DANCE +

By Dana WilsonBusiness Education Arts Performing Arts Careers

DANCE + episodes

July 08273. DANCE + ALAIN HURRIKANE
This is DANCE + Hurrikane
Most dancers battle to win. Alain aka “Hurrikane” Lauture battles because he is in love— deeply in love— with the music, with dance, and with the practice of acceptance. Listen in on his journey from being a kid from Port-au-Prince who only danced alone, to sharing stages with Madonna, MTV, Samsung, and winning battles like Juste Debout, Hip Hop Internationals, and Summer Dance Forever. Hurrikane joined me this week to talk about stillness as dialogue, how Maya Angelou changed his mind about judgement, and why he is NOT Locking…
We explore:
Why he refuses to call it a battle — it's a game, it's play, it's "with" not "against"
How stillness is a real-time negotiation with his own insecurities
Why it took years to understand an early conversation with Don Campbellock
This one's for the love of all dance, and the context that makes it sticky for generations to come.
Watch the full episode here.
Show Notes:
Connect with Hurrikane on IG
Listen to Toni’s episode
For more DANA
For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY
To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES
Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE
Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok
1 hr 13 min
July 01272. DANCE + DANIEL “CLOUD” CAMPOS: Breathing Life Into Your Work
This is DANCE + DANIEL “CLOUD” CAMPOS
Most people find one creative medium and stay. Cloud Campos found dance — then learned stop-motion, animation, PLUS directing because he refused to let a story outrun his tools. He joined me this week to talk about premiering unreleased work at CLOUDFEST, real budgets, and the dog slide that had an entire room convinced it was rotoscoped.
Spoiler: it wasn't. It was muscle memory.
We explore:
The festival Cloud built himself and WHY
Why freestyle dance is the perfect training for stop-motion + why every filmmaker SHOULD learn stop-motion
Emotionally, mentally, + physically what it costs to create Cloud’s worlds
This one's for the makers who hide their fingerprints in the details, hoping someone will find them.
Watch the full episode here.
Show Notes:
Connect with Cloud on IG
Watch “Macho Man”
Watch “Into The Cosmos”
Watch “Hey”
Watch “Todays The Day”
Read “Figure It Out!”
Try out “Magic Poser”
For more DANA
For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY
To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES
Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE
Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok
54 min
June 24271. DANCE + REBRANDING: Know When to Pivot
This is DANCE + REBRANDING.
This episode is a masterclass in when and HOW to pivot using our very own podcast as the case study. I'm telling you why, why NOW, and HOW I moved from “Words That Move Me” to DANCE +
Here’s what you can expect from our pivot:
Same great content, new name, logo, iconography, and then some!
Spoiler: Rebrands are as much MIND MANAGEMENT as they are BRAND MANAGEMENT. Pivots aren’t just about new directions; they are an exercise in negotiating where you put your weight. They're a conversation with self (inward) and a statement of self (outward) that can expose a TON of unwanted feelings.
Get ready for all the juicy details:
The moment I KNEW beyond a doubt that I needed to change the name of the podcast.
How Toni Basil influenced the new title.
Why I decided to SHIFT, not STOP.
271 episodes in. We're just getting (re)started.
Watch the full episode on YouTube.
Show Notes:
Hire Bree Reetz for your Brand Design!
Listen to DANCE + Will Loftis
Listen to DANCE + Toni Basil
For more DANA
For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY
To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES
Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE
Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok
25 min
June 10270. Bret Easterling: In J.O.D. We Trust
Bret Easterling has spent his entire life (even pre-birth!) dancing, and his entire career building worlds on stage, on screen, and inside the communities that make dance possible. A producer, Juilliard-trained and award winning choreographer, former Batsheva performer, founder of LGBTQ+ nonprofit BEMOVING, and one half of the creative duo EICHTERLING, Bret joined me this week to talk about what it actually takes to make a dance film, why the logistics always threaten to swallow the artistry, and what happens when you let something be easy.
We explore:
Bret’s new film “True Love Will Find You in the End”. WATCH IT HERE
The Clown Car Theory of a creative process
What gets cut and why, finding the ending no one planned, and what that says about following ease.
Teaching as space-making: Why Bret is never really in the business of telling people what to do, and how the most important thing a teacher can do is make someone feel capable of discovering something new.
This episode is for anyone who's ever let logistics push the love of the work to the back seat, and those who need a reminder that the Joy of Dance is always there, waiting.
Watch the full episode here.
Show Notes:
Connect with Bret on IG
Watch “True Love Will Find You In the End”
For more DANA
For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY
To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER
To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES
Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE
Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok
59 min
May 27269: Tali: Representation, Range, and the Right Job for You
