Odyssey Unscripted
Open conversations, real stories and creative journeys.
Step behind the curtain with the artists of Odyssey Dance Theatre as they share company secrets, reveal never-before-heard stories, and give you an inside look at your favorite dancers and choreographers.”
Odyssey Unscripted
Odyssey Unscripted Episode 7: The Power of Dance! - Dance Activism feat. Ramses Contreras
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On this episode we meet Ramses! Listen to discover how dance can become a powerful voice. In this episode, Ramses shares the story behind his inspiring series where he dances to Ukrainian music every day. He talks about what motivated him to begin the project, the meaning behind it, and the unexpected recognition it has received along the way.
Together, we explore how dance transcends borders and cultures, serving as a universal language that connects people around the world. From personal expression to global impact, this conversation dives into how movement can reflect who we are, what we believe in, and the causes we stand for.
New episode every Friday ✨
One e and a two, three and a four. Hello.
SPEAKER_01Good everybody.
SPEAKER_02Guys, this is so crazy. I don't do the intro. Um, I am so excited for this uh podcast today because we have the most special guest I think we will have, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_00Because it's politician.
SPEAKER_02Sorry, I just we love this man sitting next to us right here. But uh this is your lovely co-host, Natalie, and I am joined with Athena and our special, special guest.
SPEAKER_01I'm Ramses.
SPEAKER_00Okay, I think we should start off with Ramsies just talking about you, talking about like your background with dance and like your schooling and everything, and the people want to know what makes you you.
SPEAKER_01Okay, let's give them what they want. Um so I was born and I was like so that was the start of my life. The doctor was very pleased with that accent. Um yeah, and then just since then I was just always dancing. I remember watching like the Prince of Egypt, and like she does like this move, and I'm like I was eight years old, just like always just always moving and grooving. And it just like carried always. Um yeah, I started like actively dancing for I started with no, I did Rex in her dance. Like, you know, like the like the embarrassing dance videos that everyone has like when they start. Like, I also have that. It was bad, like it was a bad dancer. Yeah, I was like on hip-hop and I remember feeling so cool, but I was like, not doing happens to the rest of us.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it does, it really, really does.
SPEAKER_01So I did that, and then I got into studio when I was 11. I started doing hip hop, um, competition, and then I started doing jazz, ballet, and lyrical in the ninth grade, and I got into my advanced dance team at school. Umly guy, of course. But I was the only guy everywhere, and that like is was very bad for my ego. It was like really just like bolstered it to a degree that was not healthy, not sustainable. But likely we have humbled some son and so things are good. But I went to Colitz Dance Studio, Clit, no, Clitz Dancing School, from ninth grade to, well, from sixth grade until my junior of high school. And then for my senior of high school, I went to Pioneer High School for Performing Arts. When she went to T. Yeah, so I graduated from there in 2015. That's when I met Daryl. Actually, he came and taught us a couple classes and introduced you to Odyssey and was like, hey, we want you. Yeah, there's actually he was coming to audition. He came to audition to have somebody join the company for the Christmas season. He already had his favorite pick down. I tried my best. We all tried our best, but it went to somebody else. Yes, yes, yes. So graduated in 2015, and then I did Odyssey that next year. Just jumped right out of the gate, and it was um really intimidating because I went from being like the biggest fish in a very small pond to being just a regular fish in a very big pond. Right. And um, I remember feeling so I had to like fight myself to keep convincing myself that I was the best. Like, no, you're still the best! You're the best, you're always gonna be the best. But it was out of desperation to be something that I um wasn't. It was it was it was uh coping mechanism, it was it was a safety measure to keep my because that was how I um allowed myself to make it through life was this uh heightened idea of self that only its only purpose was to yeah, truly keep me alive. And but that's not sustainable, that that couldn't actually um keep me, but I was trying to feed into it as long as possible because that's the only thing I knew as safety.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_01So um luckily, yeah, the humility came as time went through. I did Odyssey, I also went to UVU and I did their dance program, but I also jumped around, I did like dance, I did acting, and for a second, I was actually after after my second year of Odyssey, I like I was done with dance. Really? Like my soul was it was just hurt, um, which I think was part of the ego and part of um the way I approached dance in a through a lens of superiority rather than through a lens of love. And so I I truly lost myself. And so that after that year, I'm like, I'm gonna do math. What? Imagine me.
SPEAKER_02Wait, like were you gonna you were going to school like for math?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Wow. Wow. Tell us about that. I wanted to be an act, well, I didn't want to be. I was choosing to be an actuary, which they determine like big risk factor for companies and such. A nothing job.
SPEAKER_05A really soulless like a place you're gonna die. Right.
