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GEORGIA GARRARD - working for Oti Mabuse, library loving and fancying Moose from Step Up 2!

• 22 Media • Season 2 • Episode 23

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Prepare to be inspired by Georgia and her passion for learning dance academia, specifically in the hip hop genre. We learn how she landed her role as studio manager for Oti and Marius dance studio and how she manages her London role remotely from Yorkshire!

Georgia's insta: https://www.instagram.com/georgiagarrard_/

ALT dance insta: https://www.instagram.com/altdance_/

Oti and Marius studio insta: https://www.instagram.com/otimariusdancestudio/

Thankyou for listening!

Find all the songs mentioned in our spotify playlists!

https://open.spotify.com/user/31t7e7ibcbntq6ziwbonzbra7ape?si=L0XQuZlnTYq8_ybkvlliaQ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancetothispodcast/?hl=en

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dancetothispod

SPEAKER_01

Hi everyone, welcome to Dance to This Podcast with me, Zoe Francesca, and me, Jessica Faye, the podcast where you can find great songs to dance to.

SPEAKER_02

This week we have got a really, really great episode with Georgia from I was gonna say London, but she's not in London. She works in London, but remotely from up north, which is so interesting. Um, wait till you hear about her career, how she went into the industry, her like knowledge and passion was really great, wasn't it? Yeah, it was a good chat. Yay, so definitely stay tuned for that coming up very soon. But first, the foundation files. What have you got for us today? Jess. Um today I've got my loop earbuds.

SPEAKER_01

Why did you go into like your cute customer service voice? Oh no, it's really tell us about there. Well, I had the tripod last time.

SPEAKER_02

I was like, whoa, true. They are very cute.

SPEAKER_01

I was after do the YouTube like old school like thing. Um but yeah, so these are my loop earbuds. To be fair, in fairness, I haven't really used them that much at gigs yet because we've not really had any, but it was at Move It, I was like, my head the whole time we were there, by the end of each day, my head I had the worst headache, like at the front. Pounding. Yeah, and it happens quite a lot when we're on gigs, just like when we've got like dressing rooms that are really close to the stage or like just like busy dressing rooms or anything like that where it was just really loud and like bassy or anything like that. And you know what, we really should protect our ears, like yes, yeah, yes, like yeah, um, but these are like some really good um earbuds, earbuds, what would you call them? Yeah, I just call them earbuds. Um yeah, just to kind of like noise cancel um shiny. They're shiny, yeah. I got the rose gold ones. Oh stunning. Stunning. Stunned accessory. Um but yeah, they're just for like noise cancelling really and just kind of protecting your ears and stuff. So I've kind of I did try them out at one gig when we were like practicing, weren't we? And then Lauren set the speaker up like right in front of us and then she put it on. I was like, I was like, I'm gonna test them out. Um and yeah, I just kept them in for a little bit then and I was fine. Um but I don't feel like I've in proper scenario yet to properly test them out. Yeah. But I'm hoping that they'll do me good and won't mean I've got a banging headache every time we do something. Yeah, because really bad at movement.

SPEAKER_02

I feel like I don't really needed these. Or they you can still like talk to people with them, can't you? It's like that kind of like takes out the bass.

SPEAKER_01

But um yeah, like we did a run on the stage that day and it was fine, like music-wise, I could still hear all the track and everything. Um but yeah, they're just good ear protection.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I tell you where I think it's the worst bit when you're packing away a gig. Yeah, you've said that before. But the DJ. Uh yeah, it was blue roll and it got stuck in the red's ear. It's so funny it got stuck in the red's ear. Like this big lot of blue roll, it was like sticking out. We like had. Well, I don't wait, did it get stuck or if I did I make that up? Was that a dream? No, there was something funny that happened with this blue roll, and I can't remember, but I don't remember it being like dramatic, like it's stuck. What was it? Something happened with this blue roll anyway. We were all walking around with like big tufts of blue roll coming out of our ears because it was that loud. Because where like Lauren or whoever would set up the speakers is right near if there's a DJ as well. So we'll do a set, we'll finish the set, and then the DJ will start playing the music. And the their speakers are so loud, and where Lauren set hers up are next to them. So you will have a speaker in your ear blasting it while you're trying to pack away her stuff, and it's just like sometimes I'll be like, I can't I can't do that. I'm I'm gonna go do the music stand over here because it is that loud, so things like that. Yeah, goodbye, blue roll. Let's all get some loop earplugs.

SPEAKER_01

They're probably it's one of them again where I think it's probably not just dancers, like it is probably just anyone that works in like events and stuff like that, or yeah. Yeah, after your eardrums.

SPEAKER_02

Look after your ears, because we need them. Love it, amazing. Right, let's jump into the episode. Enjoy. Welcome, Georgia, to the podcast. Thank you. Right, I'm so excited to hear all about I feel like you've got lots of different parts of the industry and I want to hear about it all. So tell everyone what you do in the industry now.

SPEAKER_00

I am currently a studio manager for a dance studio in London that is owned by Oti Mabuse and her husband Marius, and that's really exciting because I get loads of different things with that. Which I love. Yay! And then your classes as well, you teach as well. Yeah, do my own classes um in Harrigut mainly. Um, I've just started doing, I think I've done three years now of commercial, and then now I've started doing hip hop as well. So I'm bringing it all together and trying to make everything dance related, uh, which has taken a few years, but it's very, very good.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, excited, excited. So let's go take it from the top. You told us you started dancing when you were 13. Yeah, I was quite late.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I feel like it was late. So I started, I think I did like the odd ballet class when I was little, and my mum was like, This is not for you. Like, we need to take you out. My sister really liked it, and I was just like, I'm not doing this. So came out of that, didn't really care about dance at all, and then my friends started going to a dance, like an after-school dance club. I started cheerleading, and then I really liked the cheerleading side of it, but I wanted to do, I wanted to go see my friends. So I went to this dance class, and then that was it. I was I was there forever, loved it. Oh started doing it um weekly and then stopped cheerleading, carried on dancing, and then decided should I go to uni and do dance, or is it just a hobby? Because I hadn't been doing it for long, didn't have any like technical training. So yeah, what styles was that? Was that more? It was it was hip hop sides. So I did like I think I did a term of ballet, which again did not go well. It's just not my thing. It just I'm not very I'm not I'm just not good enough at ballet. Like it's not it's not my thing. So it was all like hip-hop-based, um, all choreography, a bit of musical theatre. Um shows, comps, did some shows, didn't do competitions, um, so I've not been privy to that world. Ah, just for fun. You just did it for fun, I just did it for fun, and then the shows were like the best thing because you'd get all your costumes and you'd come on and be with your friends backstage. So yeah, it was great. It was great, but I didn't think it was gonna be my career. I genuinely was like, this is my hobby, and that was it. And now look at me. And now look at me. It's your full career.

SPEAKER_02

Oh my gosh. Well, your song talking about hip hop, your song's from Step Up. Step up is the key, the key to my entire dancing. I was gonna say, is that what inspired you when you were younger? Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00

I remember going into my bedroom and being like watching Step Up, and obviously Moose came out in the rain, and I was like, oh my god, he's so fit. Which actually look at in hindsight, I'm like, is he? Is he but I don't know what it was. I was like, he's so cool, I want to be able to do that. Yeah, small he's so cool for me, not he's so fit, but you know.

