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Speaker 1: Okay, this is crazy. Like, walk into her house, just

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Speaker 1: a normal day, walk in. I looked to the left

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Speaker 1: and it's her piano, which is already fierce at her

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Speaker 1: piano's Stevie Wonder playing All in Love is fair? Okay,

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Speaker 1: I start crying. Debbie Baby, come on over, listen to Stevie,

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Speaker 1: come on over. And I'm like, you can't just act

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Speaker 1: like this is normal. That is choreographer Extraordinarior Chloe Arnold.

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Speaker 1: She's un naked today. I need you all to buckle up,

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Speaker 1: because if you feel like you have no hope, or

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Speaker 1: if you feel like no one's listening to your dreams,

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Speaker 1: or if you're being discouraged by the dream you have,

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Speaker 1: listen to the story. Dreams do come true. Also, you

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Speaker 1: can fast forward past the commercials. I'm always giving you

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Speaker 1: all tips. It's the greatest Harry Chepi and the car

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Speaker 1: Chappion a champion. They carry Champion chap and they champion

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Speaker 1: and everybody. Welcome back to another edition of Naked. I

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Speaker 1: have yet again somebody who I think is fabulous on

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Speaker 1: the podcast. I've been really lucky. You ever you ever

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Speaker 1: go through a season in life where you ask people

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Speaker 1: to be on your show, everyone doesn't have a podcast,

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Speaker 1: but you ask people to do favors for you, and

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Speaker 1: everything is a yes and yes and yes. I mean

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Speaker 1: my season of Yes. Um, I have shared this on

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Speaker 1: the show. I have my own TV show. God is Good.

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Speaker 1: I say it out loud, and I almost feel like

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Speaker 1: I'm not supposed to say it because I'm so humbled

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Speaker 1: by it. Um it's on Prime Video. So if you

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Speaker 1: went to sports in the sports section and um, you

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Speaker 1: clicked on what's on now? My show airs nine to

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Speaker 1: eleven Pacific Standard time or twelve to two on the East,

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Speaker 1: and it's daily Monday through Friday. And I'm in my season.

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Speaker 1: And yes, I've been asking my friends to come on

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Speaker 1: and look, don't get me, don't give me to lie

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Speaker 1: it is. It's a hall, it's a lot of work,

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Speaker 1: it's a labor of love. But I'm really really grateful,

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Speaker 1: and trust me, it's new, so there's a lot of

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Speaker 1: things we haven't worked out like we on TV. Basically,

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Speaker 1: you know, drawing pictures and having and thought sessions. It's

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Speaker 1: not as advanced as it should be from a from

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Speaker 1: a technical or production standpoint, but it's mine and I

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Speaker 1: love it, you know what I mean. It's mine and

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Speaker 1: I love it. It's like your first new car that

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Speaker 1: you get, you know, like it's mine and I love it.

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Speaker 1: I don't care nobody's saying. That's how I feel. And

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Speaker 1: recently I have been asking my friends to hold me up,

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Speaker 1: and one of which is a young lady by the

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Speaker 1: name of Chloe Arnold. I met Chloe and we talked

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Speaker 1: about it in the podcast. I met Chloe when we

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Speaker 1: both were being honored by Lebron James or being Black

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Speaker 1: women that are outstanding in their industry. And she is

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Speaker 1: a choreographer, she is a producer, she is a sister friend,

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Speaker 1: she is is a mentor, she's a philanthropist, name it,

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Speaker 1: she's a multi hyphenet. And when she was a little kid,

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Speaker 1: very similar to my story. When you're young, you know

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Speaker 1: when you know, And she watched Gregory Hinds on the

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Speaker 1: big screen and said, I want to tap dance, I

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Speaker 1: want to dance, I want to do all of those things.

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Speaker 1: But I'm gonna learn everything. I'm gonna learn jazz, I'm

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Speaker 1: on tap, I do I do it all. I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: do it all and all along the way, people who

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Speaker 1: were in her industry who looked like her affirmed her

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Speaker 1: Gregory Hinds Debbie Allen, who is still her mentor. Debbie

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Speaker 1: Allen has her saved in the phone as your my protege.

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Speaker 1: Y'all know who Debbie Allen is. If you didn't watch

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Speaker 1: Fame growing up, y'all better get with it. I'm sure

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Speaker 1: somewhere on YouTube and you can catch Fame episodes and

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Speaker 1: and there's this one part in the opening of Fame.

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Speaker 1: If you've got dreams, they start here. Hard work starts here.

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Speaker 1: I'm paraphrasing. But Debbie Allen, who went on to be

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Speaker 1: um a director. She directed tons of episodes of Shonda

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Speaker 1: Rhimes shows like Grey's Anatomy. I think she might have

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Speaker 1: done Scandal. But she's a she's a dancer, she is

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Speaker 1: a choreographer. Um. She married a Laker great and Norm

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Speaker 1: Nixon at one point in time or did he play

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Speaker 1: for the Clippers, But he did play for Lakers for

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Speaker 1: a short period of time. But she married, uh Norm

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Speaker 1: Nixon who's an amazing basketball player. Her sister is Felicia Rasha.

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Speaker 1: J'all know Claire Huxtable like she comes from an extremely

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Speaker 1: talented family. And she meets my friend Chloe and she says,

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Speaker 1: this girl is it and the story of how Chloe

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Speaker 1: walked up to her and said, I want to do

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Speaker 1: what you do and at that moment Debbie said, I

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Speaker 1: see you and I'll honor that. Wow. Wow, wow, wow wow.

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Speaker 1: It was destined. I love to hear those stories when

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Speaker 1: people walk up to people and say I want to

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Speaker 1: do what you do. So on this podcast today, we

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Speaker 1: are naked in the sense that we are honoring sisterhood,

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Speaker 1: we're honoring dreams, and we're honoring destiny. Because when you know,

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Speaker 1: you know, and the world makes way for you, the

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Speaker 1: universe opens up for you when you know you know.

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Speaker 1: My girl is on the show today because she has

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Speaker 1: a film out that she not only acted in, but

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Speaker 1: she yes choreographed. It's called Spirited. It's on Apple TV Plus.

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Speaker 1: It stars Will Ferrell. I'm sure you've heard of him,

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Speaker 1: as well as Ryan Reynolds. I'm sure you've heard of

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Speaker 1: him as well as Octavia Spencer. I'm sure you've heard

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Speaker 1: of her. Who I'll tell you, Chloe Arnold is doing

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Speaker 1: a damn thing. Without further ado, here's my girl, Chloe

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Speaker 1: car You guys, I'm I'm keeping it rolling these past

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Speaker 1: few weeks I've had some really amazing guests on, from

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Speaker 1: Amanda Seals to Gabby Union, Um, and now I have

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Speaker 1: another friend on the show. I'm really really blessed to

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Speaker 1: have a good sister circle Um. Chloe Arnold, Emmy nominated choreographer.

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Speaker 1: This girl is dope. She does it all. I went

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Speaker 1: to her bio today, it was almost as if I

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Speaker 1: didn't know her. I'm like, wait a second, that's a

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Speaker 1: bad bish she got going on, and I'm so glad

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Speaker 1: she blessed us with her talent today on Naked Chloe,

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Speaker 1: thank you for being here, my friend. I appreciate you.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for having me, Carrie. I'm so excited. Well wait,

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Speaker 1: we gotta tell everyone in the background story two stories. One,

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Speaker 1: we've been trying to get her on the podcast for

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Speaker 1: everyone listening, and our schedules are both ridiculous. It's like,

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Speaker 1: are you in l A, No, I'm in New York.

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Speaker 1: Are you a New York No, I'm in Croatia. She

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Speaker 1: and Croatia, me and New York. Um. And We've been

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Speaker 1: all over dismissing one another, and then finally I'm like,

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Speaker 1: this is it and it happens like, hey, you busy,

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Speaker 1: you free tomorrow. Yes, let's do it. So that's where

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Speaker 1: we are, right, So glad it all aligned. I want

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Speaker 1: to start from the beginning because when I think of choreographers,

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Speaker 1: and I think a lot of people, you know, our generation,

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Speaker 1: maybe older or even younger, know of a few choreographers

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Speaker 1: that are black that are really famous. Right. Um. When

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Speaker 1: I was a kid, by that would always make me

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Speaker 1: watch these black and white movies, so I knew of

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Speaker 1: a fred to stare Right or a Ginger Rogers. And

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Speaker 1: she didn't necessarily say they were choreographers, but she was like,

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Speaker 1: they were great dancers, they did great things. Watch watch

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Speaker 1: watch um. And then there was Greggory Hinds. And not

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Speaker 1: only was he a black figure that people knew in

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Speaker 1: terms of tap dancing, um, and how talented he was,

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Speaker 1: he was an actor as well. Then then then telling

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Speaker 1: my age, the show comes on called Fame, and everyone's like, oh,

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Speaker 1: that's what I want to do. I wanted, I wanted.

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Speaker 1: I want to be with Debbie Allen. I want her

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Speaker 1: to teach me how to dance. I want all of

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Speaker 1: these things. So this is me as a kid seeing

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Speaker 1: all these different figures, and then I meet you because

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Speaker 1: I'm giving everybody the background. I love a good story.

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Speaker 1: I meet my girl and she's lived the life that

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Speaker 1: I had imagined when I was a kid. She's living

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Speaker 1: it in real life. Chloe Arnold is famous by all accounts,

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Speaker 1: but it's not so much about fame. It's true talent.

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Speaker 1: It's beautiful, it's kind, it's who you are. You know

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Speaker 1: all of the people I was excited to talk about.

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Speaker 1: You've lived with them, You've worked with them, They've mentored you.

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Speaker 1: Tell me about being a child growing up in the

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Speaker 1: DC area and knowing you had this gift. When did

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Speaker 1: you realize you had this gift of dancing and tap

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Speaker 1: dancing and choreography. Well, I remember I started. I started

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Speaker 1: dancing in kind of a very small studio that was

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Speaker 1: in a strip mall, and it was very unsuspecting. And

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Speaker 1: at that school though, I took ballet, tap, jazz and

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Speaker 1: like gymnastics, like these are like kind of the baby classes.

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Speaker 1: I was six years old, but around eight years old,

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Speaker 1: my mom started to notice that I had a thing

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Speaker 1: for rhythm and for tap, and I think it all

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Speaker 1: kind of streamed together with then I wanted to play instruments,

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Speaker 1: and so I think I was a very musical person,

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Speaker 1: but I loved moving and so tap dance is the

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Speaker 1: marriage of movement and music together. And I think naturally,

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Speaker 1: you know, I didn't realize it at the time, but

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Speaker 1: that my love for music and my love for dance

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Speaker 1: could come together through the art of tap. And so

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Speaker 1: when I was about when I was about nine years old,

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Speaker 1: I went to the movie theater and I saw the

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Speaker 1: movie Tap, starring Gregory Hinds, the Nicholas brothers, and and

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Speaker 1: I was blown away. And I remember leaving like, this

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Speaker 1: is what I'm gonna do with my life. I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: tap dance, I'm gonna make movies. And I was just

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Speaker 1: so excited. And now the thing was, well, where are

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Speaker 1: we gonna learn how to do this? Like for real?

