Podcast · Arts & Books

DANCE +

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 years of industry experience, and talks to some of the best in the entertainment biz, who have been

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 54 min
Latest: 7 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

7 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 6 min

282. DANCE + BOBBY AMAMIZU

THIS IS DANCE + BOBBY AMAMIZU Bobby Amamizu is a dancer, educator, and choreographer whose résumé runs from Cirque du Soleil's original Viva Elvis cast to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Etoile, But the story that stayed with me wasn't a credit, it was a 17-year-old at an open call getting stopped mid-combo and asked, "Who are you?" What does it actually take to get kept in the room, and what do you owe the people standing next to you once you're in it? Here's what we're exploring: The Fame audition where Marguerite Derricks stopped the music, called Bobby out by name, and told him she…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

30 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 13 min
281. DANCE + DANI VITALE
THIS IS DANCE + WHAT WE OWE EACH OTHER Dani Vitale is a Choreographer, Creative Director, + Movement Coach who by September of this year had already wrapped four films and two tours. But what stuck with me in this conversation wasn't the résumé, it was her definition of loyalty: to the dancers she leads, to the truth about hard jobs, and to the people she loves through loss. What do we actually owe the people around us, and what happens when we pay up? Here's what we're exploring: The one thing Dani never bent on when she started choreographing: dancer rates and conditions, because "once you…
23 Sep 2026 · 19 min
280. DANCE + CONFLICT AND TEAM DYNAMICS
This is DANCE + CONFLICT AND TEAM DYNAMICS I've been sitting with this idea that wherever you put art, money, a deadline, and a hierarchy in the same room, conflict is coming. That's not a flaw in the system, it's actually a good thing! What I want to answer with this conversation is this: How do we navigate inevitable conflicts and criticisms in a way that neither the people or the product suffer?! Here’s what we’re exploring: Why art, money, deadlines, and hierarchy each carry their own built-in opportunity for conflict, and why that center overlap is where teams actually fracture The trap…
16 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 4 min
279. DANCE + MAKENZIE & PHILLIP CHBEEB
This is DANCE + Makenzie & Phillip Chbeeb Makenzie and Phillip Chbeeb are the dynamic duo behind the new Netflix coming-of-age dance comedy movie, “Best of the Best” (Premiering September 18, 2026). In this episode, we unpack what it means to choreograph across cultures, across dialogue, and three weeks postpartum. If you’re into being impressed, this episode is for YOU! Three weeks after welcoming their first child into the world, they walked straight into their first pre-production meeting of their on Best of the Best, a film that asked them to hold two things at once: honor the…
9 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 8 min
278. DANCE + NATHAN KIM
This is DANCE + Nathan Kim The choreographer behind the newest Spider-Man, on how dance found him almost by accident. Nathan Kim didn't grow up dreaming of being a choreographer. His meet-cute with dance happened almost by chance, with an open slot in an Afro Brazilian dance class, and one impossible-to-mark movement across the floor that cracked something open in him. From there, dance became the throughline of a career that's taken him behind the camera and back, from his early days shaping movement for Charli XCX, to leading the choreography team on Spider-Man: Brand New Day. We explore:…
19 Aug 2026 · 35 min
277. DANCE + TEDDY FORANCE
This is DANCE + Teddy Forance Coming to you LIVE-ish from CLI Conservatory, with the guy who built the place he wishes existed when he was 17 and googling "which college has a dance program for me." Teddy Forance didn't set out to become a studio owner. He set out to dance, and he did, big: Madonna, Lady Gaga, Cirque du Soleil, the Oscars stage. But underneath all of it was a gut feeling that never went away. That there wasn't a space built for dancers like him. So with his brother Jonny, he built one. Literally, twenty seconds down the road from their mom's studio in Southampton,…
12 Aug 2026 · 17 min
276. DANCE + FANTASY NIGHT