SPEAKER_02

The bit where they did the chess thing, and I was like, yeah, iconic, iconic. Like I were we're all like the same age. That that when we were younger was just everyone doing that move. That was it, you know, the pitchy head, punchy chest.

SPEAKER_00

And I genuinely thought I was really good at it. And like waves, I would stand in the mirror and be like, oh my god, I'm amazing.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, but no, that's so nice how it inspired you. Let's play a little bit of it. Bounce, Timberland, Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, Dr. Drake, the names on this. Survive. If this comes on in the club, I'm going on the floor.

SPEAKER_03

Everyone quick.

SPEAKER_02

As soon as that comes on, doesn't that scene just pop into your head? Comment now if you're listening, and that scene comments comes into your head because literally that is just what comes like ah I could see him doing the choreo and little jumps in the rain with his hat. With the hat. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00

She's got a little red crop top on and she's like coming through. See, it wasn't even her, she didn't do anything for me. It was just Moose. It's Moose.

SPEAKER_02

Is that Step Up Two? That's Step Up Two. Which one's your favourite out of all of them?

SPEAKER_00

I have to say two. I've got to say I do like one, but I watched Step Up Two first. Oh, and that's the first one I watched. And then I was like, there's a one. And then I watched one, and then I was like, oh, it's amazing and iconic, but it wasn't. There's no moose. Like there's no Demonnet. Yeah, Moose.

SPEAKER_02

Wait, yeah, Moose wasn't in the boom, was he? No, he wasn't. He was in the yeah, number three's my favourite. Is it? Yeah. It's a good one. But Channing Tatum Tatum is just my favourite. Um, but yeah, number three is my favourite, definitely. Have you said what yours is it? I can't remember. Three. Three. Oh yeah. Sorry, I knew that. I knew that. Yeah, number three. I think three's got the best soundtrack. Three has got a good soundtrack.

SPEAKER_01

Soundtrack and just ball from a bit of just the whole. Yeah, I wanted to live in that apartment. I wanted that house and it's got all the walls like carpet on the wall.

SPEAKER_02

We can flip up the walls. Yeah, the pit with phone. The phone pit.

SPEAKER_00

And then it peaked and then it just went like that.

SPEAKER_02

I think number five, I haven't seen number five pages.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. I had this conversation in one of my classes. There's a five. It should have stopped it as a no, but five is good. Yeah, five. It was like, I think it was like the last one. So what they did was they put it to a vote and they were like, who were your favourites? Who do you want to bring back? So it's Andy. It's and the guy off step up four.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. They're like the main situation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And then it's like, yeah, Moose is obviously. What happened to Robert Hoffman though? Oh, I think did they break up? I think they broke up. I'm done with it. I think they fell out on tour over a lift, I think. Oh what was the lane?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, they bought that like little cameos as well, like the guy who's like the real robot and the twins, yeah. Oh my god, I need to get that on my head. I know, I know, I know. I need to get that out of my head. Um you need to watch number five. I will have to leave back to back. Oh no, I don't know. Sorry, I'm not working. I love that. Um you mentioned uni. Yeah. Was there another option when going to uni if you didn't think it was going to be your thing?

SPEAKER_00

So I was only going in for one dance uni. Me and like when I was applying for universities, my mum was like, uh, I love you, but this isn't like a career kind of thing. She was very supportive, but she was like, let's look at the logistics of this. So I was allowed to go to one audition. I had to pick one audition, and she took me and I went to UEL and did that audition, and then the rest of it, I was gonna do criminology and sociology if I didn't get in. So different. So different. I love the different last week.

SPEAKER_02

Claire went into dentistry, criminology, like it's so wildly different.

SPEAKER_00

It's crazy, it's crazy. And it's it was that like split decision of like I genuinely said to myself, if I don't get into this uni, I am not gonna do dance again, and that's okay. Like it was genuinely that or or the other. Um, because I loved school, I was quite academic, I really enjoyed kind of sociology and all of that stuff. So that was my secondary path, and then for my uni, you had to do like an interview, an audition, you had to write two essays to get in, and you had to get your UCAS points for dance uni. For a dance for yeah, so it's for a dance course uni on a uni, and it was the only one in the UK that specialises in hip-hop, so I was like, that's the one I want to go to. I don't want to go to college, not that there's anything wrong with college, but I'm just not cut out for it. I wanted to go and learn, I wanted to read, I wanted to write, I wanted to look into like the terminologies, learn the cultures, do all of the written work, as well as doing the dance classes. So that's why that was the like the best uni for me. And then I applied, did all of my written work, did all of that. My mum took me to the audition. I was in a room with like 50 people, and I thought, oh my god, I'm not gonna get in. And they were all really cool. And I was like, and I went in leggings and I did contemporary for my audition. I have no idea what happened. Why? Just one day was like, I've got the choreography in my head, and it was just contemporary. And I thought, who how did you stand out though?

SPEAKER_01

No, I don't think it did.

SPEAKER_00

I think they thought um bless her. She wrote a good essay. Give her a chance. But it was that that audition was I came home, told my mum, I was like, I don't don't think I've got it. She was like, No, you'll be alright, but I got my UCAS point straight away and I got an unconditional. So yeah, I was super happy. I was going straight there. Oh, that was it. Then you were like, I'm going to do dancing. I knew I got in before we got our results before we got our A levels. Nice. So I walked in to get that brown and strutted in. Yeah. I was like, keep me there. I'm after uni.

SPEAKER_02

Oh my gosh, that's so cool. Did you love it when you were there at the audition?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I loved the uni, and I loved the it was the lecturers. So meeting the lecturers, speaking to, I was speaking to one of the lecturers that was there called um Carla, and she we were having a conversation, and she just said, Oh, I've got this really great book by Sally Baines. And I was like, I love that book. So we were talking about like dance literature, and then that was me nerding out on that. So I thought, well, maybe if we talk about like dance academic, maybe I'll maybe I'll get in because I can't dance very well. So then that was the really good thing for me. I saw the library top seller, I was like, Yeah, this is great. I can really be a nerd here. And then going into they were building the dance studios at the time, so we hadn't seen what the new the new campus looked like. So we were the first year to go to the new campus. Nice. Um, and then walking into that building, it was like, oh my god, this is where I'm gonna be every single day. And everybody in there, you'd walk, it was literally like something out of step up, you'd walk into the room, and there'd be like someone spinning on their head over there, someone popping in the mirror over here. And I just stood at the back, I was like, hello. Hello, do you want to be my friend? So I invited everyone on for a house party that night. And I was how I made my friends, I was like, I'll just be the party girl, and then everyone will teach me how to be cool. I love that.

SPEAKER_02

I love the fact that you think I'm gonna do hip bob beauty, like I need to be cool.

SPEAKER_00

Like, I wasn't I was not, I was not cool.

SPEAKER_03

Like our first class was popping, and he's just started popping, and I was like, what is that you're like I am moose, think my moose, I am thinking, I am him.

