people who participate in them.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_02: We know people who run them, we know that they have your best interests at heart.
• 47:48
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, they're out there.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_01: You just I actually have a question question for both of you about this commercial commercial landscape.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_01: So in our world, we're we're paying attention to the colleges right now, and there's like two commercial colleges that exist at a really high level that have owned it.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_01: We're a commercial program, Boco and Pace.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_01: Outside of that, there every every other program is kind of dancing around it.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's not, and this is new, it's not really clear what you know.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_01: We don't have 20 years of history on the nest.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what is a good commercial pro what is training to be a commercial?
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_01: Because for our generation, it was learning music video steps in the living room.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_01: Really, really good.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_01: In the living room.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_01: And that's rewinding it.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we did.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_01: But you had to learn the learning the counts.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_01: Luckily, we we at least had you know speed rewind.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_01: We didn't have to go do it with like like the people came before us, but we had Darren's dance grooves.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_02: He at least broke it down.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_01: That's all you had.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_01: So, what is like in your opinion, you're you're seeing the commercial world kind of develop a little bit from your stake.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what are you seeing?
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think that world as far as education and curriculum is becoming?
• 48:51
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I think that it's really important to to remember that even something like hip-hop has only been in somebody's curriculum for like the last five years, barely, you know.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_02: And that's for college program, you mean?
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_02: For college program, yeah.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_02: And and even then, it's not necessarily even it's an elective.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_02: You know, maybe you get one semester of it.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_02: So I think in terms of the programs, I think most of them, the two that you mentioned, are doing it.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_02: Then Oklahoma City University has changed leadership and they are now moving it more towards the direction.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_02: That's where I went to school.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_02: And so they were a little more Broadway dance focused in their dance department.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_02: They have now, you know, added hip hop.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_02: They've added a couple different electives that you can now take with more rhythm tap, things like that, especially for the middle of the country too, because obviously your coasts are getting the more um intensive training.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_02: But I think what it is now is everybody in a college program is also now even more expected to supplement their training with some of that commercial stuff.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_02: So that's I think you do see a lot of people in college, whether they're in a ballet-focused program or a commercial program, they are also going to the steps summer intensive.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_02: They are also going to CLI in the summer.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_02: They are also taking hip hop at a studio, they're going to a battle, they're they're doing more than probably they used to do outside of the program.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_02: Because I think we still, like you said, we haven't quite evolved for the program to be fully commercially realized everywhere.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I feel like that a lot of um Yeah, the college the colleges are starting.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_03: They're I I've been hearing rumors or I've heard about different programs that are like, no, they do have a commercial.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_03: Like you can get you can choose to be a commercial BFA now for dance, commercial dance BFA, outside of just Pace and Boco.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't want to say who they are because I don't know off the top of my head.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_03: I just know that there are more.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_03: And there's one out west that's doing it.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_03: But like regardless, you know, there there is just such a huge demand of moving to LA or moving to New York, and the and a lot of the college programs that are focusing more on conservatory company concert focused aren't giving the dancers the tools that they need to prepare themselves for a career on one of the coasts in a commercial setting.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_03: And even I'm even like classifying commercial these days as like I used to only classify it as like you're a hip-hop dancer in Los Angeles and you're gonna work on television or dance behind a music or an artist.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_03: Like that's what I always thought a commercial dancer was, but commercial dancer is also like a Broadway dancer.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_03: A commercial dancer is also a cruise ship dancer.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_03: Like those feel more commercial now than maybe they ever used to.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_03: And I feel like majority of the dancers coming out of programs are actually going in those directions versus concert these days.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_03: And I think it's just with the rise of like social media and seeing what is out there because we, like you said, would only watch music videos and be like, I want to do that, but you have to be a commercial dancer to do that.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't know if I can even do that.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, now it's like a reality for so many of these kids.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_03: And they're I they're training with these hip-hop and jazz funk teachers at conventions and they idolize them and see what they're doing on Instagram and saying, Oh, I can go out there and I can live that LA dream.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, there's a lot of opportunity.