SPEAKER_01Um I've always been good at math and good numbers, so I assumed that was the and like that's like the the realistic approach to life, you know? Right, yeah. Um like my dad and my older brother were like, you won't like it. You're never gonna make it. I'm like, yeah, watch me. Watch me, right? But then I fell from like, I'm never gonna make it. I have to do something right. Yeah. And so I did that for a second, and then and then like I it was like a physical feeling. I remember feeling there was a hole, like there was like truly a hole within me. I'm like, I couldn't figure it out for like that entire year, and then I realized, oh, oh, oh, I'm an artist. I am, I am, I am. That is my ultimate truth, and that is what I have to follow. And so I gave up the realist approach to life and returned to artistry. And so yeah, I did um lots of dance, lots of acting. I ended up graduating in 2023 with my associates of science in theater arts. Wow. So I didn't have the right classes to get the associates of arts and theater arts. Yeah. So I have a science degree.
SPEAKER_00There you go. Wow. Who are you?
SPEAKER_02That's awesome. Oh my gosh. That's amazing. I like didn't know that about you. And we've known each other for only two years now. It's felt like so much longer because you're just an again an incredible human being that you just impacted my life and all of our lives in such an amazing way that you're just like, I've known him since birth. But like no. No, literally.
SPEAKER_00Like Ramsey's joined our company because Odyssey went away, and then we came back as like a whole new thing. But Ramsey's our company. Um in the spring season of last year, and it was a whole debacle. We were the boys were dropping like flies, like we literally had like three or something like that. So Daryl had to hold a separate audition for boys, and Ramseys came in and like immediately just like changed the flow in like the best way possible. Like everybody was like, This is who we needed, this is exactly what we needed in this studio, and it was beautiful. And I'm really glad that he's here with us.
SPEAKER_02Oh, thank you. Thank you. Uh, what we wanted to do with this podcast today is um titled Dance Activists Activism. Sorry. And uh we want to talk about like your new journey into what you're doing online right now and what you're posting. And I really want to go like deep into like how that came to be, like, um what's your inspiration for that? How do you make all these videos? Keep posting every day, and yeah. Yeah. How did it start? Um where'd it come from?
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna do a quick segue back. Yes, I'm gonna do that. I just want to say thank you both so much, and also like my experience with Odyssey um before this last season. Um, I felt very on the outskirts, I felt very outcast. Like, I like it was so weird because I I was able to always fit in anywhere I went, but like I was, I did not fit in then. And then now coming back, like there was that fear of like I pret I was like wanting to protect myself. Like, I'm gonna go in, no expectations, I will stick to myself, I'm I will protect my energy. Right. And then I went in, and then I met all the few people and truly just like changed entirely the way that I existed, honestly. And so now I feel safe and I feel love and so.
SPEAKER_00That's amazing. So yeah, thank you. Well, because also um he joined in the spring season and then didn't do thriller with us, and then he came to a thriller show and we're like yes, we were all so excited, like lost our minds, and then all of a sudden he was just back for Christmas. It wasn't like really a disgust thing. He was just back and we were all like, yeah. And then he'd get it. It was really great, literally. So, anyways, yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. So happy to be back.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I'm so glad.
SPEAKER_01Um, and so segueing back to this. Yeah, so I've been uh dancing to a Ukrainian song every single day for the past 360. Today will be 363.
SPEAKER_02You're almost to a year. Almost to a year.
SPEAKER_00Almost to a yeah, and I was looking, I was looking at your Instagram like last night, just like out of curiosity to see where you were and everything. I was watching all your videos, and like they like do really well. Like the lowest number I saw was like 200 something likes, which is insane. Like, I can't fathom that. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's really cool. Uh thank you. It's uh it's really cool. It's really cool. I'm excited about Instagram because it's so hard to break the Facebook. Yeah, it's such a brutal place, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Especially in this like day and age, like everyone is trying to get famous. Everyone is wanting to be an influencer, and it's just so hard to get through the door. Right. I feel like you've like broken through that already. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm like, oh my gosh, it's amazing.
SPEAKER_00And what you're doing is like so important too. You know, you're not just like getting online and being like, this is the day in my life, this is what I do. No, you're like doing something that's actually like really, really important. So talk about that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um, so I started because uh my partner who is here, she's behind the camera.
SPEAKER_03Shout out to Veronica.
