Odyssey Unscripted Episode 11: The Directors’ Cut - Congratulations to the Love Birds!

Introducing Lily and Carson! Lily and Carson are the wonderful team we at Odyssey Unscripted have behind the camera, but they’ve also got incredible stories that transcend their behind the scenes work. Lily, growing up in a footloose-esque town and finding ways to perform and make her dreams a reality. And Carson, falling into dance thanks to his wonderful jazzercising mother and sticking to it, has them lead them to each other to find their happily ever after! We are so grateful to have such wonderful people working with the co-hosts each week, and we’re ecstatic that the audience will get to hear their beautiful stories. Stay tuned for wedding info of course!!

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:05

It's a lot We have today.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

Five, six, seven, eight. Okay, guys, we're back.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Did you miss us? Cause we missed you.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Automatic laughing. A Kardashian reference on the podcast is crazy.

SPEAKER_02 0:34

You know what? We love it. Worldly. Hi, guys. Um, welcome back. We've missed you. Um, this is Natalie, your lovely co-host, and I'm here with Athena. And our special, special guest. This is Lily. Our director of Unscripted. Yes. We're so excited.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

You probably hear my laugh all the time in the background. Yes. I didn't think I would be here.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

So here we are. It's very important that we have you here. We've got lots of things to talk about. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of things. A big thing. We'll get there. We'll get there.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

But um today we uh just want to introduce our director, and then we'll switch out and do our little uh assistant directory. Assistant director. Sorry. And uh car car car but Lily, let's how are you?

SPEAKER_00 1:34

I'm good. I'm tired. Yeah. I honestly thought after shows life would calm down a little bit. Right. Because we just finished shows last week, but it feels like I'm even busier now, which I was not prepared for. Yeah. But it's all good things, it's all good, easy, stressful things. That's good. Yeah, that is good. It's okay. You also have like literally 10 million jobs, so that's exactly they all I had to like kind of like step back from them for a little bit for the tour and our shows. So then like getting back into it, I am like so behind on work. So I'm just like, you know what? I have to schedule my own free time because I don't know what you gotta do about that. Yeah, that's crazy. That's yeah, awesome.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

Well, let's start out with day one. Where are you from?

SPEAKER_00 2:24

How'd you get here? I'm from Columbia, Tennessee, which is the mule capital of the world. I did not know that. No.

unknown 2:33

What does that mean?

SPEAKER_00 2:34

The mule, the horse donkey mix? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So we actually have like a full weekend that's dedicated to the mules, and that was last weekend, and I'm I'm really sad that I missed it. My friend goes every single year, and there's a Mule Day Queen, there's a parade. It's a like the school shuts down, like it's a whole thing. And so I need to go back one day and introduce Carson to Mule Day because it's it's a big deal. Um, but also, in case you didn't know, Columbia, Tennessee was also where they filmed the Hannah Montana movie. Shut up. That is my hometown. My like the cat the building, like everything in it, my dance studio was on that street. Uh-huh. Shut up. Yeah. Shut up.

SPEAKER_02 3:17

Okay, so we all needed to take a trip to the street.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

So if you've seen the Hannah Montana movie, you've seen my hometown. Oh my god. Crowley Corners. You're literally from Crowley Corners. Not a real place at all. But yeah, so that's that's where I'm from. Um, I went to like a really small private uh Christian school. Um, there was only 40 kids in my class. Wow. And we were together since like preschool, all the way through 12th grade. We were in the same school the whole time. Dang. I never wanted to see some of those people like, yeah, I know, I'm right. Sure, I'm right. Um like I talked to like two people from high school because we all just had way too much time together. Yeah. Um, so that was good, but um, I grew up in just like a little dance studio. I started dancing when I was three. Um, a little dance studio called uh Lisa Walker School of Dance, and then it later changed to Precision Dance, and it was literally a one-room like studio. We had tile floors, we eventually got wood floors that my dad put in, and there was probably like 50 kids at the studio total, and but it was awesome. Yeah, like it was just the tiniest little studio. We like started competition kind of late. I didn't start doing it till a little bit later and stuff like that because it was just not a thing in my hometown. Yeah. Um also the school that I went to um didn't allow dancing. Dancing was uh forbidden, right?

SPEAKER_02 4:39

Is it a Christian school?

