Creative Impact Podcast

Today’s conversation is SO MUCH FUN! I’m getting to chat with the founders of REFIT Revolution: Angela Beeler, Catherine Ballas and Emily Field. REFIT Revolution is a transformative fitness experience. Together, Angela, Catherine, and Emily decided that "community” was the missing piece in the fitness industry, and that connection was the key to lasting internal and external change. I love their heart for people and how they’ve built this fitness experience that is transforming lives beyond the workout.

In our conversation, we chat about the background of REFIT, their foundational values, the power of community, and so much more. You can check out REFIT at refitrev.com and use promo code RODCREATIVE for one month of free REFIT On Demand!

Check out our website https://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

We are celebrating 100 episodes of the Creative Impact Podcast with special guest, Ben Caldwell!!! Ben and I (Rachel) share a bit of our story as a couple, and we chat about Ben’s journey in the arts. He gives us a glimpse into his time as a dancer and dance teacher, and he shares fun and moving stories from his international travels for dance ministry. We also talk about Ben’s transition out of full-time dancing, processing the losses that come with change, and rediscovering hope for the future.

Thank you so much for being part of the Creative Impact Podcast community! We are so grateful for your support, and are excited to celebrate with you today!

Check out our website https://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Ben's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

My heart is so happy to have one of my old friends, Michelle Boyd, joining me to share about her journey from dance–to photography–to painting. Michelle is an impressionist artist based in Austin, Texas. She is a wife and mom, and she shares about creating in different seasons. For those artists who have kids, she gives great encouragement about inviting your kids into your creativity.

Michelle and I chat about the creative process, not being held back by fear of failure, creating art that overflows out of you naturally versus what other people expect, how art is an act of faith, and the idea of creating a sustainable lifestyle as an artist (or just as a human!). Towards the end, we get into a fun conversation about hospitality and community! This conversation was such a gift to me getting to catch up with Michelle, and I am so excited to share it with you!

Check out our website https://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Michelle's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

I am so thrilled to have Lara Bianca Pilcher joining us for the second time as we catch up on the last few years! Lara was our guest on episode 13 back in 2020, and since then she and her family have moved to the USA, and she has started a new business and podcast.

Lara is a wife, mother, and professional performing artist with over 20 years of experience in London, Australia, and the USA. She is the host of The Healthy Wealthy Wise Artist Podcast and works as a coach, speaker, educator, and actor. In our time together, Lara shares about following God’s lead to come to the USA, which is an incredible story! We chat about her family’s experience moving internationally, building community in a new environment, and how sometimes it is in the dark places in life where something new starts to bloom.

Check out our website https://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Lara's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

My new friend Bekah Spurgeon joins me for episode 97! Bekah has such a beautiful presence, and I loved getting to know her through this conversation! Bekah is a choreographer, dance educator, and is the Founder and Director of Generation Movemeant (GenMove). GenMove is a dance mentorship program that exists to train, build, and equip girls in 6-12th grade to walk boldly with purpose for such a time as this. I love Bekah’s vision with GenMove–to combine training in versatile dance styles with character building, scripture study, and teaching foundational life skills.

In our conversation, Bekah shares about her background dancing professionally for the NBA as well as her time living in Los Angeles as a professional dance artist, where she performed with local dance companies, appeared on television, did commercial work for Sony, Nintendo Wii and more. You’ll also hear about how she and her husband traveled for a year as missionaries where she had some unexpected opportunities to use dance.
 
We chat about topics such as understanding identity, the concept of sabbath, and experiencing the presence of God in dance. Bekah is a wife and mom, and we talk about being a dancer and mom as well as her journey with homeschooling. Bekah’s story is so inspiring, and I’m so excited to share our conversation with you!