SPEAKER_01That's Veronica. And um, she's Ukrainian. And um, as we know, there is a war that continues on uh there. They just had there. It feels yeah to say it but like four-year anniversary of the start of the war. And that was on February 24th, and it's continues on. And um, I don't have money, I don't really have influence, and so there's not much I can do as a singular person to um support. And so I was thinking about how can I support um from what I have available to me. And because also I also know that it's we aren't designed to connect with other people uh when it comes to violence, when it comes to torment. Um that's like our system has to shut like uh shut away shut off from that because we aren't meant to hold that and yet we are experiencing all the time, which is horrifying. Um so what I wanted to do is find a way to allow people to connect to the culture of Ukraine outside of the context of war. Because what we can connect to is art, it is through um passion, is through desires, through um imagination, um is through yeah, music. And um, I fell in love with Ukrainian music um from like the get-go of us dating. I was introduced to um artists like the Habraha, Doc Daughters, Ionia, and all these other artists. And it's just um because for myself, I've never felt really connected to my own culture. And I felt that's ties a lot to growing up in Utah in this in this Utah bubble.
SPEAKER_04The bubble.
SPEAKER_01And I remember even like went down to like the the texture of my hair where I I would always brush out the my hair and like put like stupid amounts of LED up. Like we walked to school with my brother, and I'm like, wait.
SPEAKER_05Slick it, slick it.
SPEAKER_03And then slick it out of the room.
SPEAKER_05And you're like, stupid, so yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I've always been like, I've always held this inner battle with my own culture, and I've always like rejected it because of um the nature of the culture here.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And then to meet Vedonika, which is her Ukrainian name, Vedonika, which is the her real name, um, to see someone love their culture so much and be so proud of it and be so invested in and to um create with her so um valiantly with her wherever she goes, I was inspired by that and her love for her own culture um allowed me to come to the knowledge that I can also have that for my own culture. And so like being able to uh share this love for Ukraine and Ukrainian culture um is a gateway for me to love my own. And so I'm learning how to love my culture and then all cultures through uh this relationship. And so yeah, I fell in love with Ukrainian music. Um it's so awesome, as we all know, as we've been as we've been watching me dance. Yes, and um I started. I was like, I'm going to dance every day to a different Ukrainian song to uh allow people to see this side of Ukraine. So again, like when we see war, we only see war. Like there's wars going on like everywhere. And like the context of it is just like war, like we see in like Sudan, we see it in Congo, we see it in uh now seeing Iran or any or or and Palestine, like it's just we only see war. Yeah. And like we have to um allow the humanity to be seen because that's how we can actually um be connected and feel with each other. And that's where the humanity uh comes through, and that's where the voice is actually the loudest. The the war in them and the violence is is distortion. Yeah, it doesn't it's never going to create anything of worth or anything, anything good because it's it's just pain. Yeah. So how we can connect is to the music. So I started dancing to the music and um it was funny because Anika thought I was gonna there's just like a little a little thing I was like gonna do for like maybe like a couple weeks. Right.
SPEAKER_00And I kept going. And you've been noticed by like, what was it? It was like BBC Ukraine or like something like like you've been like getting news coverage from this. Like people want to talk to you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's really odd. Um it's been really, really sweet. And like I thanked, I thank all the all people who have been watching the videos, and also to the my Ukrainian audience who have so much so spent so much time with me and to hear their feedback and to know that I get to be uh a moment within their day that they can feel um peace and light and just present uh with me and my expression through my art through uh Ukrainian music. And that's just such a a beautiful gift to have and to share. Yeah. And it's I'm very grateful for uh the for whoever watches that for the attention that they give, for the time that they hold with me, and for um, yeah, them allowing me to grow and exist this way. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I do think there's like something to be said about the fact that you're just like some guy in Utah of all places who's like out here like dancing like this is Ukraine. Like, look at this, like don't pay attention to the bad things. Like, there's good things happening everywhere, and this is part of the good things, you know. I think like I'm sure that's like amazing for people who are going through anything like that to just see again some random guy from Utah being like, no, this is great, this is important. So yeah, it's really it's really fantastic. Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_02And just spreading awareness to all cult cultures of like everyone is going through a hard time and like the world is a scary place right now, and just like going back to like it's okay. Sometimes we need we need to have that peace and we need to have that uh happiness that like it's all gonna be okay in that. Yeah, and like you bringing that and just showing that you your love for this culture and just yeah, um showing everyone that it's just like doing what you love and doing it through creativity and imagination, and it's just beautiful to see online right now. Yeah, yeah, and I love it. So awesome.
SPEAKER_01And I love that um the intention of yeah, love. Like love, like we say it's cheesy, but it truly is the biggest moving, um, impactful thing that we can do. Like there, that is the most powerful act that a person can have is to love. Yeah, right. And that has a power to change truly everything, yeah, yeah. Like like the world will be changed through just the love that we have. Like that is that is that is the base level. Um, and we can trust that. We can truly, truly trust that. And so like just as as I can teach as I continue to dance, I I I invest um and my intention through all of it is is is peace uh for Ukraine and for for all people and love. Yeah. And through that, that will happen. That is that is that is my truth, that is what I hold, that's what I carry. And I get to be a vessel of that truth and let it manifest outside of me while it because it has to come from within first. Yeah, yeah. Um and so yeah, it's really awesome. Yeah, that is yeah, I love it.