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Speaker 1: And so my mom was so resourceful. She looked in

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Speaker 1: the city paper, which was like the free newspaper. There

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Speaker 1: happened to be a posting to audition for a youth

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Speaker 1: company in Tap, a Tap youth company, And so we

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Speaker 1: went to the audition, and I was quite young. It

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Speaker 1: was about ten, and I got I made the audition

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Speaker 1: on probation, so if I could improve in three months

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Speaker 1: at ten, then I could stay in this youth company. Well,

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Speaker 1: thankfully I did. I worked very diligently because I was like,

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Speaker 1: I'm staying in this company. And but during that time,

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Speaker 1: what was happening were that these incredible artists started to

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Speaker 1: come to d C to give back to the community

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Speaker 1: and to teach and perform. And one of those artists

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Speaker 1: that came was Gregory Hinds. And so at ten years old,

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Speaker 1: I got to see him perform. I got to be

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Speaker 1: a workshop and I got to witness his greatness and

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Speaker 1: his kindness and his artistry. So this imagination that I

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Speaker 1: had that was, you know, on the silver screen, then

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Speaker 1: became a real life possibility. And the words that Gregory

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Speaker 1: Hynd speaks into everyone that he you know, I think

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Speaker 1: everyone I've known that has ever met him always has

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Speaker 1: a great story of something kind. He said. And one

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Speaker 1: thing he said to me was, Chloe, you inspire me.

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Speaker 1: Now mind you in retrospect, you know. And now that

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Speaker 1: I'm a teacher also I understand what inspiration means because

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Speaker 1: I was thinking, I'm not that great at tap what

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Speaker 1: is talking about? But now I get it now that

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Speaker 1: I have young people, because it's not the skill is

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Speaker 1: the aura is the spirit is the energy is the excitement.

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Speaker 1: It's the possibility, right, And so that's what Gregory Hynd

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Speaker 1: showed me was the possibility. And that was when I

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Speaker 1: was around ten. But then when I was sixteen, the

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Speaker 1: real uh mentor mother figure, uh you know, kind of

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Speaker 1: the the absolute renaissance woman of dance came into my life,

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Speaker 1: and that was Debbiellen. And that also came. That came

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Speaker 1: because I auditioned to be in her musical at the

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Speaker 1: Kennedy Center. And I remember walking in and there were

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Speaker 1: eight hundred other kids auditioning. And these kids have been

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Speaker 1: training at like the best ballet schools in d C

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Speaker 1: that we're very expensive of and I was like, I

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Speaker 1: saw their legs against the wall. I was like, oh,

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Speaker 1: but you know right, I came very d C. Okay.

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Speaker 1: I had made a shirt at the T Shirts Point

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Speaker 1: literally it was called the T Shirt Drink and it

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Speaker 1: said Tapping for Life. Okay, I thought I was I mean,

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Speaker 1: I was ready, right, I got my T shirts this

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Speaker 1: tap I'm here. So I snuck into the audition early

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Speaker 1: with a with a home girl of mine and we

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Speaker 1: walked up to miss Allen and we said, excuse me,

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Speaker 1: Miss Allen, we tap dance now. I don't know what

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Speaker 1: gave us the courage or to do this, but she

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Speaker 1: was so kind and she said, well, then baby, show

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Speaker 1: me something. So we start freestyling and we're you know,

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Speaker 1: we're living our best lives. And then she's like, amazing, Okay, great,

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Speaker 1: Now go to the back of the line. Put your

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Speaker 1: jass shoes on. I need to see that you can

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Speaker 1: do all starts of dance. So now I go back

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Speaker 1: to the end of this line again, past sing all

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Speaker 1: the girls with their legs all you know, stretched, and

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Speaker 1: I'm like, okay, remember what your teacher taught you. My teacher,

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Speaker 1: Miss Tony, she was like, you gotta dance full out always, honey,

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Speaker 1: full out. The way you practice is the way you perform.

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Speaker 1: So I was like, all right, I gotta go in there,

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Speaker 1: and I gotta give every ounce of my personality. But

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Speaker 1: I got to offer because maybe my technique isn't as

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Speaker 1: strong as everyone else. So I go in and there's

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Speaker 1: this jazz number and I'll never forget there was this

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Speaker 1: part where you have to swing your hair right left

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Speaker 1: and your hips. I said, oh, oh, hips and hair.

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Speaker 1: I got it. So so I gave everything I had

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Speaker 1: my personality and thankfully Debbie picked me as one of

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Speaker 1: twelve girls out of eight hundred, and that changed my

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Speaker 1: life forever. I want to take a TV time out

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Speaker 1: because you said three things that literally just gave me chills.

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Speaker 1: And by the way, if you're listening, I know her.

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Speaker 1: We break bread together, we talk together, we talk about life.

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Speaker 1: I don't know this story, and I just got chills.

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Speaker 1: Three times, three times, three times. You have been destined

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Speaker 1: and chosen one out of eight hundred girls. You are chosen,

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Speaker 1: twelve girls out of eight hundred. You are chosen, and

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Speaker 1: everyone who is doing what you want to do, you

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Speaker 1: meets serendipity. Your mother, who sees this vision, encourages this vision,

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Speaker 1: knows this is what my child wants to do. And

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Speaker 1: let me not only the seed is planet, let me

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Speaker 1: water it, let me put some fertilizer in it. And

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Speaker 1: I'm about to grow the seed. I'm in the paper.

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Speaker 1: Nobody reads the paper anymore. I need my daughter to

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Speaker 1: do this. Everyone in your life was saying, yes, this

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Speaker 1: is what you should be doing. Every single person in

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Speaker 1: your life affirmed people that matter right, and everybody people

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Speaker 1: matter affirmed you and I get chills because we live

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Speaker 1: in a society today where people don't affirm. Talk about

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Speaker 1: your mother's influence and encouraging your dream was amazing that

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Speaker 1: you say affirm because my mom very young taught us affirmations,

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Speaker 1: and she did it in varying ways, but one thing

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Speaker 1: for sure was that she you know, we grew up,

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Speaker 1: we grew up struggling financially, but she had vision right

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Speaker 1: and so there was one thing she did in particular

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Speaker 1: where she took a sign. There was a sign on

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Speaker 1: this I think was on the metro bus um that

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Speaker 1: said uh that she pulled off and brought home and

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Speaker 1: put on our front door, on the inside of our

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Speaker 1: apartment building. So every day we walked to school, you

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Speaker 1: see the sign, and the sign was what if Harvard

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Speaker 1: were your safety school? H And it was this concept

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Speaker 1: because I had a teacher who was a little bit

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Speaker 1: discouraging of my academic goals, and my mom was like, oh, no,

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Speaker 1: we're going to affirm that Harvard will be your safety school.

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Speaker 1: That's my backup plan. That's the backup plan. And um.

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Speaker 1: Thankfully that affirmation actually became true and I ended up

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Speaker 1: getting into Harvard, and I didn't go I went to

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Speaker 1: Columbia instead because I wanted to be in New York

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Speaker 1: so I could tap dance and perform and pursue these dreams.

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Speaker 1: Not bad. Not only is she bad, Not only is

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Speaker 1: she bad, she's smart, y'all. She was like, you know what,

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Speaker 1: Harvard is my backup plan because I went to Columbia.

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Speaker 1: How smart are you? Oh? My God, thank you. I'm

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Speaker 1: so encouraged. I'm so happy to hear that. But my mom,

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Speaker 1: she really, i mean, had this this superpower belief system

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Speaker 1: that whatever you believe, you can't achieve. And she really well,

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Speaker 1: I mean, my our mom is an educator, so I

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Speaker 1: think that was her natural way of being. But um,

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Speaker 1: she really brought that home. You know. It was something

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Speaker 1: that was three six in her life. For anyone that

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Speaker 1: set foot into our home. Oh, you are going to

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Speaker 1: be uplifted. You're going to be encouraged towards the goal

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Speaker 1: and the dream. Okay, So after this call, I want

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Speaker 1: you to give me your mother's phone number, and I

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Speaker 1: just want to reach out to her casually so she

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Speaker 1: can affirm in my adult life, I'll take it. So

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Speaker 1: you you have all of these moments, seminal moments I have.

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Speaker 1: I've always believed that God really places a desire in

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Speaker 1: our heart. Like when you know, because the gift of

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Speaker 1: knowing at a young age is rare. I knew I

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Speaker 1: would be doing exactly what I'm doing. I knew that

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Speaker 1: I meet Oprah, I knew that i'd be like, Auntie Opes,

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Speaker 1: I want to do this. You don't Stari being my

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Speaker 1: best friend, but I will have my own show. I

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Speaker 1: knew all of these things at seven years old. I

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Speaker 1: knew it when I saw I was like, oh, there's

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Speaker 1: my there's my kindred spirit. I'm doing that at seven.

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Speaker 1: But there are these moments where you were consistently affirmed.

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Speaker 1: My mother affirmed to me as well. But then you

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Speaker 1: meet the people early on to tell you to do

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Speaker 1: the things that you should do. Yeah, and it's crazy

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Speaker 1: to me. So so here we are, um, you get

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Speaker 1: into you get into her warden. It was your backup

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Speaker 1: plan because your mother affirmed that in your life early on.

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Speaker 1: You decided to go to Columbia because you wanted to

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Speaker 1: be in New York. What happens when you're in Columbia

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Speaker 1: and living in New York and going to school, well,

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Speaker 1: you know, I had to keep it really real about

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Speaker 1: Columbia because you know, when you're in the there's there's

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Speaker 1: the lived experience, then there's the reflection. Right. So in

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Speaker 1: my first year, I was really having a huge challenge

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Speaker 1: with the social inequities that I now was facing in

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Speaker 1: a way I had never faced before because I came

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Speaker 1: out and so I'm coming out of d C. It's

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Speaker 1: Chocola city. Um. Also, I'm growing up in a one

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Speaker 1: bedroom apartment. So we're living a very humble life. Everybody works,

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Speaker 1: We're struggling, but we're all working together to it, you know, survive.

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Speaker 1: Now I'm at Columbia and it's a millionaire lifestyle, right,

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Speaker 1: Not that I'm living that everyone around me is living.

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Speaker 1: I'm I'm one of the one or two black kids

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Speaker 1: in my in my classes, Um, there's a curriculum that

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Speaker 1: is so eurocentric that does did not acknowledge black women

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Speaker 1: history culture, and I I just honestly did not feel

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Speaker 1: like I fit in whatsoever. And so I had this

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Speaker 1: when I when I made sure I did was create

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Speaker 1: a dance program for my life that was totally separate

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Speaker 1: from school. So that was my happy place. So I

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Speaker 1: made my Columbia schedule. Nine to two, I go to

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Speaker 1: school and after two is dance. We're out in the city.