Check out our website https://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Bekah's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

Our guest for episode 96 is the lovely Julianna Rubio Slager! Julianna is the Co-founder, Artistic Director, and Resident Choreographer of Ballet 5:8 in Chicago. Julianna is a groundbreaking figure within the field of dance, as she is one of the few Mexican American Artistic Directors and Resident Choreographers of a professional ballet company. Her work is paving the way for other women and minorities in professional ballet.

She is an incredible choreographer and recently created her 50th work! She is known for engaging audiences in discussions of life and faith through her choreography. Julianna enjoys training and mentoring the next generation of aspiring artists at the School of Ballet 5:8’s Pre-Professional, Conservatory, and Trainee Programs.

In our conversation today, we talk about the importance of having various perspectives and voices in art, and particularly in dance. We chat about Julianna’s dance journey, including challenges she faced such as eating disorders and struggles with mental health. I love her heart to give life to everyone that she encounters - as a teacher, mom, mentor, and choreographer. I enjoyed hearing about her choreographic process and what her career as a choreographer has looked like so far. Julianna is an inspiration!

Check out our website https://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Julianna's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

My beautiful friend, Lara Ello, joins me for episode 95! Lara has such a sweet spirit that you will experience as you listen to this conversation. Lara and I met through our shared time at Ad Deum Dance Company, and she is currently directing the Houston branch of Open Sky Arts Collective.

Lara shares incredible testimonies of dreams fulfilled in her life, of healing, of how God can redeem time, and how He can redeem ANYTHING in your story. She also lets us into some of the hard seasons she’s walked through, including many years of waiting. One of my main takeaways from this conversation is Lara’s encouragement that God is in the waiting and that He has purpose in our waiting seasons. Lara has traveled the world sharing the gospel through dance. We chat about her experiences with dance in ministry and the fruit that comes from living in authentic community with others. May you be inspired by Lara’s story!

Check out our website https://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Lara's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

I am so honored and excited to have Glorielle Niedfeldt join me for episode 94! Glorielle has served as a dancer, artistic director, choreographer, and teacher in both the ministry and marketplace settings. Glorielle shares her journey with dance and how she ended up working in various areas of the arts including live stage production, television, and film.

Glorielle shares how she’s navigating being an artist through shifting seasons in life as a wife and mother. We chat about topics like how God impacts people on a spiritual level through dance, purpose-driven artistry, intercession, prophetic dance, and stepping out in faith. Glorielle’s love for God and passion for sharing the love of Jesus are such an inspiration!

Check out our website https://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Glorielle's biography, the link to her upcoming workshop, and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

Tehillah Hartmann is the founder of the Being Salt Dance Community where she helps dancers integrate their dance and faith as well as experience deep connection to God through guided movement meditations, coaching, and workshops. I loved hearing about Tehillah’s personal journey with connecting dance and faith in her own life, and how that developed into her ministry, Being Salt. We chat about topics like identity, how God can speak to us and shift the atmosphere through movement, seasons of life as a dancer, the power of community, embodied prayer, and so much more!

This is one of those conversations I could go back and listen to over and over again. Tehillah’s heart and message that we each have our own movement “flavor” is such an encouragement! May you be inspired as you listen!

Check out our website https://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Tehillah's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

Cameron Cunningham, founder of Reverent Rhythms, joins me for episode 92! Reverent Rhythms is a non-profit Cameron started when she was a junior in college back in 2018. Currently, Reverent Rhythms includes a school of the arts, a scholarship program, community programs, a professional dance company, and overseas missions.

Cameron lets us into the behind-the-scenes of the beginnings of Reverent Rhythms and how she faced some serious challenges. Those challenges included struggles with mental and physical health, a painful divorce, running a business during COVID lockdown, not to mention that she started this organization as a 21-year-old. I love her honesty with us and the hope that she brings through her story.

We chat about what it looks like to live in true freedom, the importance of investing in people in business and ministry, becoming a healthy leader, mentorship, comparison, and so much more! Get ready to be encouraged and inspired!

Check out our website https://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Cameron's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!