SPEAKER_00

But there's so much to it, there's so much technique, there's so much musicality, there's so much depth to it, you've got to do so much practice, and we had the best teachers, like the best teachers, they were so passionate about it, which meant you could be passionate about it, and then you did different like it was four styles a term. So if you didn't like popping, you'd go into house, or you'd go into break-in, or you'd go into lock-in. So, like, you literally did every single style in a chunk. It was great.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I love that. I love I went to Kingston Uni, so down in London, and I feel like we got the good teachers from London because you're there, and like although it wasn't a conservatoire, we were dancing every day, and it was just with really good teachers, and I kind of loved it.

SPEAKER_00

It makes all the difference who's there teaching you a hundred percent. And when they're like talking to you about what they like about the style or how passionate they are about where it came from, you just kind of listen to them and you're like, Oh yeah, retain everything. I want to be like you. Oh and then yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I feel like you may be in the minority here where the library sold you the unit.

SPEAKER_00

The library summon the uni, and the library summon the uni, and I remember sitting in the library and everybody came in, and it was just like everyone was sat in their little groups of friends, and I was like, this is just the coolest place ever. Like everyone is so nice, everyone was really nice to you. You just walk in and you knew people from different courses, and on campus, people would always talk to you. So I was like, Well, this is a really social uni, the library's great. Yeah, the library was where I live.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, it's fun that you want to learn about it. Like, not many people I know want to learn the history of it or the foundations of it and the core of things, you just want to dance, but that came across in what you've told me before.

SPEAKER_00

It's the most, it's just the fundamental thing. And for me, when I teach now, I think there's a difference between being a dancer and being a teacher, and not every dancer can teach, and not every teacher can dance that well. If you ask me to do a piro work, no girl, no girl, I can talk to you about it. I can talk to you about this, I can identify this, I can when I teach certain like hip-hop grooves, it's so important you know where they've come from. It's so important you know who made it, because hip-hop has been completely commercialised into street dance, and it's been commercialised into an umbrella that doesn't exist. So if you're gonna take away from that, you wouldn't do that to ballet, you wouldn't do it to Latin, you wouldn't do it to ballroom. Why do it to hip-hop? The umbrella form of it. There's different styles in there, they've come from different places, they've come from different people, different parts of your body are used for these things. If you're not teaching that, you're doing it wrong, and you're not giving the style everything it deserves.

SPEAKER_02

And there are so many different styles, so many different things, all the different like teachers teach the different, you know, and they've added little nuances, like yeah.

SPEAKER_00

My my worst thing is when you say to somebody like, Oh, I sp I specialise in hip hop, and they go, Oh, yeah, like popping and locking. And you're like, Yeah, popping and locking is two two very different styles of dance that you know are very different in technique and what they look like and aesthetic. And then people are like, Oh, so you do street dance, and I'm like, No, no, no, I don't, because I don't think that's a thing. So it's hard because like I'm super passionate about it, and I love doing all my research on, especially like breaking is my favourite. Doing all my research on my dance styles, I love, and I like being passionate about them and then watching them be done properly and being advocated for.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I love this. Your passion is just coming across, and I love that. That's so fun. So then after uni, how easy was it to stay in London? Because you stayed there for just the best part of 10 years?

SPEAKER_00

I was really lucky. So I my last mod one of my last modules at uni was um you had to go in and do like a work experience kind of thing. And there was an event happening at South Bank Centre under a company called Be Supreme, run by the amazing Holly Miles, and she was our lecturer for this workshop. So she was there in the uni, and I was like, Can I come with you for this work experience? And run it was a Bonnie and Clyde Break-in festival in South Bank. It was free to the public, it was a really community-based thing, representing Break-In, and I just wanted to work on that with her. So I did. She said yes, I did my work experience with her, and she offered me a job as soon as I left uni. She was like, Can you come and work for the studio?

SPEAKER_02

Amazing.

SPEAKER_00

Um, so she had a studio in Brixton, and I worked for B Supreme for a couple of years and absolutely loved it. I was helping with the community-based projects, making it accessible for people. We did like NCFE dance courses so people could come and enhance their education, and she was an amazing boss, an amazing mentor. And then I went into another dance studio and went into Karen Hardy's, which was in Chelsea, and that was Boreman Latin. So I like hopped between running dance studios and like being in the industry that way. So I didn't go into perform, I knew straight away when I was leaving uni, I thought, I'm not performing, I need a break, haven't found my niche, haven't don't want to teach, don't want to do anything. I just want to like work in the industry and do that. So I was quite lucky to go straight into employment and stay in employment whilst I was in London.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, amazing. Lucky, yes, but also you uh you asked, Can I come to that? and you you like put yourself forward and did that. Yeah. And also having her as a mentor that we've talked about yesterday. Alex Steele who came on, like finding someone who's doing your job and asking them, How do I do it? Or can I come work with you and just like putting yourself out there? That's obviously what made you successful.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it was great because we we got to go straight in, like left uni. It was me and another girl came a year later called Charlie Blair, and she's again made so much, so much for herself, and she's incredible. And we just both were like drawn to this event, and in every way of like running an event, I was thriving. I was like, I'm meeting all of these breakers, I'm meeting all of these people in the industry, I'm liaising where you're going. My type A brain is like on fire right now, and I'm like a risk assessment, I'll write you 10. Like I am loving this.

SPEAKER_02

I'm going to the library to write my risk assessment.

SPEAKER_00

I'm going to the library and I'm gonna write a risk assessment. I'm gonna write three copies just in case it's wrong. Because I love being just love things being organised and I like things being compliant, and I loved the industry I was in. So working in hip hop, getting to do like the breaking events. It was just like I would stand at the back and be like. Or did you get to go to the mall and watch like be there? I was there, I was like backstage going, you're on now, you're coming on here. And I just I absolutely loved it. Oh loved it so much. Oh fun, that is hilarious.

SPEAKER_02

Oh sorry, I don't know why I said hilarious. I was reading at the same time as I don't know.

SPEAKER_01

Bobby written something really funny.

SPEAKER_02

No tell us the joke. Come on.

unknown

I was so sorry.

SPEAKER_02

God, so then to go into OT studio where you're in now, how did you get that job? Did you was it off the back of Karen's or was that?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it was quite funny actually, because Karen's came to an end because of COVID, which was absolutely devastating because it was such a good studio, loved it so much, had the best team. And then she's one of my favourite pros ever. She's great. And then I got pregnant, so I was like, during which was a stupid idea, by the way, during COVID. Who was a baby during a global pandemic? So I was like, oh hey, I'm pregnant. And they were like, Oh, we're like the studio's closing down. I was like, oh cool. Oh great, I've lost my job, and now I can't leave the house and I'm having a baby, and we're in London during this pandemic, and it was just a bit crazy. And I thought, can't stay here, can't stay here, I've got no job. Like, I need to go home, I need to see my family. And my sister was pregnant at the same time. We were like 10 weeks apart, unlike completely unbart. I felt really bad as well because she'd announced her pregnancy, um, which she'd gone through a lot more effort than I had because she had an IVF baby with her girlfriend, and she announced her pregnancy, and I just went, Well. Me too saying something like such a bad person, but I was like, oh hell, let me do the same thing at the same time. But it was great because I was like, she's my support. I want to be there through her pregnancy. I want her there through mine because I ain't got a clue what I'm doing. So I ended up coming home. And I thought, I'll be home for a little bit, it'll be fine. But in that time of moving home, I think we had four months in London, and we were in this lockdown. And I'd said to her, I was putting all the feelers out, emailing like dance studios, being like, Can I do this? Can I do that? Looking for a job ASAP. Didn't tell anyone I was pregnant because I was like, please just give them the job. Um, and I'd emailed OT and Marius, and at the time one of our old clients was dancing there, and she was like, Oh, they're looking for a studio manager. I was like, Great, put me in. But then we were still in this lockdown period, so I didn't hear anything from them. Moved home, had the baby, went to a uh job interview like four months later because I needed to work, and I got a phone call from Marius, and he was like, Hey, do you want to come and be our studio manager in London? I was like, No, I've just moved, like I emailed you a year ago. Oh no, and he was like, No, no, we're looking for someone to come on board. I was like, Yeah, sorry. I'm not there. I can't. And then afterwards we were talking, I was like, Do I need to be in the studio to do this? And he was like, No, you can do it from there. So it was at first it was remote working for event support and social media, and that's what I was doing at home, which was great because I would go to all the events and then work all the rest of it from home up north. Correct. So it worked really well, and then now over the years I've progressed and become studio manager and I travel once a month to the studio and go to all the events and stuff like that. Once a month that was it.