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Speaker 1: I am all throughout a city, training, taking classes, doing

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Speaker 1: jam sessions, going to music concerts just like I'm immersed,

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Speaker 1: as though I was there specifically for that. So I

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Speaker 1: had two educations happening at the same time that we're

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Speaker 1: not connected. And honestly, the life that I had outside

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Speaker 1: was what was helping me survive this environment where I

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Speaker 1: just didn't feel like I fit in. And so what

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Speaker 1: I learned though over those four years was a I

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Speaker 1: was never gonna fit in. I don't need to fit in,

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Speaker 1: and I don't want to fit in. And so what

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Speaker 1: that allowed me to do was then understand that a

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Speaker 1: art would be the way that I tell my story,

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Speaker 1: the way that I share my story. So in this

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Speaker 1: place where I'm feeling unheard right and and academically, I

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Speaker 1: realized that that I would have to ascend as an

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Speaker 1: artist and that art would be how my voice would

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Speaker 1: be heard in the world. And it allowed me to

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Speaker 1: release the frustration that I felt in that freshman year

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Speaker 1: and to understand that art is my happy place, it

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Speaker 1: is my freedom, and one day I will elevate and

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Speaker 1: be able to create spaces for others to feel free.

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Speaker 1: So beautiful, So beautiful. It sounds like you have an

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Speaker 1: education from Colombia. You're so smart. It sounds like you

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Speaker 1: said I'm not going to Harvard because it was the

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Speaker 1: backup plan. That's what it sounds like to me. I

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Speaker 1: don't know about yours. That's what it sounds like to me.

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Speaker 1: All Right, I'm really into this story, but we gotta

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Speaker 1: pay some bills and you'll y'all know what to do.

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Speaker 1: What's the button that says fifteen and thirty. Dispressed it

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Speaker 1: a few times and we'll be back in a few months.

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Speaker 1: Every champion and care Every champion has to be a champian,

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Speaker 1: a champion and carry Chappion and carry Chappian Chappion, and

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Speaker 1: carry Chatpion, and carry Chepi and sports and then the

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Speaker 1: team making make it work. Harry Cheppion, they carrie Cheppi

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Speaker 1: is a champion. They carry Cheppion Cheppi, and they carry Chappion,

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Speaker 1: they car Welcome back to Naked Chloe has a story

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Speaker 1: for all of us. You guys are welcome. I had

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Speaker 1: her say the best for last. Sit back, relax and

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Speaker 1: like I always say, grab a pen or pad, write

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Speaker 1: down some stuff, right down, your affirmations, right down, why

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Speaker 1: you matter, write your dreams down, and be inspired. So

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Speaker 1: Chloe and I meet, I'm gonna fast forward because I'm

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Speaker 1: sure that, like anybody, especially any marginalized, especially any woman,

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Speaker 1: any black woman, Uh, she experienced all the trials and

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Speaker 1: tribulations of trying to quote unquote make it um. And

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Speaker 1: it's just your sheer desire and loving what you do

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Speaker 1: and knowing that you are purpose driven. And we meet

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Speaker 1: when and he by the way, he's making news today,

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Speaker 1: we meet when Lebron put the list together of black

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Speaker 1: women he wants to honor for or his anniversary shoe.

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Speaker 1: I think it was what was it you? What was

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Speaker 1: this si? So he picked sixteen women from different aspects

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Speaker 1: of different professions. And I was already aware of her,

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Speaker 1: possibly even following you, before you even knew that we

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00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:21,119
Speaker 1: were coming together at this event. And we go to

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Speaker 1: this event and you walked up to me, and you

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Speaker 1: just a true sister girl, Like no shade, no competition,

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Speaker 1: no mean you think you're cute. I don't like you.

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Speaker 1: She's like, I'm a fan. I've been told by so

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Speaker 1: many people we should be friends. I'm paraphrasing, but but

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Speaker 1: I'm I'm a girl in my mind, and like she

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Speaker 1: don't know, I'm already following her. I've been stalking her

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Speaker 1: right because it was again destined and meant to be.

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Speaker 1: And so here we are in this curated list of

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Speaker 1: women who are being honored by Lebron. Shout up to

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Speaker 1: Lebron for that moment. Yes, thank you, Thank you Lebron

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Speaker 1: for honoring your black queens who are out here doing

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Speaker 1: the damn thing. And it was that was it. We

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00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:04,200
Speaker 1: were are fast and furious. Yes, I remember waiting. I

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00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:08,080
Speaker 1: actually shot my part earlier in the day and I

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00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:10,160
Speaker 1: said to my friend, I was like, I'm gonna wait

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Speaker 1: because I want to make Carrie. So I just sit

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Speaker 1: here and wait for her to come. So it was

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Speaker 1: the love fest and it was meant to be. Like okay,

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Speaker 1: So side notes, shout out to her sister Maud, who

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Speaker 1: we don't have on the podcast. I'll call them Claude, right,

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Speaker 1: Chloe and mad together, um. And when I had Ali

424
00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,440
Speaker 1: le Roy right on the podcast, is that you're a

425
00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,760
Speaker 1: year got He was like, those are my sisters, um,

426
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:40,360
Speaker 1: But her and her sister are They're just really special.

427
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,480
Speaker 1: They're really set apart. And so I find out about

428
00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:48,600
Speaker 1: syncopated ladies. Tell everybody what that is. So when I

429
00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:51,520
Speaker 1: was at Columbia and I was, you know, pursuing these

430
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:56,000
Speaker 1: tap dreams. The dance world that I was in. UM,

431
00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,840
Speaker 1: I realized as I looked around for well, what John

432
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:02,560
Speaker 1: am I gonna have? What? What am I going to build?

433
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,639
Speaker 1: You know? Career wise? Well, all of the auditions for

434
00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:09,879
Speaker 1: Broadway shows were mostly for a very cookie cutter type

435
00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:13,440
Speaker 1: of dancer to be in a chorus of a Broadway show,

436
00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:17,120
Speaker 1: which meant white and thin. That was at that time,

437
00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:22,000
Speaker 1: that was the norm. And I was like, whoa, there

438
00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:26,560
Speaker 1: are not many leading black women on Broadway dancers, and

439
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:32,080
Speaker 1: especially not a tap dancer. So Debbie Allen my entire

440
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:36,440
Speaker 1: years at Columbia UM, she would house my sister and

441
00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,399
Speaker 1: I at her house every summer in l A. And

442
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:43,720
Speaker 1: we would train at the Debbion Dance Academy. So, uh,

443
00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:46,200
Speaker 1: when I was when it was time to graduate, she said, Chloe,

444
00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:47,879
Speaker 1: you got to move to l A. And in my

445
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:49,600
Speaker 1: mind I thought that was a little weird because I

446
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,040
Speaker 1: was like, well, in New York's the epicenter of dance.

447
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:54,600
Speaker 1: You know what am I gonna do in l A?

448
00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:57,359
Speaker 1: But if Debbie suggested five, I said, I'll be there

449
00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:00,960
Speaker 1: September nine. I remember I'll just pay to date and

450
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,000
Speaker 1: packed one bag and I was on the plane. So

451
00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:07,920
Speaker 1: I ended up living with her. And it was during

452
00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:10,960
Speaker 1: that time that all of these additional lessons started to,

453
00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:13,960
Speaker 1: you know, reveal themselves. And one of them that she

454
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,119
Speaker 1: would always say is if it doesn't exist, you've got

455
00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,480
Speaker 1: to create it. You don't wait for other people to

456
00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:21,639
Speaker 1: give you permission or to give you a green light.

457
00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:25,840
Speaker 1: So she let me use a studio space for free

458
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:29,920
Speaker 1: at her at her academy, and in that studio that's

459
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:33,159
Speaker 1: where I created Syncopated Ladies in two thousand three. And

460
00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:37,119
Speaker 1: what that is is an all female tap dancing band

461
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:41,080
Speaker 1: made up of women of color. Uh. And it's when

462
00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:45,960
Speaker 1: I started it. My first set of crew, my first crew,

463
00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:50,719
Speaker 1: there were eleven fourteen, my sister Maud seventeen. We were

464
00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:55,480
Speaker 1: just babies. I was. I was twenty two and literally

465
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:57,960
Speaker 1: I'm like, want to be in my dance company and

466
00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,720
Speaker 1: they're like sure, and they're like great, And we started

467
00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:03,440
Speaker 1: making up dances, but we would perform maybe once a

468
00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:07,440
Speaker 1: year or so, and so it took ten years where

469
00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:10,720
Speaker 1: I had to go off on my own and pursue

470
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:15,680
Speaker 1: a solo career, touring the world performing saving money, establishing

471
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:19,119
Speaker 1: a name and credibility, and once I got once Ma

472
00:27:19,359 --> 00:27:23,680
Speaker 1: graduated from college, she went to Columbia also once she graduated,

473
00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,400
Speaker 1: then I said, do you want to do this for real?

474
00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:30,960
Speaker 1: Like I think we need to like step. What I

475
00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:33,240
Speaker 1: specifically said is do you all want to rock out

476
00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:41,280
Speaker 1: in tap shoots? And so that's when in my sister

477
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,639
Speaker 1: and I really put our money and time and efforts

478
00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:48,160
Speaker 1: into really building syncopated Ladies to what it is now

479
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:53,080
Speaker 1: and and and we started putting out our first music

480
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:56,639
Speaker 1: videos because my thought was if I'd been um working

481
00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:59,600
Speaker 1: in music video land, you know, not tap dancing, And

482
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:02,479
Speaker 1: I thought it's time for the world to feel us

483
00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:07,119
Speaker 1: as musicians and artists. So we are the band, and

484
00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:11,000
Speaker 1: so we would do covers of amazing songs and our

485
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:17,200
Speaker 1: favorite artists is Beyonce, and so in t we uh sorry,

486
00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,520
Speaker 1: we did a tax salute to Beyonce as a thank you,

487
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:25,160
Speaker 1: honestly just a sister thank you because she had inspired

488
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,680
Speaker 1: our lives and are dancing and she made us feel

489
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:31,280
Speaker 1: so empowered and so we just want to say thank you.

490
00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:34,160
Speaker 1: I didn't think she would see the video, and she did.

491
00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,880
Speaker 1: She shared it and wrote they killed it. On on Facebook.

492
00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:42,680
Speaker 1: And that was honestly, that was what I call the

493
00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:46,000
Speaker 1: beginning of the Beyonce effect. And from that moment on,

494
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:49,840
Speaker 1: we went super viral. We got to perform on so

495
00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:51,920
Speaker 1: you think you can dance and we want a crew battle,

496
00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,239
Speaker 1: and we were able to create our own show, um

497
00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:59,600
Speaker 1: Syncopated Ladies Live and and so you know, again it

498
00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,960
Speaker 1: just is the power of sisterhood and the power of

499
00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:10,560
Speaker 1: another woman seeing you and now yes and saying I

500
00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,040
Speaker 1: believe in you all, and that that shifted everything. And

501
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:20,440
Speaker 1: and in she you know, Formation came out and you know,

502
00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:23,719
Speaker 1: she made the call. She said, okay, ladies, let's get information.