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Yes, oh my god. It's very different than yes, very different than Utah because dance is huge here, but it's also a religious place. But down in the Bible belt, we were not allowed to dance at all. So I didn't we didn't have prom, we didn't have school dances, wow, or like I was a cheerleader, we couldn't have choreography, so it was just like our movements. No, it wasn't. It was actually like insane, and like everyone didn't like that. I was like a dancer at school, and like yeah, so I like went to a studio like right across from my school, but that's why it was so small because dance was not the thing. Like, if I wanted to get better training, I would have to go up to like Nashville, yeah, which is like 45-50 minutes away. So that was kind of crazy. But I made it out, made it out. Yes. Wow, that's that's insane. Yeah, it was kind of crazy.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

When did you start training in ballroom?

SPEAKER_00 5:33

When I was nine. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

Oh wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:35

So I would go all the way up to Nashville to train. I just was watching Dancing with the Stars, and I told my mom I wanted to do it. Yeah. So they were like, okay. So we would drive all the way up to Nashville once a week for me to train, and I had um my coach was also my partner because there was like no other kids my age doing ballroom in Tennessee at the time. So I just started, yeah, I started when I was nine and was doing that. So I was doing that on top of competition at my studio, and then I was also going to a like strictly ballet studio, starting when I was like 13, 14 to get some extra training there. So yeah, did all of that. And then my studio that I grew up dancing at closed my senior year. Oh. So it ended, so I had to switch studios for my final year, which was kind of crazy. Oh, that sucks. Yeah, it was it was hard, but it was ended up being fine. My best friend came with me and stuff. So we kind of got to do that. But yeah, it was kind of a whole switch senior year. It was crazy. Yeah. Sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

That's what I'm saying. Like, you just live that grind set like for when I was like, since she was three, like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

She's been booked and busy. Yeah, I would make when my friends would come over, I would make them make music videos with me and videos all the time. I had like my own like mini TV show that I would film, and I would working my parents, they would be down there filming me and my friends for hours. Hours. Bringing Greg and Molly to work. Yes. Thank you. Oh, there's countless videos on YouTube. Well, Greg would get in them with me. So we would do little like sketches, and Greg's in them. I'll have to show you sometime. Please. Actually, yes, it's called Weeping. It's called The Weeping Walkers, and it's a really good show. So One Time Television. I was working, and I used to put on like I have my parents vote me like a stage in my basement. Oh my god. Only child problems. Yeah. So we had a stage and I would like actually like host shows. Like I was like probably eight or nine, and I made my friends come over and have rehearsals and sold tickets to our Christmas show and made all the parents come, and my mom had to cook the hors d'oeuvres, and it was like a seated thing. We had like an intermission, it was a whole thing. I'm obsessed with it. I was making it. Too many businesswoman's in Dublin.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

Like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

Not the or d'air. Made the o'dours. It was that pasta that we ate the other night at Ian's party. It's bitter wow and it's a crowd pleaser. Wow. Wow. So that's yeah, that was how I grew up.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

That's and you know, that explains a lot, actually.

SPEAKER_02 8:01

It checks out, really. Oh my goodness. That's funny. That's amazing. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 8:06

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

So after the crazy high school life, where'd you go? Um, I went to Shenandoah University.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Woo! Woo, yeah.

unknown 8:15

Sting up. Woo!

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Go for it.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

Was that actually a thing? That's what we did.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

I don't know if it was around when you were in. My husband would always go, Stingham.

SPEAKER_00 8:27

I went to like maybe one or two sporting events the whole four years I was there. I went to like one lacrosse game and like two football games. Perfect. So you need. You know. You know, yeah. And that they were not good. You got well. She regretted it. No, no. That's why wasted my time. Anyway, um, yeah, and that was in Winchester, Virginia. Um, I didn't expect to be going to college there. That wasn't the school wasn't even like on my radar at all. I was looking into more schools like um, well, University of like the arts in um P Ph Philly, I think. It clo it's closed down now, but I was really looking at that school. I was looking at like Point Park, Cal Arts in California, like all of that kind of stuff. But when I went to SU just tour, it was just kind of like on our way home from a different school. I think we were like at Vutker's or something, and I fell in love with it, and it was just seemed like the perfect school for me. So I ended up going there and I got my BFA in dance from Shenandoah University and my master's degree in performing arts, leadership and management. The POM program. Yes, Palm program. Wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

So what does that entail? Like, what is that?