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_02: All those faculty members did exactly what we did.
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_02: Like that's still, again, the generation of like, we did it ourselves.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_02: You learned it yourself, you rewound it yourself.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think that's why the schools haven't caught up yet, because so much of the leadership is still the generation prior to that that just had no idea.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_02: They there wasn't a music video.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_02: We we had that that idea of we could do this, and now we we are self-made people because of it.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_02: And now this next generation, I think the other thing to think about and remember too is the rise of the two-year program has really come a long way.
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_02: And most of that is not ballet focused.
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_02: You know, your uh the Amda, Amda programs are two years.
• 52:48
  SPEAKER_02: I think there's some four-year programs out there, but like it started as a two-year program, and you're getting ballet tap, jazz, voice, musical theater, hip hop, street dance, all the things, uh, CLI conservatory.
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_02: There's so many of these little programs now that allow you to take a converting.
• 53:04
  SPEAKER_02: You take a smaller chunk of your time.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_02: Just like a lot of the commercial and you're in these places where the industry is happening.
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you're not having to go to the middle of the country to spend four years and then all of a sudden be transplanted into New York City and not know how to live in a city.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 53:24
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• 53:30
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• 53:40
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• 53:44
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• 54:04
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  SPEAKER_03: Don't believe it?
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_03: Check out the Perform Plus exclusive competition partners, and you will be blown away by what their events are excited to offer you free of charge this season.
• 54:33
  SPEAKER_03: You do not want to miss this.
• 54:35
  SPEAKER_03: So register for a technique-packed Perform Plus event today.
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, it's the new it's the new certificate that you'll get a certificate program or a fellowship program, or a lot of the programs that cater to international students used to do that because of the Visa rules.
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_01: It was uh that's that's where they came from.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_03: But that's uh and the does the ali still have a certificate program, a two-year certificate?
• 55:02
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, they got a two-year certificate, they got a one-year independent study, they have a fellowship.
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_01: However, you want to train, they can they can train you.
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_03: I can train you.
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_03: Put it on your resume.
• 55:10
  SPEAKER_03: And it's just like, I mean, we've talked about this on our college episode, and I'm sure you mentor with the parents like this all the time.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_03: It's just a matter of if you want that degree.
• 55:19
  SPEAKER_03: You know, there's a there's a program out there for you.
• 55:22
  SPEAKER_03: Like you said, Ailey will make it happen.
• 55:24
  SPEAKER_03: If you want to do one year, two years, four years.
• 55:26
  SPEAKER_03: It just depends on like what do you want out of that?
• 55:29
  SPEAKER_03: If you need that BFA, if you want that degree, then you can get that.
• 55:33
  SPEAKER_03: And there's commercial programs for that now.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_03: There's conservatory style programs, there's liberal arts colleges, but then there's also a lot of two-year and a lot of gap year programs similar to CLI that's coming about, where dancers just want to have a little taste, a little dabble.
• 55:46
  SPEAKER_03: And uh, you know, I'm an adult, but I also don't know how to adult.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_03: So can I just train for a year and learn how to adult and learn the ropes of the biz and then get thrown into it instead of just jumping in cold turkey at 18 years old?
• 56:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know what it we're even finding it now too is that we have this year, we have three gap year students.
• 56:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's the first year where we've had three gap year students where they come in, they're and I mean these are strong dancers that are gonna go to one of the most competitive programs for dance next year.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_01: And they just either you know missed deadlines and didn't realize they missed deadlines, or they they you know, just they didn't want it, they didn't want to really.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_01: They wanted to take a break.
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_01: But it's it's happening.
• 56:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's the whole the whole industry and how we look at education is becoming a little bit more flexible.
• 56:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean what a beautiful thing.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, it's about time.
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_03: It's especially for our career that is, you know, it's our career is very much a real career, everyone.