SPEAKER_02What like what do you hope to accomplish uh doing this uh in receipt or what do you hope to accomplish as you like continue this um exploring this culture and exploring uh the music and dancing and um because again, like you've been noticed by many Ukrainian magazines and news and yeah, so what do you want to go further with it and like what do you hope will come out of this in the end?
SPEAKER_01I hope to be Zelensky. That's something that's like um yeah, that would just be really cool. Yeah, that's personally that I would um really value and love. Um and then of course, just um as I mentioned, just a a a pathway to peace.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um because the only things the only way things become real is if they are dreamt of first. Right. And that's the thing, like we um we are so bombarded um yeah, with pain and violence and distraction and hurt that it's so easy to become hopeless. I and I live the majority of my life hopeless in that regard. Like thinking, oh like we're at the end of times. Like, yes, we are, but it's only for a new beginning. But I only saw the end, and we we we um are almost like conditioned to only to to highlight the worst of things. And when all of our attention and our focus is going to how bad things are, yeah, they only continue to be bad because that's an energy, that's a focus that you're putting into it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And so if if we want to change that, it starts truly with um our own personal outlook.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And and that goes, and this is something that um I've learned a lot from Bedonika, um, is that it's like within a day. It's how you exist within a day. Like if you wake up and like your your immediate first thoughts are like, ah, F dang, this sucks. Like, ah, everything is horrible. Yeah. That that that is the energy that you that you manifest, that you carry, that then becomes your entire day.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And that's the only thing that you we have is is currently is right now, is the only thing that exists. And so to change anything, it starts with right now. And so our narratives within ourselves are so important. And So impactful within and then without, um, because that's where it starts, that's a source. We are the source of true divinity, like we are such infinite creatures, so we can do anything and everything that uh we can dream of. And it's but it starts with dreaming it and accepting it as truth. And so my truth is that I see peace for all people, and I hold that. And I can carry that and I will continue to carry that. And so like my narratives within myself um support that. And so when I wake up in the day, I I see I see life. Some days, some days, yeah, some days are hard. Yeah, oh my gosh, yeah, that's hard. And my intention though, my intention though is to is to return to that place of peace, is to create that peace so that peace can be possible.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And like, because like as we do it for ourselves, it then becomes easier for other people to do it as well, because um, it's like we we create the path to to reach there, but if we don't see it anywhere, if we don't have examples of of love and light, we just see the distortion, we just see the things that are scary. And so there's so much like the power is isn't like really what you do necessarily, it's how you feel. Yeah, yeah. That that has the power to change everything.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's very true. And like, um just knowing you, I have learned that like manifestation is like so big in uh like your life and your everyday, and I've like I love to like sponge off of that. Like, wait, Ramsay told me to manifest it so I'm gonna and then it's gonna happen. And yeah, like you'd your like just spirit is just so loving and just like it's gonna work out. And it's and if it not if it doesn't work out how you want it, there's gonna be a reason why in the future. Right. And like there is always a why to everything, and like you may not know that now, but you will in the in the near future or far future, and yeah, so your presence is just like oh, just amazing, I just love it, and a little off topic about oh my gosh, I it's just yeah, like what's like your take on like manifestation and like um that kind of stuff in your world and how you live your life in that way. Yeah, I don't know. Thank you for that reflection.
SPEAKER_01That's I'm really ungrateful to know that this is something that um I walk with and that you've been able to um yeah, take and make your own, uh, which is so powerful. And yes, 100%. And I love that that you mentioned that like whether you understand it now, you will understand it eventually. Like it will make sense, and that's such power because that's that's trust. That's trusting the moment exactly how it is, knowing it will um transpire, work out, become all that it needs to be. And so that's I'm so proud of you for for having that, for holding that, for knowing that for yourself.
SPEAKER_00I'm so it's a new thing I'm working on. Okay, I wanna this is like a switch of topic, but yes, yes. I want to talk about like how you show up to rehearsal, like 8 a.m. rehearsal, like in a blazer. Like I wanna I wanna talk about is gonna be fitted up. Like it does not matter what the occasion is, like he is in like the most fantastic outfit you've ever seen in your life. Like showing up to um performances like in a really nice suit because he just wants to feel good. So like talk about that, please.