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Um, so it was basically like grant writing, um, some accounting, um, let's see, nonprofit, fundraising, like all the rules behind nonprofits and stuff like that. Governance kind of is what it's called. Yeah. And stuff like that, and just kind of like learning how to manage people and organizations and events and all that kind of stuff. So, and I did that for I did that in like a year and a half degree. Yeah, and I loved it.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Yeah, well, you're putting it to good use. Thank you. You're trying, my parents would be mad if I didn't. Right. Oh, right, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

So I got to Yeah, so yeah, college was awesome, and it was like a 10 10 hours away from like where I lived in Tennessee, so I liked being away. It was good for me to like get out of my hometown and live someone new, and I made so many good friends there, and I had the best time in college. I know it's like a big conversation of like should dancers go to college or just you know, go straight into it. And I feel like it just is different for everyone. Yeah, we're saying I was not ready to be a professional dancer when I was 18. Like, I definitely needed to go to school and figure that out. But most people can do it, and I think that's amazing. But I needed those extra four years. Yeah, I mean, everyone's everyone's different.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

It also depends because you also came from like such a small town, like you didn't have like intensive training that was like getting you ready for like the professional world at all.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

So that yeah, that's like no experience.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

Yeah, that's completely normal.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

I feel like yeah, yeah. So I really enjoyed it, and it was more of like a commercial dance kind of program. We did a lot of commercial heels, we did a lot of filming, we did contemporary point, but then also ballet and modern. So it was kind of like the perfect all-abound school for me, and I really enjoyed it. That's good. That's really good.

SPEAKER_02 11:24

So after those four years, how did you like discover I guess Odyssey?

SPEAKER_00 11:30

I honestly it was so weird. Like, Odyssey didn't have a presence really at all online or anything, and I think I found uh out about it kind of through my professor, uh Tephany Carson. I think she kind of mentioned it to me, but I just like was searching up jazz dance companies online because I knew that's kind of the route I wanted to go was like more jazz. And I found the Odyssey website, which was not cute. Right, back in the day. They said that I like had the auditions on this, so I'm like, okay. And back then it was because this was like what 2021, so kind of after right after COVID. So they had people submit videos, so I had to film like six different videos of all the styles, and then they only invited 20 of us to the audition. Okay. Um, and that audition was like in June. So I filmed everything at school before I graduated, and then got me and my mom flew out to Utah for that. But honestly, I don't know how I found it. It just like kind of popped up. And I'm like shocked because and I'm shocked I actually came all the way out here to do it because there was nothing about it, like no details. Like I had no idea what I was getting myself into at all. Like I didn't even know it was like a Halloween show, like nothing. I was like, okay, well, full-time. Day when they're like, okay, zombie makeup, you're like, what? No, I literally had zero idea of what Odyssey was. That's a good one. No, whoever, like the first day. Well, I learned mummies my first day of rehearsal. Oh my god. The first day I couldn't do a kip up. I am not an acro person, and kip up is acro in my book. And it's a skill. I didn't know.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

She's a skill sobbing.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

My first day. Doing mummies on my first. I'm like, what the hell? That's actually wild. Oh my god. Wow. Anyway, so I flew out for the audition. Actually, Gwen was at my audition.

unknown 13:15

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Yeah. And there was a couple other people that I like know now in Utah that were at that audition, which was super, super random. No way. Um, but they only hired like four girls, three girls from that audition, and like two or three guys, like Jeremy came back that year and a bunch of other people. But yeah, so I found out in like mid-July that I got the job. But at the time I was living in um Philly for an internship for my master's program. And I was supposed to be in Philly for uh like four months, and then I was gonna be living in Maryland. So as soon as I got this job, like the my whole plans changed. Like I was all my stuff was at this house in Maryland. I was renting an apartment in Philly, and then I was like, okay, I have to move to Utah by August. So I ended my internship early, and then that kind of segues into how I got more of my work with Odyssey through this internship or whatever. But yeah, I just kind of like packed up and yeah, left my apartment, like closed out of my lease early in Philly, and then moved out of my friend's house in Maryland and came all the way out here. So yeah. And you knew no one out here, not a single person.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

Because the rest of like the company was new, or I mean old, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:27

Like they had been here. They had been here. It was like yeah, like some of like the vet vets that you like look back on, like they had all were like set here. And so me and this other girl, Nancy, we were kind of really close that first year. And we kind of did everything together because we were both brand new and stuff, and so that's honestly couldn't have done it without her getting through it. But yeah, I knew absolutely nobody.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Because when I think about like we like we had it really nice because like a majority of the company when we came in was new, and there were only like what, like five vets or something. So like it was new to like almost everybody, but like I cannot imagine like stepping in to a company full of veterans and learning mummies on TV. It was like sobbing, sobbing.