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_03: But it's also not your standard career, you know, you don't necessarily have to go to school to make a career out of this.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_03: You could have done all the work up to 18 and gone to those summer intensives and trained your booty off and done this, this, and that, and you could be ready by 18 to walk into the industry if you want to.
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_03: And that is totally up to how you approach your entire training, or if you want the college experience, you can do that.
• 57:07
  SPEAKER_03: If you want to go live your life and be a college kid, everyone deserves to have that that opportunity, and you can do that while you dance and then move into your career after.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, but I feel like when I was growing up, it was college or nothing, college robust.
• 57:21
  SPEAKER_01: That was a new generation, yeah.
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
• 57:24
  SPEAKER_01: They totally they need to tell their friends that we were successful at something, right?
• 57:29
  SPEAKER_01: That was yeah, that was that generation.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_01: But that's your point is is is well received.
• 57:34
  SPEAKER_01: That is exactly the heartbeat of what it is that we do in asking you to look at who are you?
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_01: Who are you?
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_01: What do you have?
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_01: Who are your parents?
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_01: What resources have they provided?
• 57:43
  SPEAKER_01: What do you have?
• 57:45
  SPEAKER_01: How do you work?
• 57:46
  SPEAKER_01: And look at it bravely.
• 57:47
  SPEAKER_01: Look at it without seeing it as you know negatives.
• 57:50
  SPEAKER_01: This is the I'm I can only do this because this is who I am.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_01: But more so, this is just there's a place for you.
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_01: You just have to be able to own it and see it, and it's gonna be different than the person who has everything that you have.
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's still gonna look different from them.
• 58:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's uh that's uh what you're saying is is spot on.
• 58:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's who know who you are.
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_01: And and you might be a winter intensive person, you might be a summer intensive person, you might not, you might be a college BFA person, you might be a fellowship person, but when you're a shark, you're a shark all the way.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and don't I think another thing we might might want to touch on just briefly is don't be afraid to ask for help and don't be afraid to work outside, like if you are struggling financially to be able to make this happen, and I just feel like we get a lot of questions about like, well, what if my kid can't do this?
• 58:37
  SPEAKER_02: And what if we can't do that?
• 58:38
  SPEAKER_02: And you as the dancer have to have a work ethic that, well, if I wanna, if I need to do this, what else can I do?
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_02: Can I babysit?
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_02: Can I mow a lawn?
• 58:46
  SPEAKER_02: Can I sell something?
• 58:47
  SPEAKER_02: Can I get get a job?
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_02: Can I how do I make this happen for me?
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_02: And how do we work together as a family to find the resources, you know, from a grant to a scholarship to a work study program to a volunteer opportunity, some anything.
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_02: Like there's all these things that you can do to help yourself.
• 59:03
  SPEAKER_02: Because when it comes down to it, when you end up in your career, it's you.
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_02: You have to help yourself.
• 59:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, there's gonna be people who speak your name in the rooms, like Courtney speaks my name, I speak Courtney's name.
• 59:14
  SPEAKER_02: We've got each other.
• 59:15
  SPEAKER_02: You're gonna find those people that help you get the jobs and help you get the opportunities, but you like you said, you can't be broke and lazy.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_02: You can be broke, but you have to work hard.
• 59:25
  SPEAKER_01: Can't be broke and lazy.
• 59:26
  SPEAKER_01: And that's like, Leslie, your point is your point is kind of like the difference for parents that are listening to this.
• 59:32
  SPEAKER_01: This this is Leslie's point is the the line of are you a serious dancer, are you not?
• 59:37
  SPEAKER_01: Because dancers who are not serious, they might work the same hours, they might do all those same things, but they're they have a genuine belief that this is an entitlement that they have.
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_01: This is this started off as something that mom and dad let me do.
• 59:50
  SPEAKER_01: I get to pick out all my pieces, I get to pick out all my costumes, I get to pick my souls, I get to, I get to, I get to, I get to, versus the dancer who is like, Man, I'm so thankful that I get to do this.
• 59:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like this is I'm gonna work hard to try to open these doors because that's not it's not a guarantee.