SPEAKER_02

I was just gonna say, how are you thinking that in being up here and like your your job is in London? But how yeah, what does that look like day to day? Is it just working from home on a laptop?

SPEAKER_00

It's quite everything's different. So, like with the events side of things, running, we've got such a good team on the ground. So, if, say, for example, there's a delivery tomorrow, I'll just ring one of the guys and they'll be like, Yeah, we're there. So I d I've got such good support from all of the team that I can manage it really well from home, and then we just do day-to-day tasks, whatever we're doing, whatever I'm managing, and then once a month I'll go back, see the members, do the classes-like, not do the classes, but witness the classes, help with anything I need to do on the ground, and then show you later. So it works nicely, and I like go I love going back and seeing everybody. Now I get to go once a month, it's really nice because I love seeing the members, and now they all because for years I've been emailing them, and then I get there and they go, Oh, you're real. Oh, is it you're a real person? I'm like, I'm the one chasing you for money. Sorry, sorry about that. But then the studio is quite self-sufficient, so a lot of the time we have big studio hires that come in, they'll email, I'll call them, we'll message them, and they can let themselves in. It's really self-sufficient, so it's uh it's a great space as a as a business. They've absolutely smashed it. Yeah, because it just works independently, and that's that's what you need, especially in like the dance industry now, the economy as it is. That's the best place to be. Yeah, and there's so many projects, so yeah, yeah, loads to do. Oh, tell us what OT's like. She's a she's the best. She is the best, she's hilarious. She's actually so funny. I love her. She's brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Marius is great. I've just got the best bosses ever. They are honestly the best people, and working with them is just the easiest thing. Great because they'll just say, Can you do this? And I'll be like, Yes or no, and they'll go, okay. And like there's a there's just a mutual understanding there that the business is priority, the members are priority. I didn't need to be taught any of that. I'm loyal to them, respect them like hell. So yeah, I just want to make it. I just love my job. I love working with them. They're just great people.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I love that. Well, let's go for your song for this one because we've kind of skipped past that, but we'll go back to the song. The song is Youth by Daughter. Yes. I didn't know this song. I don't think. It's an emotional one.

SPEAKER_00

It is a switch up from my usual vibe. Now I'm a contemporary girl.

SPEAKER_02

You were like, I went to uni as contemporary and I left as contemporary. Because this was your final piece.

SPEAKER_00

It was, which was 10 years ago. I know wild. I saw it and I was like, that's a typo. I graduated last year. I'm 21. Yeah, stay there, in that mind.

SPEAKER_01

Say that.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, my final piece song was a really big deal for me personally, not for anyone else, no one else cared, but I cared. Um I wasn't gonna do a final piece. I was going through a lot at uni at the time, and I didn't get the time to do it, had a different piece in mind, and for reasons out of my control, was like, I'm not gonna graduate this year, I'll defer. And then I just heard that song, and I was like, Oh no, I'm gonna do a piece, which is weird because I love hip hop, but my final piece was like commercial fused with pop-in, fused with stomp, fused with house. To this song, to this song, but then my friend edited it, um, and she put like a like a stompy bit in there, and it was it was so good. And then we performed it, and I did it as the final piece, and I thought, get me out, get me through. And in our uni, you get pieces picked for something called Collide Festival. So I think there's like five pieces that are picked out of the whole year of those final pieces that go into this festival. So when I'd performed when the final piece was done, and I was like, just give me the grades, they'd said, Oh, your piece has been selected for collide. And I thought, why?

unknown

No, why?

SPEAKER_00

Why's my piece been and I choreographed it in about I think it took three weeks. I literally had like three or four weeks of rehearsals, and my dancers were on it. Like they showed up and they made it amazing. And I had the best, I had the best dancers on the course, by the way. I was like, you, you, you. They were like, yeah. So I was like, just just do this, and like my friend Max is amazing, and he was just there, like doing all this. I was like, Yeah, I choreographed that. I did nothing, we did the entire thing. Oh, it's been 10 years at my sue me. So we did that, went to Collides, performed it at Clides, and I just got the feedback was insane. And I got like Ken Rick Sandy spoke to me about it, who is a massive deal, the boy blue legend, and he spoke to me about the final piece. He was like, It's so good, we want to put it on this, we want to take it here. And I just thought, why? Like, again, why is everybody being so nice about my piece? Like, I just I felt like at uni I kind of went like that, didn't really care. You were just there, and then like at the end of uni, did this final piece, and honestly, the feedback and the support I got from that was insane. Oh insane. I was gonna leave as well. I was like, I'm gonna go home, not gonna take this job, and then that happened, got the job from her, Hyundai, and I thought, how's that happened? So, yeah, it was a massive turning point for me to be able to produce something like that that I'm really proud of, and it sticks in my brain so much, it's like it is such a pinnacle point in my dance career for me personally. So, yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER_02

I like to move it, move it. Your favourite dance style. We've already mentioned a few. What is your actual favourite dance style for you to dance?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, that makes it more complicated. I love hip hop grooves, I love breaking. I love breaking. I am not very good at breaking, but I love it. And I do break in lessons with a teacher called Kieran. He is amazing, he is actually insane. So he teaches me every month, and I'm humbled. I'm humbled. I go to him and I say, I've got a degree in dance, and he's like, Cool, and then we start dancing, and I'm like, What are you doing?

SPEAKER_02

I promise, I promise. I swear to God I paid for it. But it's my knees, my knees could not do that, I don't think. I'm close to the ground, I've got no excuse. This is true.

SPEAKER_00

Just I'm there. Why can't my body physically do it? You know? Say again, you need so much strength. Yeah, breaking's hard. I don't think people realise how hard it is. And then you're like thrown into it and you're like, I look like a flailing fish, but I think I look cool.

SPEAKER_02

Do you do proper moves? I know that's funny, like proper moves that I'm like bun spin and like six-step.

SPEAKER_00

We're doing, yeah, it's a six-step, I've got a six-step down. That's alright. That's basic. That's all I've got. We're doing like backspins and things at the minute, and then he'll do them and like talk to me as he's doing it. And I'm just looking at him like, what's wrong with you? And then I'm talking to him, going, and then all we've done is like a bounce, but he is amazing. He is honestly amazing, and I love breaking, I love it so much. It's like a rogue. I'm gonna be really good one day.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, come on, yes, you are. We're training, we're training at the minute. Yeah, that's really fun. That's when I said rogue one, that's like not a typical, do not mean style that everyone has access to. Yeah. I feel like it's quite a niche one.