SPEAKER_01Um, I feel like it just like that's how I feel human is is dressing up, is how I and I feel like that's part of like the like the manifestation. Like, I want to be I because I don't feel good in sweatpants. I don't feel good in sweatpants, I don't feel good in the hood. I I'll I feel fine. Right. I will show up and I'll be like, Yeah. That's my energy. That's my energy uh through it. And um actually in high school, my senior year of high school, I only wore the same outfit like four times. Every single day, I'm like, I want something new, I want something exciting, I want to make new choices, I want to um build my day around this persona that I'm putting on. And and then that's uh proven to be um so good for my heart and my soul. Yeah, and like even though like my first class of the day would be ballet, like I would get to school at 8 a.m. like in my full blazer, like I would chain to then get to class. And it's worth it, it was worth it for me. Yeah, and so that's just like something I built then that um yeah, because I didn't have um I grew up very uh impoverished, and so we had very limited access to things, and so like I would have like a couple pair of jeans that like didn't really fit, that didn't feel good, and so I spent a lot of my younger years not feeling good in what I wore and being embarrassed about it. And so um when I did have the opportunity um to well, actually my oldest brother, he he became a obviously became an adult first, he got lots of credit cards, bought a lot of stuff, and then he like or he didn't like them anymore, so he gave it all to me, so I inherited all of his stuff, and they looked at him my superpower, or one of them just one of them any is that I look good in like everything. Right. So true. That's um really grateful for that. So I inherited all of his clothes and they looked really good on me. And I'm like, thanks, brother. He's like, Why did I look better on you? I'm like, sorry. Also, it's that also it's the fashion industry that's that caters to a specific um type of body, and I I'm just in that um pocket where everything works for me, and so I am very privileged in that regard because um there's so many people that don't have that luxury or have that privilege. And so I do acknowledge that that the system does cater to me. Literally exactly. Yeah. So I hold that. Um and so yeah, now I just I like to dress up, I like to feel nice. It it truly changes the way, yeah, it truly changes the way I move through a day. When I feel good in what I wear, when my clothing has, represents and holds a life that I want to live, then I'm in uh synchronicity with myself. And that just allows for light and vibrancy and play to just move through and out of me and around me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I think you are like one of like, no, not one of, I think you are the most confident person that I know. Like I have never I've never seen Ramses be like, oh, I I'm not sure. I don't know if you're gonna be able to do it. He just exudes like confidence and he's so sure of himself, and I think that's really refreshing. Like, I we filmed another podcast the other day and we were we were talking about you. I brought up how you were wearing your like muscle man like unitar and were just like staring at yourself and flexing for like 15 minutes, like because it was so like like like I said, because it wasn't for anyone else in the room, like it was for you because you felt so good and you knew that people were watching, but like that did not matter.
SPEAKER_02You're just like, I look at it.
SPEAKER_00Like, yes, it was like silly and funny, but I was like, damn, like he knows he looks good, but like and you like carry your confidence in like not an egotistical or narcissistic way. I think that's you're such a that's why you're such a compelling person, is because there's some people who it's like, yeah, like they're really confident in who they are, but they're like annoying about it. Like you're not one of those people literally at all. And I think that's so like refreshing to know that there are people out there who like, yeah, like they look good, they know they look good, but like they're not making everything about themselves, you know?
SPEAKER_02There's a difference between like cockiness and confidence, right? And you're just confident, and it's just gorgeous, and oh, it's so good just to have that energy around when like in that in this space of like dance and uh rehearsing every single day, and yeah, it's just lovely.
SPEAKER_00It's so easy to get so like down on yourself because you're staring at yourself in a mirror for seven hours and like you're literally like you are picking yourself apart, like, oh my foot wasn't pointed enough, or oh my leg wasn't at 180 degrees that time. So it's so easy to literally like pick and pick and pick away, but like you don't do that, or at least not to my knowledge.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, thank you. Thank you for those sweet, sweet, sweet, tender words and for this reflection. Um yeah, uh I love myself.
SPEAKER_05You should, yeah, yes.
SPEAKER_01And looks like everything, like I wasn't born and then this is me. And it's like everything's a journey. Um when I was 12, I remember looking in the mirror, I'm just being like, oh, you're forgettable. Like, oh no one, no one will remember you. And that's these are the narratives that we are pumping into ourselves like from the beginning. Like a 12-year-old was saying that to himself, yeah, and that was what he was like, that was the energy that he was holding all the time. And and so then, and then you you create your own reality. And so I was I was manifesting um invisibility, yeah. And so that's what that's what uh I I found myself by. Um and then it was actually when I was 17. Oh, I don't have my I have my student ID cards in my other bag. But um, yeah, I was like a nerd. I was a straight up super nerd, super nerd. That was uh that was what people knew me as, what people saw me as. And then when I was 17, I got um my braces off. Um my studio bought me contacts, I like gotten new clothes, I like switched up my hair, and I became a new person. It was crazy, but then I I because the pension was all the over here, I was like, I slung so far. Yeah, and then uh which everything is in its time, and then and then and then I was so cocky. I was brutally cocky.