SPEAKER_02 15:10

That's how crazy. You have to learn the whole thing.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

I feel like so fast. Yeah, I don't even remember, but it went by so fast. Because everyone else knew it. Everyone, like literally, there's only three, like three girls that didn't know this stuff. Wow. Like how am I I look back now, I'm like, everyone has it easy now because they teach it so slow, but it was wild, wild.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

So quick turnaround. Yeah, definitely. How did you get because I know you mentioned like looking at the website and being like, oh, this is scary, but like how did you get into like this running the social media? Because if you don't know, Lily is the social media manager of all things Odyssey. Um and like I said, grindset, she's in it. But um how did you like get into that?

SPEAKER_00 15:52

So actually that comes from so I was doing the internship with Kuresh Dance Company, Contemporary Company in Philly, and I was supposed to be with them for three months, and that was like as long as my internship needed to be. So when I got the job with Odyssey, I was like, hey, I still have to finish this like internship work for some type of arts company for my masters. Can I do anything at Odyssey that I could like help with for free? So just out the gate. Yes, out the gate. I was like, Can I help with some of the marketing? Can I like whatever can I help with? And I was doing all of it for free. And so I got hooked up with our uh marketing person at the time, Susie, and she just kind of started letting me like do the social media and stuff. But honestly, I kind of just made myself a job. Like, kind of just started telling Daryl what I was doing and then just kind of did it, and that has turned into like something way bigger now. Yeah, but there wasn't really a presence, like you could tell, like some people were running it, but it wasn't cohesive online, and I was like, this company is so cool, yeah, but I feel like no one outside of this little bubble knows about it. No, I had no idea what Odyssey was. Yeah, it's there's so much random stuff that we do and such fun stuff that we do that like it deserves to be seen online. I think it makes it more appealing to people and personable. So I literally just kind of like so the first two years I was kind of just doing that, and then when the uh when Odyssey decided to close, so that was my first season. Yeah, Daryl announced.

SPEAKER_02 17:16

So you had like a first like full season, yes, and then the next was just thrilling.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

Oh okay. Because it was so I just moved there at our Christmas show. We were doing It's a Wonderful Life. Daryl told us that he was retiring and shutting the company down. And for me, I was just like, oh, I just got here and I wasn't super attached yet. But like the people who had been there for like years were like sobbing, and I'm like, I what is happening here?

SPEAKER_02 17:40

You're like, is this like a big deal?

SPEAKER_00 17:42

What's going on? And I was like, I was kind of mad because I'm like, you just moved me right all the way out here, and also now he does housing for people like who move out here fifth room. He didn't do that. Uh that wasn't a thing. So I had a lease immediately. Oh my god. And uh so then there was drama around that. So I just like, yeah, so I didn't know what was going on, but we were gonna do Germany and the spring season. And that spring season we did four different shows: Chicago, Vomeo and Juliet, Let It Be, and Sledgehammer plus Repertory.

SPEAKER_02 18:13

What's Sledge Hammer?

SPEAKER_00 18:14

It's like, it's just all Peter Gabriel music. Oh, okay. Yeah, there's people with like sledgehammers and like guys get propelled from the ceiling, and we have like hard hats on. The whole show is in jeans.

SPEAKER_01 18:27

It is not, it is not an Odyssey show if some absolutely insane things are going on. It's flames.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

Oh, yeah, they had like a flamethrower going as the people are like coming down. Like it was so funny. He was doing a point dance in jeans, ripped jeans, and a white wife beater.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

He was literally like, well, Daryl has a vision. He has a vision. Tell me about it. Oh my god, I swear. I swear. He like goes to bed at night and is like, I've got it.

SPEAKER_02 19:04

I've got it. Veronica, this is what we're gonna do.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

Oh my god, at 4 a.m.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

at 10, but no.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

Because who else because who else would think about an entire show dedicated to Peter Gabriel's music?

SPEAKER_00 19:17

I had never heard his music before either. And now I feel like I hear it everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

The show is following me. I'll show y'all videos. Oh my god, what kind of joke to see that? Wow. Oh, it's a show. Anyways, yes, give out what we're talking about.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

So, how did you do tour with four shows? Did you only have like one time performing each other?

SPEAKER_00 19:36

Well, so we only did Chicago and Romeo Juliet in Germany. Okay. But then when we were here, we did all four. Oh, we only did each show like twice when we were here. Wow. Yeah, it was kind of crazy. But then, yeah, so after that, he was like, We're shutting down, so we'll just do one more thriller. So I was like, of course I have to come back for one more thriller. Yeah. So I did that and then it was done. Yeah. Like we took a final bow at Tuacon and the company was over.