SPEAKER_00

It is quite niche, and it's underrepresented as well. I think the the Olympics really did us dirty on that. Ooh. We've actually never spoken about that on the podcast.

SPEAKER_02

Well, then shall we go then?

SPEAKER_03

We can. We can if you want.

SPEAKER_00

Um yeah, the little Tangaro Reagan. She's great, she's such a good bee girl, it's just disappointing that it got. I won't even go into like her specifically because people have I don't know her and people have so many different opinions in the breaking community about this. Um but I think the backlash it got and the way that breaking was perceived afterwards was just totally unfair. Yeah. Like breaking is it's dance is a sport. That's why it's called dance sport. That's why it's the World Dance Sport Federation, the WDSF is there to represent dance sports, and breaking is absolutely involved in that and should be in its own right. And it just got really it just got really bad reviews from that one thing, and that's such a shame. Yeah, such a shame because it's so it is so good, and anyone that says, Oh, it's not that good, it shouldn't be in the Olympics, go and watch a battle.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I was gonna say that's that's that's the thing that's been shown globally as in to a wider audience, not from the dance community. That's that one part of it. If you come into the dance community, go to the battles, go see it in its like natural form. It's raw.

SPEAKER_00

It's so different. And watch these people and like watch them move and watch the the hours of training that goes into breaking, it's insane. To even learn the skill that's make it like any. The first time my first lesson that I did with Kieran, I remember going and like I I bust all my hands, and I was just doing like footwork on and it was an hour, and I went home and I was like, why can't I do the washing up? Oh, it's because I have got like pathetic hands that can't do like you want to talk about dance as a sport and the injuries and the time and the effort, the consistency, the culture breaking on its own embodies all of that wholly, and respectfully, it is top tier in the dance industry. So that did not give us I'm saying us like I'm a big one says the B-girls.

SPEAKER_02

Do you have a B-girl name? Is that what happened?

SPEAKER_00

No, not yet. I want a cool one. I feel like B-Girl G is a bit rubbish. B-Girl G.

SPEAKER_02

I I quite like that.

SPEAKER_00

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02

I quite like that.

SPEAKER_00

I want something a bit more cool, like Beagle Killer.

SPEAKER_02

No, I can't take it to it. No, no, no. No, that's not the one. Like, I feel like that's a good one.

SPEAKER_00

Get rid of that. It needs to be cool. It needs to be cool.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, definitely. Your songs that you've picked are all from different styles, I feel like. So we've had like we've already had a hip-hoppy one, we've had a contemporary one, we've got another banger. A banger.

unknown

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01

We were discussing this before. I think this has been a choice before. I feel like it might be the first one.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I feel like it's one of the songs. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It's yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Before you came, I was wondering what songs you were going to pick. Because obviously, like the OT side that you were in. Now that's the same thing. I didn't pick any Latin side. I didn't know there was none Latin side. Sorry, OG. But then I didn't know what your exactly what you did at uni what styles from that. And then it's like pulling, I feel like you've got lots of different different things.

SPEAKER_00

I do love a Latin one though. I do love a Latin song. I love a salsa. Oh. That's my that's my vibe.

SPEAKER_02

Here we go. Do we need to play this really? The whole way through. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

We could have all just taken a bit and cleared that round. Sure, but that song, wasn't it, where people would do like the little thing where it was like all the different layers, bum, bum, and then you can do that. With their different players, it's like do you know what it just reminds me of?

SPEAKER_02

That yeah, right. Cut the cameras and make it a song. Um it reminds me of that meme where they're opening the kitchen cupboards and it's not like every time it's really funny. No, yeah, that is a great, great choice. 100%. Um, with your new classes, you've just started up. Tell us more about that.

SPEAKER_00

So it's beginners. I've got beginners hip-hop, and then my other one is like more advanced choreography. I like to call it choreography instead of just hip-hop because there is an element to it of commercial, but commercial isn't really much of a start. So I like to call it choreography, so it's like hip-hop and choreography for that one, and then the beginners one is fundamentals of hip-hop. So we come in, we like practice musicality, we work on our bounce, work on the groove, work on the difference between moving your knees and moving your chest, and then all go like go through all of the grooves, and like when I'm teaching it, everyone's like, What's about Simpson? Or why have you made that up? And I'm like, I swear to god, I've not made any of this up. I sound ridiculous, but these are the actual names of the steps. Um, so it's going through those grooves, fundamental hip-hop steps, uh, understanding musicality and knowing where it came from. So, yeah, I've got my beginners' class and then I've got my uh advanced adult classes, adult classes, adults. Do you prefer teaching? I can't do taught, no, yeah. I've taught I have taught children for a long time, and don't get me wrong, love it, they're great, they're fabulous. But when you have a child, you're a bit like I need grown into my talk to a grown up, and also choreographically, I think it's really nice for me to be able to create new pieces every week, go on my own like motivation to be like, this is how I feel this week, this is the piece we're getting. Um, whereas with kids, you're just a bit like yeah, limited limited to what you can do yourself. Um, but I do still do the odd like kids class cover um workshops and camps and things like that. Yeah, but I just prefer teaching grown-ups because we can communicate nice.

SPEAKER_02

I bet that's nice that you're still in it teaching and dancing yourself as well. Do you know what that you said? Lots of the studio management side is you not dancing, yeah, but now staying in that position.

SPEAKER_00

Now I can keep doing it, yeah. And I there was a point where I was like, I'm never gonna teach a class at all. Like I didn't want to teach, I didn't want to open my own thing. Um but when I came back and had my daughter, it was like yeah, I'm working, but I need to work more because I'm on I'm on my own with her. So I all I had to do was work and keep working. So I was like, Oh, I'll do this little dance class on the side just as an extra little earner. Yeah, um, and then it just became part of my every week. And it's such a nice community. My Wednesday girls that come and the guys, the Wednesday people that come are a proper little community, like we all hang out, we all, you know, go to each other's birthdays, it's people have made friendships there, people have met that wouldn't usually meet. It's such a nice group of people, such a nice group. The youngest is 18. I think the oldest we've had in the class was 62. So it's such a diverse group of people that just want to dance. Oh, that's it.

SPEAKER_02

Building a community of people who just want to dance. I love that. I love the movie. Isn't it so fun when you see like your people in your classes like outside your life? Yeah, you still have a friend. You've got two who are getting married. Yeah. Really? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I know. How cute in one of my classes?

SPEAKER_00

I need to come to your class and in a husband.

SPEAKER_01

Get yourself. I'm gonna have a lot of guys. Um because I'm looking to. Get us to look at them. We're gonna have to this.

SPEAKER_03

That's my favourite bit so far.

SPEAKER_02

Hilarious. That is that is hilarious. That is hilarious. This next section is put on your dancing shoes. We get inside your shoes, find out what you like from this or that questions. Quick fire. Okay. You could go first.

SPEAKER_01

Behind the desk or in the studio? In the studio.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, ooh. It's quickfire.

SPEAKER_01

This is what happened to people popping or locking. Locking. Down south or up north. South is malfunctioning.