Tali has spent 20+ years at every level of the dance world, with credits ranging from Rihanna and P!nk to the West End production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. She joined me this week to talk about what it really means to advocate for choreographers, why freestyle is one of the most advanced skills in the room, and how a single conversation got one of her clients double the offer.
Spoiler: Productions will lowball until someone teaches them not to. Tali's decided that's part of her job too.
We explore:
Can we just be storytellers? Tali on representing Black and Brown choreographers in an industry that too often boxes them into Black and Brown stories, and why the chance to choreograph a fantastical world, post-COVID, felt like a gift.
The pros and cons of freestylers showing up in more traditionally "choreographed" spaces.
Production not batting an eye when she asked for double the rate for one of her clients: What that says about bottom-line culture, and why asking is always worth it.
This episode is for anyone who's ever watched an artist undercharge, underestimate themselves, or wait for permission to take up more space.
Watch the full episode here.
Show Notes:
Connect with Tali on IG
Join Tali’s Programme: “identity/ideas/industry”
Read the Choreographer’s Guild Handbook
Read The Choreographer’s Handbook
For more DANA
For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY
To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER
To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES
Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE
Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok
55 min
May 13 268.Karen Chuang: Follow the Spark
Karen Chuang is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer based in Los Angeles who has toured with Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, taught across nine countries, and built a career that moves fluidly between the commercial and contemporary dance worlds.
Spoiler: Excellence alone won't get you (and *keep* you) the gig!
We explore:
The Jack Johnson T-shirt moment. A moment when the most important lesson of your career arrives in a phone call you never expected.
“Wherever you go, there you are.” The quote Karen has carried with her for years — and what it actually means to embrace a circumstance that isn't your ideal one, reframe it with intention, and then decide whether to stay or move yourself somewhere new.
Financial literacy for dancers. What Karen wishes dancers knew earlier about money, and how her approach to educating at conventions like Hollywood Vibe has shifted from when she first started, and why that evolution matters for the next generation coming up.
Being the cool auntie (or not). Karen reflects on what it means to be connected to her nephews not as a career success story, but just as family.
This episode is for every dancer who has ever been told to pick a style, a lane, or a world, and needed one person to show them what's possible when you don't.
Watch the full episode here.
Show Notes:
Connect with Karen on IG
Learn more about Hollywood Vibe
Learn more about Pathways in Motion
For more DANA
For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY
To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER
To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES
Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE
Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok
59 min
May 06267. Jackie Sleight: Your Favorite Dance Teachers’ Favorite Dance Teacher
Jackie Sleight is a choreographer, founder of LA Dance Magic, and founder and co-director of LA Jazz Company, and an example of what happens when a woman decides NOT TO STOP!
Spoiler: Your favorite dance teachers’ favorite dance teacher didn't get there by playing it safe.
We explore:
Nine recessions and still standing. Why Jackie believes that choosing to do something else isn't failure; it's moving forward, and what it actually takes to stay in the dance industry through every economic wave that tries to knock you out.
The clipboard moment. The story of Roland Dupree, the Wilshire Ebell, and the day Jackie showed up with a pencil and a clipboard, only to note the best worst thing that ever happened to her.
Stop snooping, start leading. How Jackie spent years watching what other conventions were doing until she realized it was exhausting, inauthentic, and completely beside the point, and the decision to follow her own vision that became the backbone of LA Dance Magic, Educators Dance Collective, and the Los Angeles Jazz Company.
This episode is for anyone who has ever been tempted to look to the left and right instead of straight ahead and needed one person to remind them that nobody else can bring what you bring.
Watch the full episode HERE.
Show Notes:
Connect with Jackie Sleight on IG
Learn about LA Dance Magic
Learn about Jazz Company
Learn about the Dance Educators Collective
For more DANA
For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY
To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER
To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES
Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE
Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok
48 min
April 15266. WEED OH NO! The Making of The Seaweed Sisters’ first LIVE SHOW!
WEED OH NO! The Seaweed Sisters' first-ever live show, premiering this June at the Los Angeles Theater Center with @latinotheaterco. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE
This week, special guest host Emily Wanserski — executive producer of the show — brings @TheSeaweedSisters together to pull back the curtain on how it all gets made. What the show actually is, what it feels like, and what you can expect when you walk into their bubble.
We explore:
What WEED OH NO! actually is: A magical show-and-tell. A talent show. Weeds popping up in the world, except now you get to step inside one of their spaces. Expect the unexpected, and expect to be surprised by where you're sitting.
How it gets made when there are no rules. No client, no single, no existing material. Just the Seaweeds and a whooolllee lot of silliness (and heart).
What makes this moment different. Why everything the Seaweed Sisters have made in the last 12 years has been building toward this, and why a first time only happens once.
This episode is for anyone who wants to know what's waiting for them downtown this June before they walk through the door.
Because the Seaweed Sisters are inviting you into their bubble for the first time.
And they won't ever have a first time again.
Watch the episode here.
Show Notes:
Buy tickets to see WEED OH NO! June 5-14
Watch “Still Got It”
Watch “Racks”
Watch “Night at the Seater”
Connect with the Seaweed Sisters on IG
Connect with Emily on IG
Listen to our first episode with The Seaweed Sisters
Listen to our episode with Meg
Listen to our episode with Jillian
Listen to our episode with Taylor
Learn more about the Center for Provocative Thought
Book space at Elements Dance Space
Learn more about our Production Manager, Tatum
For more DANA
For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY
To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER
To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES
Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE
Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok
1 hr 1 min
April 01265.Marissa Labog: The Art of Hitting the Ground
This is my episode on what happens when someone makes falling off buildings look like an art form.
Marissa Labog is a dancer, stunt performer, filmmaker, and mom, and she joined me this week to talk about something I didn't expect: how stunts and dance are actually the same conversation, just with better padding.
Spoiler: the scariest part of doing something dangerous isn't the danger. It's skipping a step.
We explore:
The stunt that had no rehearsal. What happened when Marissa landed in Mexico City with no prep, a third-story window, and a drainpipe, and why not having time to think might have been the whole point.
Back to basics as a superpower. The day a group of veteran stunt performers all froze at once, and the simple method they used to get each other moving again. (Spoiler: it works for everything, not just stunts.)
Building your own path vs. following someone else's. Why Marissa started UP Productions, what she wants female action heroes to look like, and her response to the guy at the Q&A who said he hated her movie.
This episode is for anyone who has ever stood at the edge of something terrifying and wondered if they were built for it.
Because if Marissa has taught me anything, it's that courage isn't the absence of fear. It's the evidence you've been collecting all along.
So, are you okay hitting the ground?
Show Notes:
Connect with Marissa on IG
Follow Upproductionz on IG
Subscribe to Upproductionz on Vimeo
Watch “When Kids Grow Up”
Listen to our Parents episode
Listen to our episode with Toni
Listen to our episode with Samo
For more DANA
For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY
To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER
To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES
Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE
Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok
55 min
March 25264. The Feeling That Feels Like the End
This is my episode on the pattern that lives between your worst feeling and your best one.
I'm going solo this week to talk about something I discovered mid-move — four steps up a staircase, a king-size mattress, and a full emotional spiral that somehow led to one of my favorite realizations yet.
Spoiler: your worst feeling isn't the end. It's actually the beginning.
We explore:
The mattress that broke me (and then didn't). What happened when Riley and I couldn't muscle a king-size mattress up 17 stairs, why my brain immediately jumped to men and women going to war with weapons, and what that says about how fast our minds can catastrophize from one moment of feeling incapable.
Incapable → Learning → Offering. The three-part pattern I didn't know I had — and why recognizing it changed how I relate to my hardest feelings. When you know what's on the other side, the beginning doesn't feel quite as terminal.
This episode is for anyone who has ever felt incapable and taken it as a verdict instead of a starting point.
Because feeling like you can't do something isn't a life sentence. It's the first step in a cycle that ends with you handing someone an opportunity they didn't see coming.
So, what's the feeling that feels like your end?
Watch the full episode here.
Show Notes:
For more DANA
For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY
To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER
To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES
Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE
Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok
24 min

About DANCE +

From the publisher's feed

The dance podcast where movers and shakers like you get the information and inspiration you need to navigate your creative career with clarity and confidence. Master mover, Dana Wilson, taps into 20…