SPEAKER_02 20:00

I was there actually. Yeah. Because my sister Cass Rags was on it, and because she just like she wanted to do it, and she's like, Oh, frick. It's their last time. Like, yeah. So she did it, the last thriller. She was awesome.

SPEAKER_00 20:15

And I was there last night.

SPEAKER_02 20:17

It was actually so sad. I was like, oh my gosh, wait.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

It was really sad. So then I like kind of had a little bit of a feeling Daryl then asked me to like help run the social media still while it was like gone. Yeah. And he was turning it more into like an Odyssey dance foundation, which we were giving out scholarships to people. And I was kind of in charge of that and helping with that. So that's why I thought it was gonna go. Yeah. And then all of a sudden, at is it the Blue Iguana, his favorite restaurant. Yes. I was there with him and Darby and V, and he's like, I'm bringing the company back. And I was like, Well, great. We're doing that and having nachos, it was perfect.

SPEAKER_01 20:55

Having nachos.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

So we're a little meal. I was like, okay, okay, okay. All right, we're doing this. So then that's when it happened, and we just started planning, and then I've just yeah, kind of gotten more and more involved and trying to do a lot more for the company, and he just kind of lets me do it. That's awesome. I kind of have to tell him what I'm doing, and then he's like, okay. He's like, okay, sure.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

I send them the invoice, and then I'm like imagining, like, wait, I'm like having like a crazy like existential moment. I'm imagining like you at the blue iguana with Gerald, and he's like, okay, we gotta get on auditions, and then like you making the audition post that my dance teacher saw and then sent to me, and then now I'm here. Whoa! Circle. Crazy, crazy. I've never actually like I never actually thought about it like that. Like, wow. It's so simple. Not actually not insane, but I'm still like when you're here. My mind is but yeah, you are. You literally are. Let's not thank you. I think Lily for art. If Lily didn't post that, I wouldn't be here today. So thank you so much. I literally couldn't do it without you. Wow. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

No, but like actually, what would Odyssey do without Lily? No.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

No, truly. Like, we're still trying to crack 10K, like guys. Like, come on. I've been trying for so long. We're close. We're close. We're close. We just need like one post to go viral. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

And of course, the Clio one went viral. That one did really good.

SPEAKER_01 22:19

Yeah, that one, that one did really good. Oh my god, Megan Santa.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

Like Megan, shout out, Megan. Shout out, Megan.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

Oh my gosh. Anyways. But you also, how many other companies do you do social media for?

SPEAKER_00 22:32

Um, well, I uh do the social media for Central Utah Ballet and Chrysalis Ballet. Yeah. And then I am the executive assistant for Wasatch Contemporary. And that is like way more than just the social media. I do a ton of stuff for them. I do the contracts for the dancers, I do outreach, I work with the donors and the season ticket holders and all that kind of stuff. But that job just kind of fell into my lap too. Because the year I was off, Odyssey was shut down. And I was like, I have to find something to do. So I auditioned for all these companies. I was on like Shift, I was on FEM, I was on Serena Web. I did like four companies in one year. Well honestly, it was probably harder than just doing Odyssey. I was on four different companies happening at once. And then I was on Wasatch for two years, and then when I decided to go back to Odyssey, um the director at the time, Jessica, she was like, Would you stay on as my executive assistant? So I just do that work remotely and kind of just help out with the company. And it's I've learned so much doing that because it's more hands-on and I've figured out like how to run a dance company by just watching her do it because it's so hard. Yeah, sure. So hard. So that's helped me, and I'm kind of using some of that to help me with Odyssey and just be more involved in the dance community. Yeah. So that's kind of yeah, and then the Odyssey Instagram is what takes up most of my life. Right. And now the feedback forum and Odyssey and booked and busy.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

Oh my gosh. Like, do you sleep? No. Yeah. That's what I thought. It's always it's always Lily like coming into rehearsal talking about something she has to do. I'm like, girl, what's going on? Oh my god. Like, I'm leaving help. But like I said, Grimes said. Like, you wouldn't leave me. I'd be bored. Get that bag. She's got a wedding to pay for. Like, no, literally. Okay, there we'll get there.

SPEAKER_02 24:22

Speaking of, speaking of. So we just had our last week of shows, and something very, very special happened on Cleveland. That we were all in on except for her. I'm going to talk about that.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

So oh my gosh. No, because I had no idea.