This is DANCE + Fantasy Night Coming to you LIVEish from CLI Conservatory, with a story I NEED to tell you while it’s still fresh in my mind. It's a tribute to my acting teacher Gary Imhoff, whose class taught me that losing can be winning, and that the greatest gift we can give is to support each other in the pursuit of our wildest dreams. We explore: How Gary's class and this once-a-year tradition rewired my relationship to failure and gave me the confidence to finally call myself a choreographer The three rules of my Fantasy Night Party: no bystanders, you can't perform the thing you're…
5 Aug 2026 · 32 min
275.5. DANCE + NICK DRAGO
This is DANCE + Nick Drago Nick Drago holds the honor of being this podcast's very first guest — Episode 0.5, the audition episode, back when I wasn't even sure this whole thing would work. A dancer, writer, and producer with 20+ years in the industry (think La La Land, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Glee, Dancing with the Stars, and about a hundred more), Nick is a walking case study in "just do stuff," imposter syndrome be damned. We sat down to talk about banter as a survival skill, the many different ways to "make the sausage," and why sometimes you just have to try the thing even if it might…
22 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 5 min
275.DANCE + MARIE SPIELDENNER
Marie Spieldenner is a self-proclaimed “substitue that stays”. She's assisted and/ or danced for todays biggest artists/ directors/ campaigns and she is a brilliant example of how supporting others can fuel support of yourself. We sat down to talk about support systems, psychology, and all about the gig that made her unshakable on set (spoiler, it’s almost certainly not the gig you think it is). We explore: What it took to save a shot with a 40-person cast at 6 am The reward system of the entertainment industry The big-sister-little-brother dynamic with Robbie Blue that taught her the…
15 Jul 2026 · 29 min
274. DANCE + THE SEAWEED SISTERS LIVE Q&A
This is DANCE + WEED OH NO! The live Q&A Most companies build a show. The Seaweed Sisters built a whole world — a language, a color-coded family, a cloud that pops out babies — and then invited an audience into their room to ask about it. Jillian Meyers, Megan Lawson and myself were joined by our Executive Producer, live at the LA Theater Center on the closing weekend of Weed Oh No! for an open Q&A with the very audience that just watched them do it — thirteen years of Blue, Pink, and Green distilled into 80 minutes of Swinglish, upcycled sets, and a cloud rig that had to be talked down from…
8 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 13 min
273. 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…
1 Jul 2026 · 54 min
272. 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,…
24 Jun 2026 · 25 min
271. 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…
10 Jun 2026 · 59 min
270. 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…
27 May 2026 · 54 min
269: 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…
13 May 2026 · 58 min
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…
6 May 2026 · 48 min
267. 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,…
15 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
266. 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.…
1 Apr 2026 · 55 min
265.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…
25 Mar 2026 · 23 min
264. 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…
18 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 3 min
263. Jamal Sims & Will Bell: Titles and Credit for Choreography Teams
This is my episode on Credits, Collaboration, and the Industry Conversations We've Been Waiting to Have I sit down with choreographer Jamal Sims and associate choreographer Will Bell to talk about what it actually looks like when the dance industry takes care of its own — and what happens when it doesn't. Spoiler: the best collaborations aren't built on titles. They're built on trust. We explore: The meet-cute that almost didn't happen. How juggling Beauty and the Beast and Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl simultaneously led Jamal to one phone call, one name, and a partnership that just worked,…
11 Mar 2026 · 47 min
262. Offset Med: The Collaborative Approach to Getting Better
This is my episode on Healing, Collaboration, and the Care You Didn't Know You Were Missing In this episode, I sit down with the team at Offset Med, the referral-only practice that's quietly taking care of some of the hardest-working bodies in the industry, to talk about what it actually looks like when healthcare meets you where you are. Spoiler: the best care isn't a diagnosis. It's a discovery process. We explore: Activity-based care vs. cookie-cutter treatment. Why your ankle sprain and your friend's ankle sprain are not the same injury and why the best providers know that your history,…