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the ones who see that, that's what it is in real life.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_01: There's only 12 kids that get accepted to most of these programs for each gender.
• 1:00:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so, like, that's that's how it's happening.
• 1:00:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's the reality is it's hard.
• 1:00:16
  SPEAKER_01: And if you see it that way and work like that, the industry will open its doors for you.
• 1:00:21
  SPEAKER_01: But if you see it as the place that you just, you know, it's a privilege, not a right.
• 1:00:25
  SPEAKER_01: That's uh that's that's you you have to see it that way.
• 1:00:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great point.
• 1:00:29
  SPEAKER_03: That is so real.
• 1:00:30
  SPEAKER_03: I love that advice.
• 1:00:31
  SPEAKER_03: It is something that I I I say often, especially since the pandemic, I feel like that was a really big, you know, light bulb and and eyes open for a lot of people because you can take dance away so quickly.
• 1:00:46
  SPEAKER_03: It was not a priority for us to get back to dance in the pandemic because it was a global catastrophe that was happening, and entertainment is the last thing on that list to come back.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_03: And we all experienced that.
• 1:01:00
  SPEAKER_03: We were all out of work, we were all not dancing for a very long time.
• 1:01:03
  SPEAKER_03: And look at how quick you can snap of the fingers and it was gone.
• 1:01:06
  SPEAKER_03: And and I always try to remind dancers, and especially when I'm at convention, because that again is a luxury, that is a privilege to be at a dance convention.
• 1:01:16
  SPEAKER_03: They are not cheap, they are not free for most people, they are very expensive to attend, and a lot of dancers are goofing off in the back, not paying attention, doing cartwheels, chatting with their friends, not listening to the teacher, not learning anything.
• 1:01:30
  SPEAKER_03: And I and I can everyone can see it.
• 1:01:33
  SPEAKER_03: And it it really breaks my heart because it's not only disrespectful to me, but I think immediately about the parents who have invested so much money for these kids to just be goofing off in the back.
• 1:01:42
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't know if that's what they do at their home studio too, but you know, I I always I'll get snippy with the kids on on the mic and try to reality check them and say, listen, your parents have spent a lot of money for you to be here.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_03: You need to take advantage of every chance that you have to be on the dance floor and in a learning environment because you're lucky to be here right now.
• 1:02:02
  SPEAKER_03: Make the most of it.
• 1:02:03
  SPEAKER_03: If you're not putting in the work, you're never going to succeed in dance.
• 1:02:07
  SPEAKER_03: And like you said, it's a it's a matter of who really wants it or who doesn't.
• 1:02:11
  SPEAKER_03: And that privilege really comes in.
• 1:02:13
  SPEAKER_01: Who wants it, who doesn't, and like don't be an idiot.
• 1:02:16
  SPEAKER_01: If you if you want to goof off with your friends in the room, don't be an idiot about it.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_01: Don't do it here.
• 1:02:21
  SPEAKER_01: Take the money you're investing here and go to Hawaii and do it.
• 1:02:25
  SPEAKER_01: You're the idiot in the room right now because you're goofing off here.
• 1:02:28
  SPEAKER_01: Go goof off by the pool.
• 1:02:29
  SPEAKER_01: Go like there's a place for goofing off, and it's 10 times more fun than this room.
• 1:02:34
  SPEAKER_01: Right for you.
• 1:02:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 1:02:36
  SPEAKER_02: If you don't think this is fun, why are you here?
• 1:02:39
  SPEAKER_01: I go find it.
• 1:02:40
  SPEAKER_01: I support you in that.
• 1:02:41
  unknown: I support you.
• 1:02:42
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, truly.
• 1:02:43
  SPEAKER_02: I do I do always wonder.
• 1:02:44
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, well, what are you even doing?
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_02: Why are you?
• 1:02:51
  SPEAKER_01: Come on.
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_01: That is it.
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_01: That is it.