503
00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:27,040
Speaker 1: So you know, we had to get information. And our

504
00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:32,560
Speaker 1: Tap Formation video really was the moment that changed everything.

505
00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:38,239
Speaker 1: So like was incredible and I thought it couldn't get better. Um,

506
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,200
Speaker 1: she not only shared our video, but she made it

507
00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:44,360
Speaker 1: Beyonce dot com the homepage for three weeks. So you

508
00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:47,920
Speaker 1: went there, you saw our photo. Syncopated Ladies press play

509
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,960
Speaker 1: and from then on we have not stopped working. She said,

510
00:29:53,320 --> 00:30:00,200
Speaker 1: this woman, Okay, is the ultimate system because she just

511
00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:05,280
Speaker 1: catapulted the possibilities. She understood that black women and TAP

512
00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:10,400
Speaker 1: have never been properly seen, celebrated her or compensated, and

513
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:18,280
Speaker 1: that action changed it all. Well, it's not only that,

514
00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,680
Speaker 1: it's what you all put in place. I I the

515
00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:24,840
Speaker 1: older I get, the more I realized good karma, good energy,

516
00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:30,080
Speaker 1: good good intentions really do set the foundation for your life.

517
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:34,080
Speaker 1: And that is you and my just really like, hey girl,

518
00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:37,320
Speaker 1: hey girl, let me sure I am anybody who knows me,

519
00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:40,320
Speaker 1: whom Dwayne knows. I take farever to respond to anything,

520
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:42,680
Speaker 1: and I don't mean to on purpose. I'm just I

521
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:44,720
Speaker 1: can I get to when I can so because I

522
00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,560
Speaker 1: don't have the band with you. Both you and your

523
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:51,160
Speaker 1: sister both are understanding. I didn't get to come to

524
00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:53,360
Speaker 1: the show and pepper Dye, but I bought some tickets

525
00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:54,760
Speaker 1: for the show in Arizona. I didn't go. I just

526
00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:57,240
Speaker 1: bought some tickets to support. I'm just like, I love

527
00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:00,880
Speaker 1: how y'all show up for everybody else. So that's to me,

528
00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:03,840
Speaker 1: that's that karma we're giving giving back to you. Guys.

529
00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:06,720
Speaker 1: I want to talk about the relationships in your life.

530
00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:10,080
Speaker 1: I want to talk about your relationship with Debbie Allen,

531
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:13,480
Speaker 1: and I want to talk about your interaction slash relationship

532
00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:17,520
Speaker 1: in terms of mentorship with Gregory May he rest in peace.

533
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:21,920
Speaker 1: Let's start with Gregory one. Well, Gregory Hinds was amazing

534
00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:25,440
Speaker 1: because even though I didn't get to see him a

535
00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,160
Speaker 1: lot in my life. I lived in d C. You

536
00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:34,520
Speaker 1: lived in Hollywood, Um and York. I I felt the

537
00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:41,280
Speaker 1: the kindred kindness, the I want to see you rise.

538
00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:45,680
Speaker 1: And it's amazing because when people mean so much in

539
00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:50,040
Speaker 1: your life, even one word affects you in a way

540
00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,520
Speaker 1: that can change the rest of your life. And so

541
00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:58,320
Speaker 1: when he would infuse positivity into my path, that's really

542
00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,280
Speaker 1: all I needed to know it was possible and to

543
00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,160
Speaker 1: go the distance. And I think that's what's so magical.

544
00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:09,360
Speaker 1: And I think that's what everybody, everybody accomplishing something must understand.

545
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,520
Speaker 1: There is someone looking up to you and literally you

546
00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,800
Speaker 1: just seeing them, smiling at them, giving him one or

547
00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:20,080
Speaker 1: two words of courage can really take you the distance.

548
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,880
Speaker 1: And you ain't lying because I was just thinking about that,

549
00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:26,920
Speaker 1: like a two second conversation with whoever my mentor is

550
00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:31,040
Speaker 1: at the time is gives me life. What about Debbie Allen,

551
00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:33,680
Speaker 1: because she said come to l A and move with me.

552
00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:35,720
Speaker 1: She saw you and your friend do your thing and

553
00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:36,960
Speaker 1: she was like, get to the back of the line.

554
00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:38,600
Speaker 1: I won't show you any special privilege, but I will

555
00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:41,920
Speaker 1: show your special privilege. And then she said, come and

556
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,440
Speaker 1: move with me, and I'm gonna just I'm gonna nurture

557
00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:46,400
Speaker 1: you take one of my All the things she did,

558
00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:50,760
Speaker 1: she did more than she had to do. Debbie Allen

559
00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:56,520
Speaker 1: is one. She's a one of one period. She you know,

560
00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:01,080
Speaker 1: started as a dancer, turned mogul on a sleep. Um.

561
00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:03,360
Speaker 1: There are so few dancers that you can look at

562
00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:10,040
Speaker 1: just dancers period, that become multimillionaires, that become executive producers, writers, directors,

563
00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:13,120
Speaker 1: starring acting. I mean the whole night. On top of that,

564
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:18,120
Speaker 1: she's a black woman that went that survived segregation, you know,

565
00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:21,400
Speaker 1: and that thrived and then has made the way for others.

566
00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:26,200
Speaker 1: So when I when I lived with Debbie, okay, it

567
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:28,920
Speaker 1: was the greatest ever. It's like an episode of the

568
00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:32,840
Speaker 1: you know, a TV show because she is everything you

569
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:39,640
Speaker 1: imagine from from the you know, the the mother that

570
00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,440
Speaker 1: makes sure that everybody has cleaned up, done the dishes,

571
00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:46,160
Speaker 1: handle business. You know. It's like she has support staff.

572
00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:50,080
Speaker 1: They're not yours, they're her. She's earned it. You let's

573
00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:55,600
Speaker 1: sauce right and cleaning ladies cleaning for me, not for you.

574
00:33:55,760 --> 00:34:01,560
Speaker 1: Go ahead exactly and uh she But then simultaneously she'll

575
00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:03,400
Speaker 1: be like, baby, sit down and make some frad chicken.

576
00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:05,920
Speaker 1: Let's chat, and then she's gonna talk to you about

577
00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:09,160
Speaker 1: life the full scope. Then the flip side is I

578
00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:11,960
Speaker 1: got to see her at one am, sitting on her

579
00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:16,320
Speaker 1: couch with a script, marking out her direction notes that

580
00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:19,000
Speaker 1: she was going to be if she was directing, you know, television,

581
00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:22,320
Speaker 1: that whole time, marking out the script and working on

582
00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:25,040
Speaker 1: her notes and staying up and burning that midnight oil

583
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:27,560
Speaker 1: to make sure she was prepared for the next day.

584
00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:31,360
Speaker 1: So I got to see that firsthand. Um when I

585
00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:33,800
Speaker 1: also got to be at her house when people like

586
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:38,680
Speaker 1: Michael Jackson called her and said, Debbie, I need advice,

587
00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:40,960
Speaker 1: or Debbie, I want to learn how to turn? Can

588
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:44,480
Speaker 1: I come learn how to turn? What does that mean? Uh?

589
00:34:44,680 --> 00:34:49,960
Speaker 1: Like do a pier wet like specific dance moves. He

590
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,400
Speaker 1: would call and Debbie would make a private lesson for

591
00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:57,279
Speaker 1: him in her in her home studio or when I

592
00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:00,799
Speaker 1: came home. Okay, this is crazy. I walk into her

593
00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:04,680
Speaker 1: house just a normal day. I walk in, I looked

594
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:08,600
Speaker 1: to the left and it's her piano, which is already

595
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:14,399
Speaker 1: fierce at her pianos. Stevie Wonder playing All in Love

596
00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:20,080
Speaker 1: is fair? Okay, I start crying, Debbie, baby, come on over,

597
00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:22,760
Speaker 1: listen to Stevie, come on over. I'm like, you can't

598
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,960
Speaker 1: just act like this as normal. I want over right.

599
00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:28,680
Speaker 1: You can't just act with This's not normal, Debbie. I

600
00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:31,120
Speaker 1: don't be like, come over here, Stevie Wonder playing the

601
00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:32,960
Speaker 1: piano in my house. Debbie. First of all, I am

602
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:35,320
Speaker 1: in your house. Second of all, wander from the piano,

603
00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:39,160
Speaker 1: and third of all, all of this is a movie, yes, exactly.

604
00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:42,480
Speaker 1: And it was things like that. So when she started directing,

605
00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:45,560
Speaker 1: um all of us, we got to go to set.

606
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:47,759
Speaker 1: And so I see, I'm watching Will Smith and Jada

607
00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:51,160
Speaker 1: Pinkett executive produce their TV show, and I'm just like, huh,

608
00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:54,759
Speaker 1: this is amazing. So she put me in this in

609
00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:57,560
Speaker 1: the room where it happens. She put me in the

610
00:35:57,640 --> 00:36:00,080
Speaker 1: room where it happens always, and I would come my

611
00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:04,399
Speaker 1: note my notepad and pen, jotting my notes down, paying

612
00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:11,239
Speaker 1: attention and just being a humble learner listener in the room.

613
00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:16,719
Speaker 1: And what then happened is I when I you know,

614
00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:18,680
Speaker 1: got on my own two feed, on my own place

615
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:24,520
Speaker 1: and whatnot. Then um, she challenged me to start producing events.

616
00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:28,240
Speaker 1: And so at her academy, I was, I was training,

617
00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:36,319
Speaker 1: teaching and producing, and what's the connection between because you're

618
00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:40,120
Speaker 1: when you're a choreographer, you're producing in essence, right, So

619
00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:44,360
Speaker 1: that is the connection, right, So well what it is?

620
00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:48,480
Speaker 1: I mean, yes, indeed it's not in your job description,

621
00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:52,160
Speaker 1: but you are because as a choreographer, you are hiring

622
00:36:52,239 --> 00:36:57,000
Speaker 1: the dancers, scheduling you know where where you're going to

623
00:36:57,080 --> 00:36:59,800
Speaker 1: rehearse when you need to rehearse. You're thinking about what

624
00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:01,680
Speaker 1: a be wearing. You're thinking about what does the set

625
00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:05,080
Speaker 1: look like. You're working with all of the departments to

626
00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:10,719
Speaker 1: bring the movement of the piece to life. So in

627
00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:13,000
Speaker 1: the in the in the sense of a television show,

628
00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:16,279
Speaker 1: that is every person in it that's going to move,

629
00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:19,719
Speaker 1: whether it's lots of dancing or a little bit of dancing,

630
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:21,880
Speaker 1: you're responsible for how that is presented and what it

631
00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:24,320
Speaker 1: looks like. Same in a in a movie. And so

632
00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:28,840
Speaker 1: at that time I was, I was choreographing syncopated ladies

633
00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:31,680
Speaker 1: and all the various things we were doing, and teaching

634
00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:34,600
Speaker 1: dance classes to all of her incredible youth at the

635
00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:40,719
Speaker 1: Academy and then also actually producing a dance event so

636
00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:45,879
Speaker 1: that we could have master teachers come, performances, concert jam

637
00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:50,480
Speaker 1: session like a full festival um Attack festival. And so

638
00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:56,520
Speaker 1: that was incredible because she gave me massive responsibility and

639
00:37:56,560 --> 00:38:01,720
Speaker 1: a budget early on to try to make things happen

640
00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:05,399
Speaker 1: and so uh and after we had a really successful event,

641
00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:07,400
Speaker 1: then she hired me to do all of her galas.