SPEAKER_02You gotta start out that way, and then you have to like reality check, like, oh wait, hold on, switch up. Switch up, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, but it was oh I would go out and I would say out loud to people, I'm like, I just think I'm better than everybody else.
SPEAKER_03I would just say that. The psychopath was I was crazy.
SPEAKER_01I was so crazy. But like that that is what I needed. Going from like, I am invisible, like you have to overcome the overcorrection is this, and so it does make sense. Um, but like both are not true, like both, yeah. And that's the thing, like people tend to live on extremes. Yeah. But it's like, no, the the the grace and the beauty is like right in between. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It whereas the where the yin and yank um right, and you have to like you have to like heal from that like feeling so down on yourself. So like, yeah, it makes sense that you swung in the complete opposite way, you know, but you've evolved, and now you don't think you're valid.
SPEAKER_01No, and it's it's really cool. Um, because I did hold on to that, or like there was like because again, like these these constructs, like we we build, like that's like that was a foundation, like that narrative, like the narrative is like uh I'm invisible, and then I build on top of that. And so then you have to deconstruct all of these things to get to this truth to then um uh accept that it's not true. Yeah, and it's like same thing here, like I'm better than everyone, I built all these constructs. From like senior high school, I had to then deconstruct all of this, and then like, oh, I am not better than everyone. We are all the same, we are all divine creatures, we are all brilliant, we are all um creators of life, yeah. And that makes us all brilliant, and yeah, it takes and then that takes us it's just an inward process, and so to go through those inward processes and um to uh release the distortion that was just pushed within me. Um these things are also like external. My truth is that every negative thought that we have is not our own. We are we are we are not mean to ourselves. We are we are not meant for that. We are we are beings of love. And and it's like all of these things that we have that we like in our head, it's like oh you're stupid, you're dumb, like gosh, why didn't you do this right? Or all of these things that we that say this to us is not us. Because like like again, I go back to like the photographers myself, telling himself that he was invisible. Like that was not me saying it to myself. That was some external force that I inherited and learned or was told in some degree, some way, yeah, that I then um took on as my personal truth, but it's not truth.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And so by releasing all that and coming to self, it's just the thing that's left there after all that's gone, is just love. And so through that love, I get to love myself uh properly and appropriately, and then I get to love others the same. And so when it comes to like this idea of of confidence, and like I I talked about this recently, I was at Anico. Um like that's like uh that that word in itself isn't really factual because it's not I'm not confident, I just uh exist. Right, I exist in love, yeah, and that moves me forward. And because I was but like that's the thing, I was I was confident before. Like through college, I was so confident, but like my confidence was a performance to protect me from from my insecurities, from what I wasn't ready to face. And so I was I was performing for my love all the time. I was really good at it too. I was like, everybody um and that's hard, it's a hard existence, it's hard to live that way. Because then it's also I was still holding on to these ideas of I am better. Yeah. Because when you don't, when you when you aren't to the source of your your untruth, like you you we hold we hold on to these these narratives that have kept us safe because those those things did keep me safe for a long time. Especially given the pendulum swing from this to this. And so now I let that go. I can I've I've freed and freed myself because we are we are the only ones capable of of of acquiring our own freedom. Yeah. Like personal freedom isn't gonna come from outside. It's such a such an an internal inner journey.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And I think what you said about like any negative thing you have to say about yourself as an outside force, I feel like you can like connect that to like being in the age of like social media and like the celebrities where you see like the people who they're like, I don't get plastic surgery to look like this. What do you mean I just want to look like this? It's like no, okay, first of all, no, you don't. And now that you've like created this like invisible like standard of beauty when you know good and well that you spent thousands of dollars to get that face and to get that body. But in turn, these people have like given 15-year-old girls everywhere like insane body dysmorphia and insane self-image issues. And so that is that it's so easy. I I'm a victim of this, is to like look at what we are being told is the beauty standard, and then to look at yourself in the mirror and be like, well, I don't look like that. So that must mean that I'm ugly. It's like, no, like, no, like that's made up. It's all fake. It's all things that like society has like molded and then pushed into our minds because it's like, oh, well, I went on Instagram and everybody else looked like this and I don't look like that. So that must mean bad things. Yeah. Like, no, it's fake. It's all made up. Everything on the earth is made up. It's made up. Make it fake. It's all made up. Literally, all of it is fake, and it like it like it causes this. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And I think it's so hard because in our dance world, we are like thrown into that. Right. We're thrown into you're supposed to look this way, you're supposed to act this way. And like, it's sad to say, but we've been taught that since we were very young.