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 1:02:54
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I feel like that we covered a really fantastic overall general summer-intensive chat over here, and I think it was extremely informative.
• 1:03:04
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, we covered some commercial, some company, some college intensive opportunities, the good, the bad.
• 1:03:11
  SPEAKER_03: Give it a listen, y'all.
• 1:03:12
  SPEAKER_03: I hope you enjoyed it and share it with your teachers, share it with your dancers, share it with other dance parents.
• 1:03:17
  SPEAKER_03: Share it with your guidance counselor at your public school.
• 1:03:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 1:03:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, they need to hear it.
• 1:03:22
  SPEAKER_03: They need to learn as well.
• 1:03:24
  SPEAKER_01: That parent you're sitting next to in the lobby at the dance studio.
• 1:03:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know, even if you don't like them, give them an AirPod, let them listen.
• 1:03:30
  SPEAKER_01: Just give them a free game.
• 1:03:32
  unknown: Free game.
• 1:03:33
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 1:03:34
  SPEAKER_03: And on our end, we have a Facebook community making the Impact to Dance competition podcast communities.
• 1:03:40
  SPEAKER_03: Go check it out if you're not a member.
• 1:03:42
  SPEAKER_03: I think that once this episode goes live, either before or after, we should put a little, get a little group discussion going on and hear from everybody about what intensives your dancers have attended, what you loved about them, get a running list going so we can put that information out there so we can hear from other people's experiences as well, and we can connect with community about summer and winter intensives that are worth attending.
• 1:04:05
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm really excited for this one.
• 1:04:07
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much, Preston, for this amazing chat.
• 1:04:09
  SPEAKER_03: We knew you'd be the perfect guest and for all that you're doing and bringing to the world with TDA Prep.
• 1:04:14
  SPEAKER_03: It's in a wonderful resource, and I hope that a lot of our listeners will check it out.
• 1:04:17
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 1:04:18
  SPEAKER_01: I actually am just looking at making the impact on Did you say you're on Instagram?
• 1:04:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, well, our our Instagram is called Impact Dance Adjudicators because it is connected to my company where we staff judges for competitions.
• 1:04:30
  SPEAKER_03: So our podcast is like a spin-off from that, where we are getting inside the mind of a dance competition judge.
• 1:04:37
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 1:04:37
  SPEAKER_03: That's kind of how it started.
• 1:04:38
  SPEAKER_03: And then now we're branching off into all different types of topics.
• 1:04:42
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 1:04:42
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I'll shoot you a message on Instagram if you can't find it because it's a little bit.
• 1:04:45
  SPEAKER_01: Oh no, I see it.
• 1:04:46
  SPEAKER_01: Impact dance adjudicators, y'all.
• 1:04:49
  SPEAKER_01: I see it.
• 1:04:50
  SPEAKER_03: That's it.
• 1:04:50
  SPEAKER_03: There it is.
• 1:04:51
  SPEAKER_03: That's us.
• 1:04:53
  SPEAKER_03: That's us.
• 1:04:54
  SPEAKER_03: And yeah, we're really grateful for everything that you shared and all of your knowledge.
• 1:04:58
  SPEAKER_03: And I would love for you to lead us out on this chat.
• 1:05:02
  SPEAKER_03: And how how we always have our guests lead us out is just with one final thought on the topic today.
• 1:05:06
  SPEAKER_03: And you can speak to whoever you'd like to talk to.
• 1:05:08
  SPEAKER_03: If you want to talk to dancers out there, if you want to talk to the parents, if you want to talk to studios with any recommendations.
• 1:05:15
  SPEAKER_03: Just one final thought from Preston Miller.
• 1:05:18
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 1:05:18
  SPEAKER_01: Well, first, thank you so much for having me.
• 1:05:20
  SPEAKER_01: This was a blast.
• 1:05:21
  SPEAKER_01: You all do a great job.
• 1:05:23
  SPEAKER_01: It makes me very thankful to be a part of the same industry to share the space with you.
• 1:05:27
  SPEAKER_01: Uh let's talk to the families, the the dancer.
