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 couldn't hire him if he kept dancing like a soloist, "so I can't hire you if you're gonna dance like that"

• A case study in Networking that is literally money in the bank

• What it meant to be trusted with a 5am ballet class before an 8am call, part of the job of keeping a company of dancers ready to be as authentic as the story asked them to be

This one's for anyone who's ever had to prove they could be trusted with more than their own moment. Bobby's answer: show up exact, show up for the people beside you, and let the work speak before you do.

Watch the full episode on YouTube.

Show Notes:

Connect with Bobby on IG

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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 lose the support from dancers... you can't gain that back"

• Why she pushes back on "choreographer vs. dancer" and thinks of it instead as one team doing one job: movement

• The gap between what happens on a brutal set and what gets posted after, and why she'd rather "report the facts" than romanticize the process

This one's for anyone who's ever had to decide what they're actually willing to bend on, at work, on a team, or at home. Dani's answer is the same in every direction: tell the truth, and show up.

Watch the full episode here.

Show Notes:

Connect with Dani on IG

Learn more about Dancers Alliance

For more DANA

For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY

To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES

Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE

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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 of "it should be different" and how it quietly drains my empathy out of a room full of talented people

• A simple mental tool I use to get unstuck: asking whether the opposite of my assumption is just as likely to be true

• The best teammates know how to do two things: Give constructive criticism + receive constructive criticism

This one's for anyone who's ever felt small on set, or big on set, and let that feeling run the show. Empathy isn't the soft option here. It's the thing that turns conflict into better work.

Watch the full episode on YouTube.

Show Notes:

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