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 COMMUNITY

To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER

To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES

Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE

Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok

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 opacities of sexy—from the subtle smirk to what she calls "the yeast infection"—shape character choices, and what it means to keep certain elements as a privilege rather than a given.

• The generalist advantage in a specialist world. How training in everything from tap to commercial hip hop since age three became her secret weapon, why being fluent in both technical and commercial languages opens doors across choreographic camps, and the radical notion that "of course" having multiple skill sets works in your favor.

• Prehab over rehab at 36. The lightbulb moment when she realized PT isn't just for when you're hurting, why consistency matters more than intensity as the body ages, and what happens when you're still in great shape but gravity and years of abnormal physicality start sending reminders.

This conversation reveals what happens when you refuse to perform easiness as a character trait, when you embrace being many things instead of one singular thing, and when you learn that maintaining your instrument is just as important as mastering your craft.

Watch the full episode here.

Show Notes:

Connect with Sienna on IG

Listen to Tony’s episode

Listen to Dominique’s episode

Listed to Jillian’s episode

Listen to Slay’s episode

Listen to Mimi’s episode

For more DANA

For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY

To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER

To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES

Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE

Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok

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 cultural participation. What it means to be a guest in black-created art forms, how Culture Shock LA showed up for the communities whose culture shaped their choreography, and why knowledge of where dance comes from strengthens the power of what we do.

• Awesome Shock and neurodivergent dancers. The parents who shared that studios turned their kids away, the grant-funded after-school program that became a full dance troupe, and how 27 dancers ages 6 to 28 proved that diversity includes neurodiversity.

• Plus, more insights on being the best leader you can be!

This conversation reveals what happens when you lead with a mission first, when you honor the heritage of the art forms you practice, and when you create programs that affirm every dancer—especially those who've been told they learn differently.

Watch the full episode here.

Show Notes:

Connect with Arnel

Listen to our first episode with Arnel

Arnel’s Leadership Tools for the Dance Leader

Learn more about Culture Shock LA

For more DANA

For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY

To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER

To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES

Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE

Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok

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, influence, and the proofread process. Whether truly original thoughts exist, how dancers physicalize and remanifest what they see, and the idea of adding a "proofreading" step to creative work

• The lunge that sparked everything. That pivotal seventh-grade moment when recreation became serious, when "I should work hard" became a defining thought, and how weight-bearing holds can catalyze life-changing realizations.

• Plus, insights on evolving from dancer to director, working with DPs, and bringing technical precision to artistic vision.

This conversation reveals what emerges when we examine our influences honestly, when we create space between inspiration and imitation, and when a single moment of clarity in class becomes the foundation for a global career.

Watch the full episode here.

Show Notes:

Connect with Will on IG

Watch “Pepper”

For more DANA

For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY

To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER

To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES

Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE

Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok

This is The Full Circle Boys & Keone Madrid on evolution, trust, and what becomes possible when creative roles shift.

In this episode, The Full Circle Boys and choreographer Keone Madrid discuss their collaboration journey—from DIY beginnings to finding their distinct lanes. We explore:

• The sonic vision of a modern American boy band. How their creative sessions revealed a sound and aesthetic that broke from traditional boy band templates.

• The power of role clarity and creative trust. How the group transitioned from being hands-on choreographers juggling multiple responsibilities to focusing on music while trusting Keone completely.

• Creating beyond algorithms and benchmarks. What it means to navigate engagement metrics and content benchmarks (three seconds, six seconds, fifteen) while staying true to what speaks to you.

• Plus, some big laughs and a brand new 8 count!

This conversation reveals what's possible when collaborators find their zones of genius, when trust replaces the need to control everything, and when the work itself becomes more important than perfecting your response to praise.

Watch the full episode here.

Show Notes:

Connect with the Full Circle Boys on IG

Connect with Keone on IG

Watch all the latest FCB Music Videos

Listen to their new EP “Plié”

For more DANA

For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY

To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER

To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES

Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE

Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok

This is an episode on injury, resistance, and the thoughts that become available after you stop fighting what is.

In this episode, Dana shares her first-ever back injury at 39 and the 4 key lessons that came with it. We explore:

• The non-negotiable truth about injury. Why pretending you're not hurt serves no one, no job is worth pushing through real pain, and "if" you'll get injured is actually "when", even if you shop exclusively at Whole Foods and still manage to scrape your knee in Crocs

• Separating physical pain from emotional shame. How we compound very real injury-related pain with unnecessary embarrassment, why you're not stupid for thinking you could move the couch without warming up (you're human), and the essential practice of telling people you're healing without kicking yourself while you're down

• The egg white layer of resistance. What happens when you actually sit with unwanted thoughts like, "I can't be injured right now" instead of bypassing them, how that paper-thin friction softens into acceptance when you give it airtime, and the thoughts that become available on the other side: "I'm 100% exactly when I need to be, and I can handle what's in front of me with this body, exactly as it is."

This conversation reveals what's possible when we stop resisting our human limitations and start recognizing that our bodies don't always cooperate with our timelines—and that's not a character flaw. Whether you're currently injured, recovering, or inevitably will be someday, Dana's experience offers a framework for meeting pain without adding suffering, and finding agency even when your body has other plans.

Watch the full episode here.

Show Notes:

For more DANA

For coaching with me, join the WTMM COMMUNITY

To donate to WTMM through our Fiscal Sponsor, THE DANCE RESOURCE CENTER

To shop for GOODIES & SERVIES

Watch and Subscribe on YOUTUBE

Stay connected with us on IG and TikTok