• 1:05:30
  SPEAKER_01: If you're a dancer watching this, if you're a parent watching this, let's prioritize your journey.
• 1:05:36
  SPEAKER_01: This is a lifetime career made of art where you'll get to be a part of creating some of the best memories and experiences for the culture.
• 1:05:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's a long journey.
• 1:05:49
  SPEAKER_01: The things that feel great one day might not feel great the next day.
• 1:05:52
  SPEAKER_01: So the way that you prioritize building a high quality of life in this is by getting to know what you like.
• 1:06:01
  SPEAKER_01: Who are you?
• 1:06:02
  SPEAKER_01: What do you want to do with your time?
• 1:06:03
  SPEAKER_01: What are the people you want to be around?
• 1:06:05
  SPEAKER_01: Who are the people you don't want to be around?
• 1:06:07
  SPEAKER_01: And stick true to that and the experiences that align with you will present themselves.
• 1:06:17
  SPEAKER_03: We hope you've enjoyed our latest episode all about summer and winter intensives.
• 1:06:21
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you to our guest Preston Miller for joining us on this chat.
• 1:06:25
  SPEAKER_03: Be sure to check out his company, TBA Prep, and follow them on Instagram at TBA Prep.
• 1:06:32
  SPEAKER_02: Don't forget to follow Making the Impact on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcast, and pretty much everywhere you listen to podcasts.
• 1:06:39
  SPEAKER_02: And if you want more exclusive episodes, support our podcast by joining our Platinum Premium membership for only$5 a month.
• 1:06:46
  SPEAKER_02: Subscribers receive free Making the Impact stickers, shout-outs live on the air, ad-free listening, and exclusive access to our QA episodes for members only.
• 1:06:54
  SPEAKER_02: Join now at Impact Dance Adjudicators.com slash Platinum Premium or click the link in our show notes.
• 1:07:01
  SPEAKER_03: Be sure to check out IDA affiliated competition DECA Dance Competition.
• 1:07:06
  SPEAKER_03: DECA Dance Competition and their UN Convention is entering their sixth season of events.
• 1:07:12
  SPEAKER_03: DECA stands for Dedication, Education, Creativity, and Artistry.
• 1:07:16
  SPEAKER_03: And we're excited to highlight the education events DECA has to offer this fall.
• 1:07:20
  SPEAKER_03: On October 27th, they'll host their annual Mini Mayhem event, a dance convention just for ages 9 and under.
• 1:07:27
  SPEAKER_03: With Jordan classes, breakout sessions, and special bonus activities just for minis and petites, Mini Mayhem is a DECA favorite and will be held in Edison, New Jersey this year.
• 1:07:36
  SPEAKER_03: But don't worry, if you aren't a mini, there's still a dance event for you.
• 1:07:40
  SPEAKER_03: DECA's Unconvention is for all ages and features specialty genres of dance paired with familiar styles, like Bollywood and ballet, African dance and tap dance, or Latin and Jazz, featuring take-home exercises over choreography combos.
• 1:07:54
  SPEAKER_03: Check out Decca's Unconvention in New Jersey on November 10th or in Connecticut on November 17th.
• 1:08:01
  SPEAKER_03: Impact Dance Adjudicators will proudly supply judges for Decca's events in their upcoming 2025 season.
• 1:08:07
  SPEAKER_03: And we invite you to learn more about their creative events at Decadance Competition.com.
• 1:08:12
  SPEAKER_03: That's Decadance Competition.com.
• 1:08:15
  SPEAKER_03: Here's to another season of dedication, education, creativity, and artistry at Decca Dance.
• 1:08:22
  SPEAKER_02: Get excited for more upcoming episodes of Making the Impact, including a conversation on levels, our 200th episode celebrations, and our genre spotlight on Fossi.
• 1:08:32
  SPEAKER_03: We'll see you next week for some more great episodes.
• 1:08:35
  SPEAKER_03: Until then, keep dancing.