SPEAKER_02

We heard it.

SPEAKER_01

We heard it itself. Trainers or bare feet. Trainers. Watch Strictly or watch a dance movie. Dance movie. Oh, I'm sorry, Strictly.

SPEAKER_02

Oh my gosh, this is the rogue one. Library learning or learning in a studio. Oh, library. Oh, love it. Every day. And one more question. If your life was a dance movie, what would the title be? It should have just been Watch your Eagle, no. Watch your bell, yeah, that would have been good. If my life was a dance movie, what would the title be? You can have a moment to think. Something you say in your classes is what people normally like go to, or just something about you. That's a really hard one. I know. I should start typing people beforehand. That would be a bit nicer.

SPEAKER_00

It would be called some crap things on this button. I always forget the choreography. Because when I teach, I go, what's next? And I look around the room and be like who knows what's next? Yeah, what's next? What's next? What's next? Yes. Yeah, it's finished it. I forget. I know it's just one person.

SPEAKER_02

It's when you when you like, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

When you're in the grass and you're like, yeah, I've got this down to a T, and then I get there and go, Well, my thing is never the movement, it's always the song.

SPEAKER_01

Like I'm trying to pick up in the track where I'm at, and then I have to sing the whole song in my head before, and then I'm like, I just kind of look like I'm kind of. She just loves karaoke, that's what she wants to just sing. No, but like I'll be like there, and like, you know, I mean, like, right, okay, which bit are we on? And I'm trying to think of a song, and then I'll just be stood there for a good minute, like, what's now? Because I'm singing it in my head, but nobody knows that.

SPEAKER_02

Mine is that I have to video everything now, and I just simply can't remember it without videoing it before. Even if I video it, yeah. There's no I don't know. I'm like, just get a drink and I'm watching the video. Everyone just take it. I know and I've made it up an hour ago. I'm like, what is wrong with me?

SPEAKER_00

My worst thing is that I usually make things up. Like if I make something up a couple of days before, I'm gonna change my mind on the day. So I choreograph on the day, yeah, every day, because I'm like, I that I need to be in the vibe, like I need to be feeling it. And sometimes I go in and I'm like really girly, which is not like me at all. And then other times I'll go in and be like really hip-hoppy, and they like they just don't know what they're gonna get. And then when I'm in it, yeah, when I'm in it, I'm like, I actually don't know what I've done. I actually don't know what we're doing here, guys.

SPEAKER_02

I love that. What's next? That's a great answer. Yeah, right. Let's unpack these. So in the studio, you said, rather than behind the desk. I was shocked at that one.

SPEAKER_00

It came out and I thought, calm down. Who do you think you are? I think there's something about being in the studio that's yeah, it's small, it's inspiring.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, good words. Yeah. Like it, popping or locking. Lock in. I can't pop. Lock in's just fun. It's gonna be music.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I like popping, but when we did um, so our first ever module at uni was a battle. We had to do like a paired battle, and I was with my best friend Alex. No, what's not good? And we we there was popping and locking, and you got assigned one of the styles. And at the time I hadn't mastered my pop yet, so I was like, lock in, lock in, lock in, lock in. And Alex is a really good locker, so I was like, if we do locking, it'll be great. Yeah, we got assigned popping. Of course. I'm not doing it, I'm not doing it. I'm actually funnily enough paying for this course, so we'll do it at one. So I went to my teacher, I was like, Fred, I'm not you don't want to see me do that. Let's just put everyone in their place. We should do me and Alex should really do locking. And he was like, Yeah, all right. And I thought, thank god that gamble paid off. We came third in the battles.

SPEAKER_02

Oh no, yeah, well, Alex came third, I just stood behind him and was like, I love how it's straight in, though, straight in uni first um you're doing a battle.

SPEAKER_00

Have a battle, and I was like, um, me and Alex live together, so every night I'd be like, get up, we're rehearsing.

SPEAKER_02

We're prancing and he'd be like, okay, yeah, locking's great. That's so fun. That's so fun. Next one, controversial down south. I know, I know.

SPEAKER_00

That was a really hard one. I love I love the north, but I was born in Essex. I moved here when I was little. All my family are in London. Most of not most of my friends, by the way, sorry. Sorry, I love you in London here. A lot of my friends are in London, my work's in London, I lived there for a really long time, my adult life was spent in London. Yeah. Um, so I just think like every time I go back to London, I'm like, oh, it's home. But I don't want to take my daughter down south. I want her to be a little northerner.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I love that with the little accent. Trainers or bare feet trainers is all your styles are all your styles done in trainers, yeah, pretty much. Yeah. Watch Strictly or Learn a dance. Watch Strice movie.

SPEAKER_00

I'm sorry, Strictly. And it's not because I don't love Strictly. Strictly is great, but I I'm always busy on a Saturday night. There we go. I'm a busy girl. Okay, I've done years of watching Strictly. And I do love it, but dance, I just love a dance film. Yeah. My style inspires me more. But I do love Bournemouth Latin. I do, it has a very special place in my heart. Oh, have you done any of it before? Yeah. I've done um like in Salsa, and then we've done like I've done a little bit of chat chat, and then my we went to a dance event once, and Marius was there, and it was a waltz. I was sat on the table going, please don't come up to me, please don't come on to me. And he came up to me and he's like, We're doing a waltz, and he literally just like danced me around the floor. And I was like, I hate this. I hate this. Oh, yeah. So it was great, it just felt like nice. Yeah. And it's oh, it's beautiful. Watching it as well, I'm like stunning. And working in there, doing competitions, because we used to do a lot of dance competitions in Borough and Latin. I do know what I'm looking at. Like, I do know what it's meant to look like. I know the steps, I know the like terminology, I know the music. So I am in tune with Boroughman Latin. But just don't make me do it. Oh, apart from that, what a flex you're like. I can salsa. I can salsa that is the one thing I can do. I love a salsa. It's more of a social dance, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02

So it's a bit more chill. So yeah, love, love salsa. We had to do a study at uni, which was dancing. Oh, what's it? Dance cultures, I think. And I picked um salsa. We had to go to its not rawest form, obviously I didn't go to Spain. Um but do is it from Spain? It's Cuban. I as soon as I said that, I knew that's wrong. Shows what I learned. I was not in the library at uni, so I did not properly learn the origins of the name. All I can remember is I went to no, this is this is not paying me off in a good light. She's because I went to past rest of you. Genuine to learn it in an environment that wasn't like a dance class. No, sorry, I didn't even learn anything. It was like, right, we're dancing, and you're in a circle and the keeps swapping down, and I have never felt so lost in my life. I was like, I have no idea what I'm doing. No, didn't know anything. And the little like cues of moving your arms out is just so if you've got a good leader, you've you're alright.

SPEAKER_00

Like I I learnt salsa from a guy called Eddie Slattery who was working at the studio with me in London, and he is like a ball of energy. Like he is just like, we're dancing, and then you'll be like, okay. Okay, then and he just knows he will lead and guide right foot back, and you'll just be like, okay, and then you just you just figure it out, and then you have fun because it's meant to be fun. It's a very social style.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I feel like I l lose my centre, I lose my core, and I'm like flinging all the time. Can I figure out girl? Yeah, just swing them hips. I'm gonna go to my salsa, Revs the Cuba. We can tell we will tellsa library learning or learning in studio. You went library, wouldn't you? Give me a book. Just give me a book.