642
00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:10,719
Speaker 1: So now as a young twenties something year old, I'm

643
00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:14,360
Speaker 1: responsible for, you know, a couple hundred thousand dollar budget

644
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:18,320
Speaker 1: and trying to raise millions of dollars. And that was

645
00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:21,960
Speaker 1: incredible because it taught me so much about how do

646
00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:25,960
Speaker 1: I build my business out. So when I what I

647
00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:29,880
Speaker 1: call graduated, the I looked at that time period is

648
00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:33,560
Speaker 1: like grad school. So when I graduated, this the school

649
00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:36,400
Speaker 1: of Debbie Allen. You know round. I mean there are

650
00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:40,120
Speaker 1: many rounds of her school, but that in particular round. UM.

651
00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:43,759
Speaker 1: I was ready to produce syncopated ladies and to figure

652
00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:46,000
Speaker 1: out how we put ourselves on the map, and she

653
00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:48,440
Speaker 1: was all for it because I was like Debbie, now

654
00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:50,840
Speaker 1: I got to apply all these lessons you taught me

655
00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:55,640
Speaker 1: to my life and she was so incredible in just

656
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:59,160
Speaker 1: giving me a beautiful send off to like go out

657
00:38:59,239 --> 00:39:02,360
Speaker 1: there and figure hear it out and um along the way.

658
00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:06,319
Speaker 1: She's always been in my corner. So my first choreography

659
00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:09,800
Speaker 1: job on television was thanks to her, um putting my

660
00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:11,680
Speaker 1: name in the hat, and then I had to go interview.

661
00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:14,400
Speaker 1: But without my name in that hat, I wouldn't have

662
00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:18,480
Speaker 1: got my first television credit. And from there, um, we

663
00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:20,560
Speaker 1: did a great job. And that's you know the nature

664
00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:23,040
Speaker 1: of the business. You do great here, you get referred

665
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:27,000
Speaker 1: on and you know it's a beautiful. She didn't refer

666
00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:31,320
Speaker 1: you though, because she Okay, this is my baby. She

667
00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:33,520
Speaker 1: was like she can do it. Like she seems like

668
00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:36,440
Speaker 1: a no nonsense like don't come here, have step And

669
00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:38,680
Speaker 1: she's like me, like, I'm not putting your name nowhere

670
00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:40,680
Speaker 1: you go. You don't live on my name. You better

671
00:39:40,719 --> 00:39:42,880
Speaker 1: have your act together. Don't live on my name and

672
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,520
Speaker 1: not know what you're doing it? Right? Corn, Are you

673
00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:50,080
Speaker 1: a Capricorn? No? But I love Capricorn women. Capercart women

674
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:57,920
Speaker 1: are uh they gangster? You know they? Yeah? So, Jeffy,

675
00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:03,360
Speaker 1: you cannot play games with her. Debbie Allen requires excellence.

676
00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:07,560
Speaker 1: I remember when I um when I worked in her

677
00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:11,160
Speaker 1: office and we were promoting something and this is before

678
00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:14,160
Speaker 1: like Google, this is way back. And she's like, Chloe,

679
00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:17,320
Speaker 1: I need to we need interviews all across the nation

680
00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:19,879
Speaker 1: to promote this. And I was like, oh, okay, great,

681
00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:21,640
Speaker 1: and she said great, so get me on the radio

682
00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:25,680
Speaker 1: across the nation. I was like, m I have no

683
00:40:25,880 --> 00:40:28,800
Speaker 1: idea how to do this, but do it. She's like,

684
00:40:28,880 --> 00:40:31,120
Speaker 1: I know, you'll figure it out. And I said okay.

685
00:40:31,719 --> 00:40:34,719
Speaker 1: So I pull out the Yellow Pages and I'm like

686
00:40:35,719 --> 00:40:40,720
Speaker 1: looking places like but that's who she is. I like, okay,

687
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:46,120
Speaker 1: who do I has one hundred? Tom Joyner, you know,

688
00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:48,600
Speaker 1: K D A Y whatever. You're like, I don't know

689
00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:52,279
Speaker 1: when a power one oh six? Like what how does

690
00:40:52,360 --> 00:40:55,759
Speaker 1: it happen? I love this story. I love this Okay, wait, okay, wait,

691
00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:59,279
Speaker 1: so I digress. I got so caught up at but

692
00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:01,799
Speaker 1: I do I do want to ask you this? Yes,

693
00:41:03,800 --> 00:41:08,080
Speaker 1: the your list of credits beyond if I sit here

694
00:41:08,120 --> 00:41:09,680
Speaker 1: and listen to her credits, guys, we'll be here all

695
00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:13,879
Speaker 1: day beyond. I want to pull up what you're I'm

696
00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:17,680
Speaker 1: assuming assistant sent to me fifty episodes of The Late

697
00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:21,680
Speaker 1: Late Show with James Corton choreographer. A list actors were

698
00:41:21,719 --> 00:41:24,080
Speaker 1: there that you helped. I remember the Will Smith's kit.

699
00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:28,400
Speaker 1: That's my boo, Chloe, Qugh Jackman, who's already a dancer

700
00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:32,680
Speaker 1: in herself. That's my boo Chloe, pop Stars, Arianna Grande

701
00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:37,920
Speaker 1: and BTS. That's my book. Y'all take a moment. I'm

702
00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:42,600
Speaker 1: gonna say these names again. Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, Ariana Grande, BTS.

703
00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:45,520
Speaker 1: She's teaching them how to do the things on the

704
00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:47,839
Speaker 1: James Corton Show because she's like, I'm the one they

705
00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:53,799
Speaker 1: picked her. You now have a movie that you choreographed

706
00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:56,640
Speaker 1: that's on Apple TV. Plus. It's a musical film called

707
00:41:56,719 --> 00:42:01,080
Speaker 1: Spirited with Will Ferrell, Ryan Went, Ryan Reynold Dug Get

708
00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:05,799
Speaker 1: it Out, and Octavia Spencer and Jerry Seinfeld's Unfrosted, which

709
00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:08,319
Speaker 1: is gonna be on Netflix. You and Jerry your best friends.

710
00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:10,680
Speaker 1: You were telling me about this at dinner. I'm not naming.

711
00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:13,040
Speaker 1: I'm not a little Pook Pook's uncle down the street,

712
00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:15,560
Speaker 1: which is fine. Little Pook pook uncles down street is fine.

713
00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:18,319
Speaker 1: But we're talking a list a list a listener. People

714
00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:22,359
Speaker 1: trust you too, Okay, who do I need? If I said,

715
00:42:22,520 --> 00:42:25,520
Speaker 1: I need the best in choreography, and I and I

716
00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:28,239
Speaker 1: know that Debbie Allen is busy, right, We're not taking

717
00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:31,160
Speaker 1: anything away from our boo Debbie, but I need somebody

718
00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:34,800
Speaker 1: this who was just like her, who has time to

719
00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:36,960
Speaker 1: do it right now and can do this and do that.

720
00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:40,920
Speaker 1: It's you, they call you. How do you feel about that?

721
00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:43,080
Speaker 1: Do you see this list that I just read off

722
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:45,440
Speaker 1: that you actually already know about because you work with

723
00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:49,920
Speaker 1: these people. It's really wild hearing you say it out loud,

724
00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:54,440
Speaker 1: you know, because it's it's very surreal. Um when I was,

725
00:42:54,840 --> 00:42:58,360
Speaker 1: It's not surreal, it's excellence. It's black and excellence. You

726
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:05,080
Speaker 1: are excellent, Thank you excellent. How do you feel? I

727
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:09,319
Speaker 1: feel very thankful, you know. I feel filled with gratitude

728
00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:13,880
Speaker 1: because when I remember in about two thousand three, Debbie

729
00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:17,279
Speaker 1: Allen would introduce me to people as her protegee, and

730
00:43:17,480 --> 00:43:21,920
Speaker 1: that like, oh gave me chills of all all kinds

731
00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:24,959
Speaker 1: right where I'm like so touched and then petrified because

732
00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:27,800
Speaker 1: I haven't done anything yet, and I'm like, oh gosh,

733
00:43:28,400 --> 00:43:30,239
Speaker 1: you know, how am I gonna? How am I going

734
00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:35,040
Speaker 1: to actually do something with this this affirmation that she

735
00:43:35,239 --> 00:43:40,400
Speaker 1: has declared and so what I feel right now? You know,

736
00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:43,399
Speaker 1: when I got my Emmy nomination, that was my first

737
00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:48,520
Speaker 1: moment of saying, okay, okay, I understand. She knew this

738
00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:52,600
Speaker 1: could happen because she's won three Emmy's and been nominated

739
00:43:52,719 --> 00:43:58,080
Speaker 1: nineteen times. Okay. And it was she presented she presented

740
00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:01,200
Speaker 1: my certificate, my nomination and certificate to me at the

741
00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:05,680
Speaker 1: Television Academy. That moment I sobbed. I sobbed because it

742
00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:09,200
Speaker 1: was like, Wow, you knew this before I knew this,

743
00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:13,440
Speaker 1: You knew the degree to which I could go. And

744
00:44:14,239 --> 00:44:16,880
Speaker 1: I remember again years later, and now we're talking like

745
00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:20,239
Speaker 1: ten years after her kind of saying that out loud. Um.

746
00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:23,000
Speaker 1: I was at her house and we were um I

747
00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:26,440
Speaker 1: had She said, oh, text me, text text yourself from

748
00:44:26,480 --> 00:44:30,120
Speaker 1: my phone. So I opened her phone and in her phone,

749
00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:36,040
Speaker 1: I'm saved as protege. And I I was like, oh

750
00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:44,080
Speaker 1: my God, like I I must, I must achieve, I

751
00:44:44,400 --> 00:44:49,600
Speaker 1: must pay homage, I must continue her legacy. And so

752
00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:56,960
Speaker 1: this film Spirited is really now go watch it right now, Yes,

753
00:44:57,840 --> 00:45:06,279
Speaker 1: yes you must. It is so monumental because it's it's

754
00:45:06,480 --> 00:45:09,360
Speaker 1: kind of that moment of culmination of all the things

755
00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:13,000
Speaker 1: where I'm performing in it as well. All of the

756
00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:17,040
Speaker 1: syncopated ladies are tap dancing in this movie. My sister

757
00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:20,799
Speaker 1: has is acting in it. I'm acting in it. Um.