SPEAKER_00And that's just like the nature of things, you know, because like way back when it was like all the ballerinas that were 80 pounds, and they're like, oh, you're fat, you need to lose five pounds because you're too big. It's like, she's a stick, girl. Yeah. Like, but that is just like the standard that was built so long ago. And now I do feel like we are progressing in the dance world where it's gotten a lot more inclusive. It can always get better, and it still is continuing to get better. But yeah, it's just things that have survived from way, way, way back then.
SPEAKER_02And it's again, it's just like your own self-conscious that it's like telling yourself that like you don't look like a dancer. Right. So I don't think you should be a dancer. There's no like there's no look to it. Right. It's just like who you are. And like if you want to be a dancer and if you want to be an artist and an actress and everything, you can do that. You don't have to look a certain way. If you feel like you can, then again, you can manifest but yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, what a scary fight that like because I don't know what it's like to be a woman. I don't I'm not gonna pretend to know that. Uh I can I can empathize and I can witness, but like that's that's freaking scary. Yeah. What you have to um resist because it's like even if you don't, even if you're like you're aware of it and you you're like, I know that this is fake, I know that this isn't designed to serve me, it's only designed to rob me. It's like your system still has to fight it constantly because it's everywhere. Yeah, yeah. And like that's so brutal to have to wake up and know that you're like, even though you don't even like consciously think it's like your body's prepared to defend itself from all of it. And especially because you we inherit those things. You inherit that like you look in the mirror and you pick yourself apart. Like that's that shouldn't be how we approach ourselves at all. And that's um that keeps us in those like endless negative loops, yeah, that that just destroy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So I think that's a good idea.
SPEAKER_00I feel like like especially as dan like being a woman, just like in the age of social media, it's so easy to fall down the hole of comparison and everything. But then on top of that, being a dancer, where there's another separate like standard pushed on you, like it's like, oh, well, I didn't get booked for this job because I wasn't pretty enough or I wasn't tall enough, or like she was this, she was that. It like only like just builds on everything else. And so it's like it is it is really hard to like keep yourself out of that mentality. But what I tell myself is it's like, no, I'm dancing and I'm getting paid to do it. This is my dream, this is my passion, this is my job. So, like, yeah, all these outside things are like they suck, they're not fun. But at the end of the day, I like I get to go and I get to perform and I get paid to do that. So, and I know that like the negative things, like they will pass, you know. It's like genuinely taking things like one day at a time. It's like, okay, well, today was a bad day, tomorrow will be better. Yeah, you know, that's how I that's what I try to tell myself. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Anyways, well, that's super awesome.
SPEAKER_02I wanted to ask you what your most embarrassing moment on stage with Odyssey was.
SPEAKER_01You have a funny one just to oh on stage. Dang, I like I don't really think so.
SPEAKER_00He's perfect. Well, alternatively, I know this is and this is me using my personal knowledge. I know that you were in the like T-Rex costume. I want you to talk about that. Because I've never gotten the POP of the person that was in.
SPEAKER_02So for backstory, uh, way back when for Thriller, we had they had like a dance where a ginormous like T-Rex just was walked across the stage and it was just like mechanicked inside and like tell us. I don't know anything about it.
SPEAKER_01Please animatronic life-size T-Rex costume, and I was asked to be in it. Um what were your thoughts going into that? Um he was very brave. Yeah, he was very brave. Oh, yeah. He worked very hard. I'm very proud of him. He survived. He survived. Yeah. Well, one time in rehearsal. I was in it, and we're he put me in there for like a long time. We're like, 'cause like we get to choreograph and be in the suit, just like tired. I've done it. And I learned that I could like crouch in it. I'll do the I'll do And so and so that'd be like I learned that I could like get it like here. Yeah. But I also don't have like Flexible here. And so like I have to be on my toes. Ooh, ouch. So like very hard balancing. But I needed, I needed to capture, catch. I needed to rest. And then one time I was there and I was like, oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. He's dipping over just he's dipping over.
SPEAKER_03Again.
SPEAKER_01And I fell.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh. On stage or just a rehearsal? That's still good. I know.
SPEAKER_00Anytime I hear stories of like old thriller or like old Odyssey anything, I'm like, wait. Wait, what? Like Daryl spending$2,000 on that. Like the dinosaur thing. On the dinosaur thing. And then like having to use it so they like made a skeleton costume for it so we could walk across the stage and both like, what? But you know what? He had his vision. Yeah. And he acted on it. So good for him, I guess.
SPEAKER_01I acted in it. And you acted in the T. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I'm sure you were a great T-Rex. Okay. So last year, when you came into our company, there were some situations that we're not going to talk about on the podcast. And you had to step up and like fill the lead role with literally one week's notice. You were already learning it. And then you were going to have your shows and everything. But you had to like literally just step in and do it. And then the same thing happened this year where another situation that we're not going to talk about on the podcast happened. And once again, you had to literally, you were Capitan, and now you are Mercuchio. And like having to completely relearn romantics. Listening, like, you know, all of the things. Talk about that, please.