SPEAKER_00

I just love reading. I love reading and I love learning things, and I do think dance, dance is wonderful, but there is academic to dance. There's not, it's not just five, six, seven, eight. There is so much to learn, there's so much culture, there's so much social aspect in it. Your body, your bones, your muscle, everything. Dance is such a wide subject. It's not just go in the studio and learn to dance. If you don't have any of that background knowledge or uh don't want to look into it, then what are you doing? Why are you doing dance? You need to be invested in the entire thing. So give me a book on dance every day.

SPEAKER_03

There we go.

SPEAKER_02

There we go. I've just thought, sorry, I was listening, but I just thought it wasn't Rescue Cuba that didn't exist back then. It was like La Tasca or something. Was that what it was called? I think LaTasca is something. Yeah. I'm only one year older than you, Jessica. Next section, don't be moody, shake your booty! We do a blooper reel and a highlight reel. Let's go blooper first, get that out of the way. Anything that you found difficult working in the industry.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. Yes. Getting a job, being five foot. Oh getting auditions, doing anything. Nobody likes a short queen. Oh. Nobody likes it. It's not that pe it's it's just difficult. We all know what the industry's like. It's very cutthroat, it's very you have to look a certain way, tick a certain box. Obviously, if you're agented, brilliant. If you're not, not so good. But the amount of times I've been rejected, my most iconic one was I was rejected as a Christmas elf. What? I was too short. Are you joking?

SPEAKER_01

No, I wish I was. How tall do you have to be too many?

SPEAKER_00

Five two, apparently, which doesn't really seem elf-like to me. What? I would say shorter the better. Smaller, the better. Yeah. That is so bizarre. You had to be five foot two for this show. And I thought, you know, funny story, actually. It was hilarious. At the time I thought that's a joke. We're obviously joking. And it was like it was like you had to go in and it was like hit dancing else, but like hip hop. So they were like, you know, swinging a little freeze. I was like, yeah, I've got I can do a little, a little something. But no, because I'm five foot.

SPEAKER_02

What? This is what I don't get. Like, surely, surely talent and like obviously you practice it, but talent and having that skills outweighs two inches. Yeah. No. Apparently not. It's just a joke. I like I get it for an extent of I think I said this year, like showgirls having the long legs and that look of it. Like, I can never be a showgirl. I'm five foot four, but I've got really short legs. But just like that, like you can dance, you dance. So what does the height actually matter apart from if it's something really specific like Sabrina Carpenter? You used to look shorter tribute, and then you're taller, like that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00

If it's something if it's something super niche or like that, I'm never gonna be a showgirl. Like I already know that. But when it's something like that, and it's like it's the one job that popped up, and I thought, a Christmas elf? I was born for this. In the back. This is what I was born for. Like, that's just ridiculous. Give me the job. And when they were like, No, you have to be five foot two, I thought, This is insane. This is the funniest thing that's ever happened to me. There was another one as well, the year after there was another Christmas show, but you had to be under 25 because it was a student one. So I'd got through the whole trauma of being able to be seen for being five foot, and then I'd sent them my like dancer CV, and they were like, I'm sorry, you're too old. I was like, give give a girl a break. I just want to be a Christmas elf.

SPEAKER_02

Oh my god, I'll give you an elf job. Thank you. I always do elf stuff. I'll give you an elf job. You're going to live out an elf dream with me. Oh my gosh, that's hilarious. One time. I've got a costume match, it's probably in that cupboard. Um, then tell us the peak of your career.

SPEAKER_00

Um, it's not happened, yeah. It's it's pending. Oh yeah. I'm going on tour with Oti. So we're doing a it's called Shake It With Oti tour in Ireland, and I I've been lucky enough to be able to be like the logistics coordinator for the tour, and I'm going with her to teach. So I teach one class and she teach teaches the other. Uh I get to travel across Ireland with her and learn from her and meet all of these amazing people, and as like the event side of me that loves doing all of the admin side, I have just been given free reign to be like, yeah, we can do that, yeah, we can do this. Like, we've got samples in from amazing companies, the tickets sold really well. I like developed the website, and when when it went live, I was like sat at home going, all these ticket sales are coming through, and like it just felt like I'd achieved something really special. And with partnering it with her, she's just the most supportive person, and it's it's her thing, and she's amazing. And I can't wait to go with her. And the fact that she was like, Yeah, come and teach with me. I thought you have seen me as a dancer rather than just as your you know studio manager. So the fact that we're doing it together was just like yeah, super special. So I'm really excited about that. That's lovely. What style are you teaching? Uh well, I think I'm doing some of them. I'm doing hip hop, potentially a Charleston, because a lot of people want to learn a Charleston. So I think it just depends on who's there on the day, um, what the vibe is and what the people want to learn. We're quite open to being like, you know, we're there for them at the end of the day. Yeah. We're not Oti's not strict, like things like that. She just loves people dancing, she just loves to get people moving. So it'll be pretty open. Um, I'll definitely do some hip hop stuff, beginners hip-hop, um, which will be really nice. I'm so excited.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, look at you! So excited, I can't wait.

SPEAKER_02

Never been to Ireland. Never been. I was about to try an hour shark, but I already know I can't do that, so I stopped myself. No. Never know. Oh, that'll be so nice. Yeah, I can't wait. And traveling with like who gets to travel around with Oti, like it'll be fun.

SPEAKER_00

It'll be fun.

SPEAKER_02

I love that. Also, I can imagine another highlight is this song with George Music Video. Forgot about that one. Forgot about that one, sorry. Can't forget about this song. Oh, it's got a longer intro than I thought. It's pretty long. I'm all right in thinking you were in the music video for that. How did that come about?

SPEAKER_00

My friend at uni, uh, I actually can't remember how he knew the casting director, but he was like, We're doing this music video with this singer who was not famous at the time, and he was like, We just need like 10 or 15 of us, so we were like, Yeah, cool, we'll go. So we went, um, and initially they filmed it, and George Ezra was here and I was here, and then because it was a bird's eye camera, they were like, Yeah, you're too short, like you're too short. Not again. None of I shouldn't have known then I was in the wrong industry. So I got like shuffled off to the bath, and I was like, This is fine. Um, all my friends are in it at various points, and yeah, it was super, super fun day. We were just like, we were just in the background, like doing the bare minimum, really. And it was just a really fun day filming it, and we didn't realise that he would be as famous as he is now or that the song would be as successful as it is. The most annoying thing is, after we filmed it, we had to submit our like casting forms, and because my friends, and they won't mind me saying this, the boys that I was friends with at uni are useless. I was like, you need to hand in your form, otherwise, you won't get paid. So I was going around like collecting everyone's forms. You did the job at that time to sign in. So I was like, I'm not on the cast list at the end of the video. I didn't get paid for about three years. And I had to be like, that's my face. I had to be like, This is me! This is me here at the back with black hair.

SPEAKER_01

Could you always just think of everyone else?