758
00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:25,240
Speaker 1: These a listeners, Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell and Tavis Spencer,

759
00:45:25,800 --> 00:45:31,800
Speaker 1: they had they honored, they honored the work, they honored

760
00:45:32,239 --> 00:45:37,759
Speaker 1: the art. They wanted to see the dance thrive. They

761
00:45:37,840 --> 00:45:41,120
Speaker 1: wanted to see us thrive. And they gave it all.

762
00:45:41,239 --> 00:45:44,680
Speaker 1: They gave it their all to make sure that this

763
00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:49,400
Speaker 1: movement that we are a part of would be seen

764
00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:53,120
Speaker 1: by the world. And because Spirited is an Apple film,

765
00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:56,319
Speaker 1: it literally is being seen by the world. And I'm

766
00:45:56,719 --> 00:45:59,759
Speaker 1: so touched to be getting messages from Australia and Croatia

767
00:46:00,040 --> 00:46:04,040
Speaker 1: and South Africa of folks saying I'm watching Spirited and

768
00:46:04,160 --> 00:46:07,720
Speaker 1: I'm like, tap dance this. You know. I saw Gregory

769
00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:10,399
Speaker 1: Hynes in the movie Tap and I said I want

770
00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:13,360
Speaker 1: to do this. And now thirty years later, it's real

771
00:46:14,080 --> 00:46:18,880
Speaker 1: and and I'm excited for whomever is watching getting that

772
00:46:19,040 --> 00:46:22,080
Speaker 1: same inspiration and saying I can do that, and so

773
00:46:22,239 --> 00:46:25,840
Speaker 1: that this art form never never dies, that it always

774
00:46:26,120 --> 00:46:29,800
Speaker 1: stays alive, and that it's a part of Black history

775
00:46:30,440 --> 00:46:34,240
Speaker 1: and and the and honestly, tap dancers were the first

776
00:46:34,880 --> 00:46:39,920
Speaker 1: activists and entertainment because they were the first superstars in entertainment,

777
00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:43,160
Speaker 1: and they paved the way for us to be in

778
00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:47,239
Speaker 1: movies and television and be respected. And they you know,

779
00:46:47,640 --> 00:46:50,840
Speaker 1: made a lot of sacrifice but also fought the cause

780
00:46:51,440 --> 00:46:54,000
Speaker 1: to make it so that our voices wouldn't be erased.

781
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:57,480
Speaker 1: Race every chepian and care Chappi is to be champian,

782
00:46:57,560 --> 00:46:59,920
Speaker 1: a Chappi and they carry Chepi and they carry chet.

783
00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:04,000
Speaker 1: Be champion and carry chappion and carry Chappi sports and

784
00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:11,920
Speaker 1: the same make and make it work Cheppion they carry

785
00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:14,600
Speaker 1: Chappion is to be a champion, a champion, they carry

786
00:47:14,719 --> 00:47:18,720
Speaker 1: chappion Chappi and they carry champion. They car with Chappi

787
00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:25,200
Speaker 1: and make so many things to say, your story is

788
00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:29,279
Speaker 1: so inspiring because often I try to tell folks that

789
00:47:30,040 --> 00:47:32,760
Speaker 1: you know, if it's meant for you, yours is yours.

790
00:47:33,320 --> 00:47:36,160
Speaker 1: I'm sure there are opportunities that you didn't get, things

791
00:47:36,239 --> 00:47:38,680
Speaker 1: that were you were that broke your heart because you

792
00:47:38,760 --> 00:47:42,520
Speaker 1: didn't get the yes. But when you look back over

793
00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:46,759
Speaker 1: your life and you just you take a moment, you

794
00:47:46,880 --> 00:47:49,319
Speaker 1: realize you're like, no, actually I got a lot of things,

795
00:47:50,080 --> 00:47:51,880
Speaker 1: Like I had an opportunity to meet my heroes. I

796
00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:54,719
Speaker 1: watched this man, Gregory Hines in a movie and said,

797
00:47:54,840 --> 00:47:57,640
Speaker 1: that's what I want to do. Full circle. I'm doing that.

798
00:47:58,040 --> 00:47:59,520
Speaker 1: Not only I get to meet him, I am doing

799
00:47:59,600 --> 00:48:02,960
Speaker 1: exactly what he did, perhaps even on a larger scale.

800
00:48:04,040 --> 00:48:07,680
Speaker 1: And you give back. You have a foundation in which

801
00:48:07,719 --> 00:48:10,720
Speaker 1: you and your sister teach kids how to tap dance

802
00:48:10,760 --> 00:48:12,520
Speaker 1: for free, to do it for free. That word is

803
00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:18,160
Speaker 1: my favorite word. You have worked. I mean, your philanthropy,

804
00:48:19,600 --> 00:48:24,359
Speaker 1: low key, might be bigger than the work that you're

805
00:48:24,400 --> 00:48:27,400
Speaker 1: actually doing with these A listers. Like to me, that's

806
00:48:27,440 --> 00:48:30,520
Speaker 1: going to be your legacy. Your philanthropy you and your

807
00:48:30,600 --> 00:48:36,600
Speaker 1: sister my bum sweetest can be that makey is y'all legacy.

808
00:48:37,120 --> 00:48:41,160
Speaker 1: You all are doing what everybody did for you. So

809
00:48:42,520 --> 00:48:46,480
Speaker 1: how difficult is it to stay It's quite a difficult

810
00:48:46,520 --> 00:48:51,200
Speaker 1: to stay positive. How do you push through in a

811
00:48:51,360 --> 00:48:54,520
Speaker 1: business that only says only one of one can be

812
00:48:55,360 --> 00:48:57,239
Speaker 1: It can only be Debbie Allen? All right, Fine, if

813
00:48:57,239 --> 00:48:58,959
Speaker 1: it's not gonna be Debbe Allen will be you because

814
00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:01,239
Speaker 1: you're young to her. But there can be no We

815
00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:03,040
Speaker 1: already want one other. We can't. We can't have you.

816
00:49:03,160 --> 00:49:06,880
Speaker 1: We want to go with another another dancer, Grianne. I'm

817
00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:09,880
Speaker 1: thinking of something choreographer, right, Uh no, it can't be you.

818
00:49:10,200 --> 00:49:13,400
Speaker 1: We want to go with whoever the flavor of the

819
00:49:13,520 --> 00:49:18,600
Speaker 1: month is because they danced in a Drake video. I

820
00:49:18,600 --> 00:49:22,239
Speaker 1: don't know, I'm making up something, right. How difficult is

821
00:49:22,280 --> 00:49:27,200
Speaker 1: it for you as a black woman to persevere? Yeah, well,

822
00:49:27,520 --> 00:49:32,680
Speaker 1: I think as we know. I mean, the way the

823
00:49:32,840 --> 00:49:37,359
Speaker 1: black experience is honestly the same across all fields, right,

824
00:49:37,920 --> 00:49:40,279
Speaker 1: so struggle that when That's why I love sitting with

825
00:49:40,400 --> 00:49:42,520
Speaker 1: you and talking about your life when we get our

826
00:49:42,680 --> 00:49:45,680
Speaker 1: you know, sister time, because well you're feeling I'm feeling,

827
00:49:45,960 --> 00:49:49,840
Speaker 1: and we feel it in our respective fields. And so

828
00:49:51,200 --> 00:49:54,880
Speaker 1: what the way that I maintain is honestly by building

829
00:49:54,960 --> 00:50:00,480
Speaker 1: my sister circle so huge that I am perpetually around

830
00:50:01,239 --> 00:50:05,920
Speaker 1: black excellence and perpetually around black women who are excellent

831
00:50:06,440 --> 00:50:10,960
Speaker 1: and so and I and I resist the it can

832
00:50:11,080 --> 00:50:13,600
Speaker 1: only be one of us by way of bringing my

833
00:50:13,760 --> 00:50:16,880
Speaker 1: sisters with me. And so when I was doing when

834
00:50:16,960 --> 00:50:19,440
Speaker 1: I was touring the world as a soloist, honestly I

835
00:50:19,480 --> 00:50:22,880
Speaker 1: could have kept doing that, but I honestly had a

836
00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:25,360
Speaker 1: sit down moment with myself, and I was like, this

837
00:50:25,719 --> 00:50:29,480
Speaker 1: is not fulfilling enough. I don't want to do this alone.

838
00:50:29,640 --> 00:50:32,200
Speaker 1: I want to do it with my sister, my blood sister,

839
00:50:32,280 --> 00:50:34,800
Speaker 1: and I want to do it with my sisters. And

840
00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:38,360
Speaker 1: so instead of kind of just saying staying in my

841
00:50:38,480 --> 00:50:41,919
Speaker 1: safe space of where I was already doing pretty well,

842
00:50:42,320 --> 00:50:44,359
Speaker 1: I was like, I'm gonna risk all of my money

843
00:50:44,680 --> 00:50:47,759
Speaker 1: and everything i have to build syncopated ladies so that

844
00:50:48,280 --> 00:50:51,279
Speaker 1: when we get these opportunities like this movie, you're gonna

845
00:50:51,320 --> 00:50:53,920
Speaker 1: see all of them in the movie. And the greatest

846
00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:58,600
Speaker 1: feeling um of this accomplishment was that one of our

847
00:50:59,480 --> 00:51:03,440
Speaker 1: speaking of ailanthropy, one of our scholarship students whose family

848
00:51:04,120 --> 00:51:07,200
Speaker 1: was living in a shelter for a minute and now

849
00:51:07,560 --> 00:51:12,759
Speaker 1: fortunately are doing a lot better. Yeah, when they saw

850
00:51:12,960 --> 00:51:16,680
Speaker 1: Spirit in theaters because we hosted uh free screenings in

851
00:51:16,880 --> 00:51:18,600
Speaker 1: l A, d C. And New York for all of

852
00:51:18,640 --> 00:51:22,279
Speaker 1: our community kids. When they saw the movie, they went

853
00:51:22,360 --> 00:51:26,040
Speaker 1: home and they said her name is Lauren. I'm gonna

854
00:51:26,120 --> 00:51:29,160
Speaker 1: give a shoutouts Lauren. Lauren said to her mom, Mom,

855
00:51:29,480 --> 00:51:33,040
Speaker 1: one day, I'm gonna make movies like kloea Maud and

856
00:51:33,120 --> 00:51:37,439
Speaker 1: I'm gonna put oh my sisters in it. Hey, Hey,

857
00:51:38,760 --> 00:51:41,360
Speaker 1: that's how why we do it. That's why we do it.

858
00:51:41,680 --> 00:51:44,080
Speaker 1: That's why we do it. We do it because we

859
00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:46,120
Speaker 1: hold the door open for the next because we know

860
00:51:46,239 --> 00:51:48,520
Speaker 1: how hard it is. And if we don't keep doing that,

861
00:51:48,880 --> 00:51:51,920
Speaker 1: if we don't make that the norm, they don't see us.

862
00:51:52,280 --> 00:51:56,320
Speaker 1: We don't normalize us being in positions of power and

863
00:51:56,440 --> 00:52:01,040
Speaker 1: using our platform A. I love you for at Okay,

864
00:52:01,440 --> 00:52:03,960
Speaker 1: So y'all, yeah, gotta watch Spirited. That's just what it is.