4 Mar 2026 · 22 min
261. The Confidence Episode
This is my episode on Confidence and what’s keeping you from feeling it! In this solo episode, Dana (movement director, artist developer, and your unofficial confidence coach) breaks down the one thing her students, pop stars, and actors keep asking for, and why they've been thinking about it all wrong. Spoiler: confidence isn't a skill you build. It's a feeling you're willing to have. We explore: Task-based confidence vs. self-confidence. Why the version of confidence most of us are chasing is actually the smallest slice of the pie, and what the rest of the grocery store looks like when you…
25 Feb 2026 · 52 min
260. Paul Turner: Reality (TV) is My Life
This is Paul Turner on Feedback, Family, and Finding Your People in Unfamiliar Territory In this episode, Performer, Reality Star, “Production Fairy” and Producer, Paul Turner, shares his perspective on compassion, improvisation, and building creative community in spaces that demand instant connection. From competing on Survivor Europe with two weeks' notice and a rainbow tank top to launching Where's My Phone Productions, Paul reveals what it means to give feedback that builds people up instead of breaking them down. We explore: Criticism with compassion over criticism with a period. How…
22 Dec 2025 · 1 hr
259. Celebrating FIVE years of WTMM!
Celebrate FIVE years of Words That Move Me with Producer & Host, Dana Wilson, joined by Executive Assistant & Editor Riley Higgins! This episode is a wild ride including: Friends drinking adult hot cocoa A trip down memory lane of the last five years of the podcast! How we handled grit vs grace this year Our essential travel items PLUS a story that will have your heart beating out of your chest! Thank you listener/viewer for FIVE WHOLE YEARS! We couldn’t do it without you. Here’s to five more! Watch the full episode here. Show Notes: For more DANA For coaching with me, join the WTMM…
17 Dec 2025 · 45 min
258. When Are You The Most Yourself? Our 2025 Question of the Year!
10 Dec 2025 · 54 min
257. Sienna Lyons: Strength,Sensuality, Specialization
This is Sienna Lyons on Sensuality, Specialization, and the Strength to Sustain In this episode, Choreographer, Educator, and Dancer Sienna Lyons shares her perspective on power, versatility, and longevity in an industry that often demands everything at once. From backup dancing for JLo and Taylor Swift to choreographing for Gwen Stefani and The Masked Singer, Sienna reveals what it means to command attention without giving everything away. We explore: The art of the tease over the reveal. Why she gravitates toward the "don't look at me, but look at me" approach to sensuality, how different…
3 Dec 2025 · 59 min
256. Tracy Phillips: Humility, Hollywood, and The Roosevelt Hotel
26 Nov 2025 · 51 min
255. Notes on Leadership for Leaders with Dr. Arnel Calvario Ripkens
This is Dr. Arnel Calvario Ripkens on conscious leadership, cultural stewardship, and the dance program that says “yes” when others say “no”. In this episode, dancer, leader, and Doctor of Occupational Therapy Arnel Calvario Ripkens shares three decades of wisdom on building community, honoring roots, and creating space for everybody. We explore: The antidote to lonely leadership. Why "you're not alone" is the first thing every leader needs to hear, the power of reciprocal mentorship relationships, and how mission statements become your compass when organizations grow and evolve. Conscious…
19 Nov 2025 · 53 min
254. Will Johnston: Originality, Influence and the Proofread Process
This is Will Johnston on new projects, originality, and the moment in a lunge that changed everything. In this episode, choreographer and director Will Johnston discusses his creative process, artistic influence, and the evolution of his work, from competitive dance beginnings to directing music videos for major artists. We explore: The choreography of numbness through cathartic movement. How his film "Pepper" explores over-consumption and paralysis, when the body holds chaos and vibration even when it can't move, and what happens to our vessels when the stimulation stops. Originality,…

About DANCE +

DANCE + is a English arts & books podcast from Dana Wilson. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Dana Wilson
Language: English
Category: Arts & Books
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 54 min
Latest episode: 7 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1493135789

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