SPEAKER_01It was really cool to just um test my capacity. Yeah. And to know that I could jump in. And I was also because I also had like this this I trusted intuition. I I felt that I was going to enter this role. Mentally and emotionally, I was prepared. And then with last year, like I already knew the whole track for Moulin Rouge. I was talking to my therapist at that time and telling her about all of this. And I told her that, like, oh, I could jump in. Like, if I needed to jump in, if you gave me a night, I could learn all of it. Yeah. And then they gave me a night and I learned all of it. Yeah. And I jumped in the next day. Um and so with this year, um similar thing. I felt um I felt that this role was going to be mine. I had that that that that like whisper within me. And so I just accepted it. And then be like, no, that's not real, because this is this is a current state. Like, yes, this can be the current state, but and at the same time, we can trust the cues that our body gives us. Yeah. And so I felt that I was gonna take on Mercutio. And then um when we were told the situation, I actually just told Daryl, I I just walked out and told Daryl, hey, I can be Mercushia if you need me to be. Yeah. And then he was like, that's good to know. And then the next day comes Mercutio. Yeah, there you go. Uh and this one was harder though, because well, and that's why I think I hurt my back because I went from doing all of this. Yeah, and so that's such a big jump for the body to take it. And so in that regard, it's just been a little um well, my body has suffered the consequences of that. Um, it is getting better. I'm gonna get a chiropractic appointment on Monday. Okay. And I'll be all fixed up. We need to be back.
SPEAKER_03We'll be back.
SPEAKER_01I'll be back. It's just um, it's cool. Yeah. And the Montecure side is really cool.
SPEAKER_02The Montecure side is fun. And it's all three of us. And all the Cappy fans are running the camera right now. And they can defend themselves, but they're not here.
SPEAKER_05Okay.
SPEAKER_00Well, but I do think the fact that like you were able to literally take on these roles like at the drop of a hat, like that is just like a testament to like your professionalism and like you just being genuinely like a great artist. Because what you did with Mercuccio is completely different than what it was before, which isn't a bad thing. Um, it just is different because it's your take on it. Yeah. Which I think is, and I think you're like literally killing it. I think it's I think it's so amazing. But yeah, I mean, truly, like you're a beast to be able to just be like, no, yeah, I'll learn completely new dances. That's fine. Like, that's amazing.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, thank you. Yeah, and it was actually felt it felt very um because I was told I could just improv these roles, these pieces, but when if like if it was just a solo with me on stage as myself, I would just improv it. But because it's interactive and there's other players uh at play, yeah, um, that didn't feel right, and so I had to I choreograph these things. And then I was just like I expected to well, obviously I was expecting to show it and then to uh teach. And like that was very vulnerable. Um yeah, I was a little scared, I was a little nervous. Um and at the same time I knew that I could trust the people around me to to support me and to allow me to be the art artist that I am, and then I just received so much love and so much love and goodness as I stepped in and as I um shared uh what I was able to put together. And so for that I'm very grateful. And it's become it's been um such an easy transition because of the love that I feel for that company. Yeah. And so I thank you for all the support that allows me to be who I am.
SPEAKER_00Oh my god, it's impossible not to. Like seriously. No, I loved, I loved that day where we got to like see like what you were gonna do with it. That was so, that was so much fun. And then like, especially like the little dance battle with like Ian's character and like it's so much because it is just so you, and I think like it's just great, and I just I cannot wait to perform that and like be able to do that and to have the videos to watch back and be like, so that's really exciting.
SPEAKER_02So, yeah, um you guys will just have to come see it for yourselves and see who is the better dance crew, Monty Crew or Caputan.
SPEAKER_01Monty crew what's kind of give it all two three, two to one.
SPEAKER_02Monty crew what that should have been our intro. Dang it. Maybe we can. Yeah, it's okay. But with that, Lindsies, thank you so much for being here with us today. This has been a light, a joy, and we're just so excited to dance with you again and to go on tour together and go to Germany together. Yes, and it's just gonna be so amazing, and I'm so excited.
SPEAKER_00So fun, so fun. Anytime I get to listen to Ramseys talk about anything, I'm sad. Because you have such you have such incredible things to say about literally everything. So this is like a dream to have you here. Yes. So thank you so much for being here.
SPEAKER_02So drop your socials, where can we find you?
SPEAKER_01Oh, you can find me on Instagram and TikTok. It's Ramsey's Contreras, I'm gonna spell it all out for you. R A M S E S C O N T R E R A S Sven. The number seven. Ramsey's Contreras seven. Find me on Instagram and TikTok.