865
00:52:04,239 --> 00:52:06,719
Speaker 1: I'm about to download right now. I didn't do my

866
00:52:06,760 --> 00:52:09,080
Speaker 1: homework because I've been working eighteen thousand jobs. But I'm

867
00:52:09,080 --> 00:52:13,759
Speaker 1: gonna go download right now. Um, you have a I

868
00:52:13,880 --> 00:52:16,000
Speaker 1: wasn't glad you haven't seen it yet because you know

869
00:52:16,080 --> 00:52:19,279
Speaker 1: it's holidays, because you know it's perfect, it's perfect timing.

870
00:52:19,400 --> 00:52:21,319
Speaker 1: It's a good holiday film. You guys have to check

871
00:52:21,360 --> 00:52:23,759
Speaker 1: it out. I UM, I also want to give her

872
00:52:23,760 --> 00:52:27,880
Speaker 1: a shout out because unfrosted with Jerry Seinfeld, who had

873
00:52:27,920 --> 00:52:30,600
Speaker 1: the greatest show about TV show of all time. Uh,

874
00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:33,239
Speaker 1: in terms of comedies, don't debate me on that. That

875
00:52:33,360 --> 00:52:36,120
Speaker 1: was one of my top top two, top ten top

876
00:52:36,200 --> 00:52:40,080
Speaker 1: five shows. Um, you told me a story about how

877
00:52:40,160 --> 00:52:43,760
Speaker 1: he just after you guys filmed, or he just always

878
00:52:43,800 --> 00:52:46,399
Speaker 1: wanted to be around you because and I already know why.

879
00:52:46,760 --> 00:52:49,000
Speaker 1: It's not that oh he was like, oh creepy, you hot.

880
00:52:49,120 --> 00:52:52,239
Speaker 1: It's because of your energy. It's because of your He's

881
00:52:52,280 --> 00:52:55,400
Speaker 1: not even like that. It's because of what you stand for.

882
00:52:55,840 --> 00:53:00,279
Speaker 1: And it's refreshing in this world called Hollywood. It's refreshing

883
00:53:00,320 --> 00:53:03,880
Speaker 1: to see people love what they do. It's refreshing for

884
00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:06,839
Speaker 1: people to be passionate about what they do without an

885
00:53:06,960 --> 00:53:10,960
Speaker 1: ulterior motive. You know what I mean? Yes, are My

886
00:53:11,160 --> 00:53:15,960
Speaker 1: time with Jerry on On Frosted was one of those

887
00:53:16,040 --> 00:53:19,719
Speaker 1: things where you just go wow, like that moment that

888
00:53:20,160 --> 00:53:23,080
Speaker 1: I worked with him for two months and honestly, I

889
00:53:23,160 --> 00:53:26,040
Speaker 1: was only supposed to be on the job for like

890
00:53:26,200 --> 00:53:29,920
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks, you know, at most, and he

891
00:53:30,239 --> 00:53:34,480
Speaker 1: requested that I stayed for the whole time. And you know,

892
00:53:35,040 --> 00:53:36,920
Speaker 1: there was a moment where he said, now I know

893
00:53:37,520 --> 00:53:42,560
Speaker 1: why people love dance so much, because you all make

894
00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:47,560
Speaker 1: the room feel so good, it feels so alive. And

895
00:53:48,040 --> 00:53:49,680
Speaker 1: he was like, because I was telling I was like, Jerry,

896
00:53:49,760 --> 00:53:52,520
Speaker 1: That's when he came to rehearsal and everybody was all high.

897
00:53:52,600 --> 00:53:54,920
Speaker 1: I was like, that's that's how it always is. He's like,

898
00:53:55,440 --> 00:54:00,640
Speaker 1: this is unbelievable, this energy. I need this energy in energy?

899
00:54:02,200 --> 00:54:06,239
Speaker 1: Who first? Is there anybody? Is there somebody that you like,

900
00:54:06,400 --> 00:54:07,880
Speaker 1: you have a dream that you want to work with,

901
00:54:07,880 --> 00:54:10,040
Speaker 1: because I'm all like, you've worked with everybody, You've done

902
00:54:10,080 --> 00:54:14,640
Speaker 1: everything with everyone. Is there someone on the list left? Yes? Okay,

903
00:54:15,560 --> 00:54:20,759
Speaker 1: we're going to manifest so um the future endeavor. Um,

904
00:54:21,200 --> 00:54:26,799
Speaker 1: we're actually about to record a Christmas single, a tap

905
00:54:26,880 --> 00:54:32,600
Speaker 1: dancing single. We're gonna make a tap dancing album. Okay, okay, yes,

906
00:54:32,880 --> 00:54:35,040
Speaker 1: oh yeah, this is the new thing, get ready for it.

907
00:54:35,640 --> 00:54:39,279
Speaker 1: And um, but what I would love to do as

908
00:54:39,320 --> 00:54:42,520
Speaker 1: we're making our own syncopelas album is I would love to,

909
00:54:42,880 --> 00:54:46,840
Speaker 1: you know, collaborate with the likes of Bruno, Mars and

910
00:54:47,040 --> 00:54:56,120
Speaker 1: Drake musically. Okay, let's affirm that Beyonce is always you know,

911
00:54:56,640 --> 00:54:59,520
Speaker 1: I love to everyone else, but she's always number one period. Um.

912
00:55:00,719 --> 00:55:04,360
Speaker 1: But yes, but I want cap dancing to be a

913
00:55:04,560 --> 00:55:07,920
Speaker 1: part like a musical instrument, but also a lead vocal

914
00:55:08,360 --> 00:55:12,719
Speaker 1: in music. And uh I intend to do that. And

915
00:55:12,840 --> 00:55:15,160
Speaker 1: then in terms of two people I hope to meet

916
00:55:16,080 --> 00:55:19,239
Speaker 1: that I already in my mind, I'm already friends with them,

917
00:55:19,360 --> 00:55:21,359
Speaker 1: very much like how you are, Like I'm already friends.

918
00:55:21,360 --> 00:55:25,000
Speaker 1: They're already friends in my head. Um are Oprah and

919
00:55:25,239 --> 00:55:28,720
Speaker 1: the Obama's I've already like it's already in my dreams,

920
00:55:28,760 --> 00:55:31,560
Speaker 1: it's already happened, So now it just has happened in

921
00:55:31,600 --> 00:55:34,480
Speaker 1: real life. Yeah, I've met Oprah once, Michelle a few

922
00:55:34,520 --> 00:55:37,440
Speaker 1: times snap my photos. But I want a relationship like

923
00:55:37,560 --> 00:55:39,520
Speaker 1: where I want. I want to call her and he says,

924
00:55:39,600 --> 00:55:47,000
Speaker 1: protege and her phone. I manifest, Harry, you're going over

925
00:55:47,320 --> 00:55:50,239
Speaker 1: to Oprah's for lunch soon. Oh no, we're gonna be

926
00:55:50,320 --> 00:55:52,759
Speaker 1: in that thing, you know. I follow her obviously on

927
00:55:52,840 --> 00:55:55,359
Speaker 1: the social So she does that Thanksgiving tradition where when

928
00:55:55,400 --> 00:55:57,600
Speaker 1: you come, she dances and she greets you. I will,

929
00:55:57,600 --> 00:56:00,160
Speaker 1: I'm ready for my dance when she reads me at

930
00:56:00,160 --> 00:56:02,560
Speaker 1: the top of the compound and we just hang out,

931
00:56:02,600 --> 00:56:04,399
Speaker 1: and I'm like, it's here, and I want to eat

932
00:56:04,440 --> 00:56:06,520
Speaker 1: all the foods from all the different continents, because she

933
00:56:06,680 --> 00:56:09,120
Speaker 1: out here eating all the food, bringing in chefs from

934
00:56:09,160 --> 00:56:11,319
Speaker 1: every continent to make a meal just for a day

935
00:56:11,600 --> 00:56:19,799
Speaker 1: like life we're about to do. Chloe arnold Um choreographer, actress, producer, um,

936
00:56:20,719 --> 00:56:26,040
Speaker 1: multi hyphen it, all the things, sister friends, sister um, encourager,

937
00:56:26,719 --> 00:56:29,399
Speaker 1: uh mentor. The list goes on and on. I am

938
00:56:29,480 --> 00:56:32,920
Speaker 1: go grateful for your friendship. And here's what's interesting. I

939
00:56:33,040 --> 00:56:37,560
Speaker 1: learned a lot about you today. It's like all of

940
00:56:37,640 --> 00:56:41,879
Speaker 1: our hours spent. There's there's so much depth about you too.

941
00:56:42,200 --> 00:56:44,440
Speaker 1: I love what we we just we just we get

942
00:56:44,520 --> 00:56:47,520
Speaker 1: into the whatever we can get into. And then and

943
00:56:47,560 --> 00:56:49,360
Speaker 1: then I'm like, all right, let me put my reporter

944
00:56:49,440 --> 00:56:51,800
Speaker 1: hat on and interview my girl. Yeah. I like it.

945
00:56:52,920 --> 00:56:55,960
Speaker 1: Thank you for coming on my podcast. Thank you for

946
00:56:56,760 --> 00:57:00,520
Speaker 1: having fun with us on Naked Um. And everyone please

947
00:57:00,520 --> 00:57:03,040
Speaker 1: go check out Spirited It just at your fingertips. Everybody

948
00:57:03,080 --> 00:57:07,759
Speaker 1: got Apple, Apple TV going into it. I have a

949
00:57:07,880 --> 00:57:11,640
Speaker 1: free link in my link in my bio to Apple

950
00:57:11,719 --> 00:57:15,360
Speaker 1: TV for two months, so folks, you know, alright. I

951
00:57:15,480 --> 00:57:21,040
Speaker 1: love you, Thank you, have a wonderful thank you. So

952
00:57:21,840 --> 00:57:27,000
Speaker 1: the day that I recorded this podcast, I I also

953
00:57:27,160 --> 00:57:30,240
Speaker 1: was feeling not necessarily like I had a heavy heart,

954
00:57:30,480 --> 00:57:33,120
Speaker 1: but it feels as if it goes with what we're

955
00:57:33,160 --> 00:57:39,080
Speaker 1: talking about. Lebron James made news when he decided to

956
00:57:39,680 --> 00:57:44,160
Speaker 1: challenge the media in terms of how they cover superstar

957
00:57:44,240 --> 00:57:47,800
Speaker 1: black athletes. He said, there's a double standard and the

958
00:57:47,880 --> 00:57:51,640
Speaker 1: media doesn't keep the same energy. This is in reference

959
00:57:51,720 --> 00:57:55,000
Speaker 1: to what's been going on with Kyrie, how the media

960
00:57:55,200 --> 00:57:56,960
Speaker 1: has been like what do you think about Kyrie? What

961
00:57:57,000 --> 00:58:00,160
Speaker 1: do you think about Kyrie? What do you think? It's

962
00:58:00,360 --> 00:58:02,880
Speaker 1: it almost feels like they're setting him up to say

963
00:58:02,960 --> 00:58:06,040
Speaker 1: something bad about Kyrie, and he caught up once or

964
00:58:06,080 --> 00:58:08,520
Speaker 1: twice saying something that wasn't necessarily bad, but just giving

965
00:58:08,560 --> 00:58:11,880
Speaker 1: an honest opinion. And much like myself early on, I

966
00:58:12,000 --> 00:58:16,280
Speaker 1: was like, Okay, Kyrie could be better vocally, but the

967
00:58:16,400 --> 00:58:20,520
Speaker 1: pylon really bothered me. The he has to create a

968
00:58:20,640 --> 00:58:23,320
Speaker 1: list of things to do before he does this bothered me.