SPEAKER_00

Because I was just too busy focused on everyone else. Horrible boys. Yeah, joking, joking, love you. It's still there though, your face is still there. It's still there somewhere, and then there's like there's the bit where he fell, he falls in the video, and I remember being stood like directly underneath him, and I was like, Oh god, oh god. And then he falls, I was like, Help, help! And it was a really fun day. He's a great guy, he was so sweet, really, really nice. But obviously, no one knew who he was, and it wasn't like we're doing this video with this amazing singer. We just didn't know who it was. We were like, he's cool, what nice guy. And then yeah, it was a great, great day. Super fun to be on set, really fun to film. Yeah, was that the first time of you doing something on it? So it was like my first ever job because we'd done another audition, we did an audition the week before for a neon what were they called? Neon jungle? Yes, yeah. So we did an audition for that. I didn't get it, but ever all my friends got it, so they're all in this video and they're fantastic, they're amazing. And I thought, I'm never doing an audition again. And then this one came up, and I was like, I don't even I didn't even need to audition, you just had to like you were on the course, so they wanted the extras anyway. So I just thought, yeah, great, what a great little money earner. Yeah, and now I'm just there. And then a few years later, I'm thinking, uh, actually I didn't get paid. And I I was reading the thing, like I should I remember showing it to my mum at the time, and she watched this video, seeing me in this video, and then looked at the cast list at the end, she went, Well, you're not in it. No, I was like, You've seen me. You see my literal face. She was like, daughter, I don't think you're in it. You're not in the thingy. I was like, Yeah, actually, now you've said that, I don't think I've been paid. Why am I not in that? And I thought, oh, whoopsie. But I can't edit the video now. It's I did get paid, and they were like, We're really sorry you're actually not on the cast list, but still that you can still use it. It's definitely me.

SPEAKER_02

Like, not lying. Oh, that's so fun.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it was good, good time.

SPEAKER_02

Right, last section, masterclass minute. This is where you've got 60 seconds to inspire the next generation.

SPEAKER_00

Can't be doing it. Don't listen to me, guys.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, you can. Come on, you've had an amazing career. I'll say you've done it, don't it? Yeah, we've already been doing it for the past half an hour, but you've got a minute. You're ready. What do I have to say? Anything you want to say? Anything about inspiring someone who wants to get in the industry, who wants either a job in the uh what's the word? Event side, or just things you've learned from the industry. Okay. 60 seconds.

unknown

Go.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, so if anyone's wanting to get into the dance industry, I would suggest looking into every side of it. It's not just one-sided, it's not just performance-based. There are so many different things you can do in the dance world. Go into it open-minded, go into it willing to learn, go into it armed with research, and go into it making friends, and it's all about connections and experiences. Don't think a job is beneath you. Don't not take a job because you think that's not enough money, or you know, don't think overly commercialising dance because that's when it becomes not at accessible to other people. Make sure that you are being inclusive if you go into like dance teaching. I think it's really important to teach dance with the right knowledge, with the right people in the right areas, and arm yourself with as much knowledge as you possibly can. Because it's a really hard industry to break into, and people get really defeated in it because it's comparative as well. People are always like, oh, she's gonna get this because she looks like that, I don't look like this, I don't look like that. Be different, just be unique.

unknown

Yes!

SPEAKER_02

Smash!

SPEAKER_00

And that's my TED talk.

SPEAKER_02

No, that was too incredible! That was amazing! That was hard, that was amazing. Exactly 60 seconds. That was really good advice. Yeah, thank you. I loved everything you said. Listen to Georgia is the advantage.

SPEAKER_00

Don't listen to anything I say.

SPEAKER_02

No, that was really great. And a song that you said either inspired you or was to inspire the next generation. You will be found from Dear Everyone. You might want to say it ahead of it. Skip it ahead, okay. Can you tell me I haven't read this on before?

SPEAKER_01

You have because this was on when we're listening to we'll listen to uh Magic at the Musicals radio station on the way to our gig video. Oh yeah, and this is the best song.

SPEAKER_02

It's very cute.

SPEAKER_00

Ever.

unknown

Have you seen it?

SPEAKER_00

That's like the bit at the end when it's like the best thing. And I think this song as well, like, oh my god, I've got like a whole piece in my head, like there. Do you know what I mean? And if you listen to that as any form of dancer, the musicality in that, you can literally pick it apart and be like, we're gonna do this, or we're gonna be like pirouettes, like it's super inclusive for dance styles, and it would just be an amazing piece. Do it! I saw it on tour, and it was amazing. It was amazing, I will say that. But from a dancer brain, I was watching that going, it's very like theatre, isn't it? Like they're just there with their backpacks out, they're like, Yeah, I think I think the choreographer for the tour was Carrie-Anne, and she is amazing, and it was very like strategically no, the choreography was amazing. The choreography was fantastic, and I think for the simplicity of Dear Evan Hansen and the cast capacity that they had, it was it was perfect. But if you were to just isolate that one song, it needs it needs heavy, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

There's more dancers like on the West End because they're gonna be a very good thing. I think they only have five or something else.

SPEAKER_00

But I don't think they did on I think consistently Dear Evan Hansen has been a very limited cast and a very limited ensemble who are amazing, but and that that kind of works as a whole piece piece, as a whole musical, but take that away, that one piece, that one song, and it could just be like do it, do it.

SPEAKER_02

You're gonna get some dancers, audition.

SPEAKER_00

But we're in.

SPEAKER_02

We're in, we're in.

SPEAKER_00

I just love it so much.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, it's such a good song. Uh where can we find you? What are your socials?

SPEAKER_00

Um, my insta my personal Instagram is at Georgia Garrard underscore. I know your future husband's listening. For anyone that wants to ask me on a date. Or my new dance Instagram is ALT dance underscore. Yay! Which is all my classes information. Don't which we're building up on, which is great fun. Perfect. Yeah, amazing!

SPEAKER_02

Thank you so much for that. Thank you for having me. Thank you, thank you. Thank you for listening, everyone. Oh, I loved that. Sorry, can I just be friends with OT and go travelling around Ireland? Like that would be incredible. Love that, love that. Um just her passion and like how much she loves all the aspects of dance, not just let's learn this style, like learning about it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I feel like everyone else that's been on so far, we've all been like, oh, there's too much fury or like too much admin um admin. Admin! Too much admin. Too much admin, we don't all love admin.

SPEAKER_02

But yeah, exactly, like learning all the like, oh gosh, I just remember doing dance histories, and I was like, oh, why am I learning about this thing that happened in like the 1500s? But maybe she's inspired me to read a book.

SPEAKER_01

Like, oh yeah, read a book.

SPEAKER_02

Read a book, guys. I once got a comment on my YouTube. Have we said this on the podcast?

SPEAKER_01

I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_02

Saying read a book because I didn't understand what Hamilton was about.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, she she was asking loads of really silly questions during Hamilton.

SPEAKER_02

They were like, read a book. Yeah, okay. She's inspired me to go read a book.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I feel like it's more like I feel like the stuff that she was kind of interested in, like, is quite like all the history and all that kind of thing, like, and all that where the movements come from and all that kind of thing. Yeah, like to then understand the style.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I get that, yeah. Definitely let's all go to the library.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, trip to the library.

SPEAKER_02

Trip to the library. Oh, it sounds like I'm taking note, but I'm actually not. It was like inspiring how much she like loved learning about all the styles, yeah. Love that. It inspired me. Thanks, Georgia. Thank you so much for listening, as always, and we'll see you in the next one.