969
00:58:23,520 --> 00:58:27,920
Speaker 1: I gave my opinion prior to this alleged list of

970
00:58:28,040 --> 00:58:29,720
Speaker 1: things he had to do to come back to play.

971
00:58:30,560 --> 00:58:33,760
Speaker 1: Kyrie apologized several times, too many times, if you ask me,

972
00:58:34,600 --> 00:58:36,840
Speaker 1: he did the list of things, and he's still being

973
00:58:36,960 --> 00:58:41,880
Speaker 1: the vilified. Is that a word? Yet? It is? And

974
00:58:42,000 --> 00:58:44,520
Speaker 1: it is. It's annoying me. Now I got on my

975
00:58:44,640 --> 00:58:47,160
Speaker 1: Superman hat and I'm all like, I got my Superwoman

976
00:58:47,200 --> 00:58:49,360
Speaker 1: had and I have to say no, I gotta push

977
00:58:49,440 --> 00:58:53,600
Speaker 1: back enough enough he did his time and social media jail,

978
00:58:54,200 --> 00:58:57,320
Speaker 1: he did his time away from the team. Let this

979
00:58:57,440 --> 00:59:00,880
Speaker 1: man get back to the business of basketball. But then

980
00:59:00,920 --> 00:59:03,200
Speaker 1: there's the Jerry Jones of it, all right, the owner

981
00:59:03,280 --> 00:59:06,880
Speaker 1: of the Dallas Cowboys, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys,

982
00:59:06,960 --> 00:59:10,840
Speaker 1: who was photographed at fifteen years old, some sixty years

983
00:59:10,920 --> 00:59:15,480
Speaker 1: ago on the steps of a high school. And he

984
00:59:15,640 --> 00:59:18,720
Speaker 1: was just an onlooker. But there were six black kids

985
00:59:18,760 --> 00:59:21,480
Speaker 1: who were trying to enter the high school and desegregate

986
00:59:21,600 --> 00:59:24,240
Speaker 1: the high school. The law had been passed that you

987
00:59:24,320 --> 00:59:27,600
Speaker 1: cannot separate the schools. You can't have all black schools,

988
00:59:27,840 --> 00:59:30,800
Speaker 1: you can have all white schools. Desegregation is what they

989
00:59:30,880 --> 00:59:34,080
Speaker 1: call it. And you could see Jerry Jones looking. He

990
00:59:34,240 --> 00:59:37,760
Speaker 1: wasn't jeering or using the inn word. Not to say

991
00:59:37,800 --> 00:59:40,360
Speaker 1: that he hasn't because any man who is of a

992
00:59:40,440 --> 00:59:42,240
Speaker 1: certain age, who grew up in the South, I'm sure

993
00:59:42,280 --> 00:59:46,920
Speaker 1: it's very familiar with that term. But he dismissed the

994
00:59:47,000 --> 00:59:49,080
Speaker 1: photograph and said, yeah, I was just curious. I wasn't

995
00:59:49,080 --> 00:59:51,600
Speaker 1: doing anything wrong. He didn't apologize, he didn't announce the photo.

996
00:59:51,680 --> 00:59:54,919
Speaker 1: He didn't say, it's pretty disgusting that I was standing there.

997
00:59:55,160 --> 00:59:57,240
Speaker 1: That was a really dark time in America's history. And

998
00:59:57,360 --> 01:00:01,080
Speaker 1: I was a bystander. I was a witness, and I

999
01:00:01,280 --> 01:00:03,960
Speaker 1: wasn't a vocal witness saying no, that's not right. But

1000
01:00:04,040 --> 01:00:08,120
Speaker 1: everyone's like, he was just fifteen years old, So Samir

1001
01:00:08,240 --> 01:00:12,040
Speaker 1: Rice right, how many young black men have been murdered

1002
01:00:12,240 --> 01:00:15,760
Speaker 1: that were just twelve years old, fifteen years old, thirteen

1003
01:00:15,840 --> 01:00:20,080
Speaker 1: years old, eighteen years old? Young black boys? No one

1004
01:00:20,160 --> 01:00:22,160
Speaker 1: gave them the benefit of the doubt. How old was

1005
01:00:22,200 --> 01:00:28,080
Speaker 1: Michael Brown? He was murdered carrying some skittles. We didn't

1006
01:00:28,080 --> 01:00:30,760
Speaker 1: give them the benefit of the doubt today, so why

1007
01:00:30,800 --> 01:00:33,200
Speaker 1: should we give him the benefit of the doubt? Then

1008
01:00:35,040 --> 01:00:37,720
Speaker 1: he dismissed it, The media shut it down. They didn't

1009
01:00:37,760 --> 01:00:40,680
Speaker 1: go after him, and they did not ask other athletes

1010
01:00:40,760 --> 01:00:43,360
Speaker 1: to speak on it. So Lebron and all his boldness,

1011
01:00:43,400 --> 01:00:45,400
Speaker 1: and I'm about to use this platform and say, you know,

1012
01:00:45,680 --> 01:00:49,720
Speaker 1: I'm glad you'all here because I have a question. No

1013
01:00:49,880 --> 01:00:52,440
Speaker 1: one has ever asked me about Jerry Jones, but every

1014
01:00:52,520 --> 01:00:55,560
Speaker 1: day I was asking me about Kyrie. Why is that

1015
01:00:56,240 --> 01:00:58,720
Speaker 1: Kyrie asked you to keep the same energy when the

1016
01:00:58,800 --> 01:01:01,960
Speaker 1: circumstances were different, and y'all not keeping the same energy

1017
01:01:02,840 --> 01:01:06,440
Speaker 1: he's talking to me, he's talking to other reporters, he's

1018
01:01:06,480 --> 01:01:08,880
Speaker 1: talking to all these pundits who have quick takes and

1019
01:01:08,960 --> 01:01:13,360
Speaker 1: hot takes, and I feel as if he's calling me out.

1020
01:01:14,000 --> 01:01:19,000
Speaker 1: And today, thanks to what Lebron said, I'm owning my nonsense.

1021
01:01:21,240 --> 01:01:24,840
Speaker 1: The double standard of the superstar black athlete is unfair.

1022
01:01:26,200 --> 01:01:28,440
Speaker 1: And it was a sobering moment, and I'm glad that

1023
01:01:28,560 --> 01:01:31,760
Speaker 1: Lebron said something, and I'm glad that I'm honest enough

1024
01:01:31,800 --> 01:01:35,320
Speaker 1: to say that I dropped the ball to Circumstances are different.

1025
01:01:35,640 --> 01:01:38,920
Speaker 1: It's nuanced, it's nuanced. It's nuance. But let me tell

1026
01:01:38,960 --> 01:01:42,560
Speaker 1: you something, keep the same energy. Why did we say, oh,

1027
01:01:43,040 --> 01:01:48,440
Speaker 1: Jerry joneses said he was curious, so we should back off. No, no, no, no,

1028
01:01:48,560 --> 01:01:51,640
Speaker 1: no no. We don't have the same energy for Kanye.

1029
01:01:52,080 --> 01:01:55,000
Speaker 1: We don't back off of his ridiculousness. We definitely didn't

1030
01:01:55,000 --> 01:01:57,400
Speaker 1: back off of Kyrie. And I'm not just talking about

1031
01:01:57,440 --> 01:01:59,720
Speaker 1: just people who were of Jewish sin. I'm talking about

1032
01:01:59,720 --> 01:02:02,520
Speaker 1: all all of us. Are like, enough, Kyrie, you're being ridiculous,

1033
01:02:02,600 --> 01:02:09,560
Speaker 1: knock it off. But more specifically the media, I didn't

1034
01:02:09,560 --> 01:02:12,040
Speaker 1: want to ruffle Jerry Jones's feathers. They didn't want to

1035
01:02:12,160 --> 01:02:15,000
Speaker 1: upset anybody that was a billionaire, because a billionaire can

1036
01:02:15,080 --> 01:02:18,480
Speaker 1: call your job and get you fired. Perry can't call

1037
01:02:18,560 --> 01:02:21,680
Speaker 1: a job and get us fired. That's really what it is.

1038
01:02:21,720 --> 01:02:25,640
Speaker 1: If I'm keeping it a buck until today when I

1039
01:02:25,720 --> 01:02:29,080
Speaker 1: interviewed Chloe. It's such a full circle moment because the

1040
01:02:29,200 --> 01:02:32,120
Speaker 1: moment I did meet her, the same figure in Lebron

1041
01:02:32,280 --> 01:02:36,360
Speaker 1: James had decided he was honoring black women in different

1042
01:02:36,440 --> 01:02:40,280
Speaker 1: industries and saying thank you. So today I say thank

1043
01:02:40,320 --> 01:02:43,160
Speaker 1: you to Lebron for calling me out, not by name,

1044
01:02:43,840 --> 01:02:49,000
Speaker 1: perhaps by industry. But it was a sobering moment, and

1045
01:02:49,120 --> 01:02:51,720
Speaker 1: I talked about it on my show, my Prime Video show,

1046
01:02:52,880 --> 01:02:54,440
Speaker 1: and let me tell you, when I was talking about it,

1047
01:02:54,520 --> 01:02:56,880
Speaker 1: trust me, it was uncomfortable. It was uncomfortable for me,

1048
01:02:57,080 --> 01:02:58,720
Speaker 1: and I knew it was uncomfortable with the people who

1049
01:02:58,760 --> 01:03:00,520
Speaker 1: didn't look like me. For folks who don't look like me,

1050
01:03:00,600 --> 01:03:02,919
Speaker 1: it's also uncomfortable. That's why we don't speak up because

1051
01:03:03,000 --> 01:03:07,680
Speaker 1: we fear retribution. We fear retaliation, we fear that's the

1052
01:03:07,760 --> 01:03:12,200
Speaker 1: beginning of the end for us, and it shouldn't be

1053
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Speaker 1: that way. I salute you, Lebron for two reasons. One

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Speaker 1: for being honest, two for honoring me being a black

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Speaker 1: woman in an industry when you know it's tough to

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Speaker 1: be one of one, and simultaneously introducing me to today's

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Speaker 1: guests in Chloe Arnold, I hope you all learned something today.

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Speaker 1: I hope you feel encouraged and affirmed. Those are our

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Speaker 1: words today on this podcast. We'll be back next week.

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Speaker 1: Appreciate you