SPEAKER_02 24:42

Really? Really? Okay, what were your thoughts? Like, you knew he was gonna propose. Like, did you know when? Like how? Or like how did you what did you go?

SPEAKER_00 24:53

Um, honestly, so we started talking about getting married, well, like like for real, for real, like like going ring shopping in January, December, January. Before that? Okay. Oh yeah, we went to look at jewelry uh rings in Park City. Oh, okay. That's kind of where it started, but then we looked seriously ring shopping in January when we were like during the break and stuff, and so I knew he like probably had it and all that kind of stuff. I thought he was gonna propose in Germany was like my first guess, and I was like, this would be really cool, but then I was like, I feel like he'd probably be scared to bring the ring all the way to Germany. Right. What if something happened? And I was like, and our families went there, so I was like, okay with that. And then I thought it was gonna be on like our one-year anniversary because he had a whole date night planned, and it didn't happen either. So I was like, maybe they'll be at shows. Like, I don't know for sure though. Yeah. Because I couldn't tell if he wanted to do something big or more like personal, just us two. So I wasn't sure. But the night of closing, well, I actually thought that maybe you would do it after Romeo and Juliet and not Chicago for some reason. So Chicago wasn't even on my radar. So I thought you, if you were gonna do it that day, I thought it was gonna be after Romeo and Juliet. Yeah. And then that did happen. So I'm like, oh, it's not happening. Yeah. And um everyone was acting normal. Because everyone now I find out everyone was like talking about it, like all behind, like all together. And I was like, I was so oblivious, and I was like, why is everyone being so nice to me today?

SPEAKER_02 26:14

Literally, I was doing like we're never not nice to you. Well, yeah, but I was like, like, they're like really, yeah, really not.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

Like, I was like redoing my makeup for Chicago and Carson, like, I watched Carson give V the ring, and he was like, I need you to preset this. She like puts it in her pocket, and then she was like, Oh my god. And then I looked at Carson, I was like, This is the best kept secret. Odyssey will literally end up with the second. No, because we can't keep a secret to save our lives. You think you tell one person something? No, you told the Hulk company. No, you're not. Nothing's a secret. Nothing's ever a secret. Stuff travels so fast except for this. Yeah, like which I feel like we're proud of us. Like, I'm totally gonna do guys.

SPEAKER_02 26:54

Like, literally, so no suspicion or anything.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

No, because it's so funny.

SPEAKER_02 26:58

Because literally during our last show, right before like Curtin goes up, I run over to Carson. I'm like, oh my god, oh my god. And then he's like, stop, stop.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

No, I did the same thing. I did the same thing. Yeah, we finished around. I'm gonna like I'm gonna come up to and see, oh my god, no, we finished our chant, and like, of course, like y'all were like right next to each other, and then like Carson just kind of looked in my direction, and then I like remembered what was happening at the end of the show, and I looked at him and I was like, oh my god, I just got nervous for you. And then you were right there, and he was like, sorry, like when I tell you, like, oh my god, I was more nervous because I was like, I had the trouble of like having to fix your wig. And I was I was not I was like not about to let you like get proposed to. We fixed it before finale.

SPEAKER_00 27:48

I like put my like little headband on and it was not cute in the back. And Allen was like, I need to fix that. And I was like, okay. So she like fixed my wheel, and then you would fix like I was with Athena at bath, and I'm bowing, and then she just starts like fixing my bob, and I'm like, my heart is going down, like, and then she just like shoves me forward.

SPEAKER_01 28:08

I'm like fixing your wig, and then we're bowing, and I was like, You should stand. And I'm like, damn. And she was like, What's happening? And I was like, just stay there, just stay there, you know. Spotlight, and then boom!

SPEAKER_00 28:21

Okay. It was, yeah, no, I was so shocked that everyone kept that secret. Yeah. Like, I had no idea. I had like a little suspicion because one of my best friends, Addie, um, she came to Romeo and Juliet, but then she also, I saw her in the front row at Chicago. Right.

SPEAKER_02 28:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:36

And I was like, she wasn't supposed to be here for the show. So I texted her, I'm like, why are you here? And she was like, Oh, it's your last show like of the season, like I couldn't miss it. And I was like, Oh, okay. That's really nice of her. Yeah. But Lady Carson was like, I thought she ruined it for a second. And then I was like, oh, she was just at my show. But she did choose to sit front row, so she could have hided it a little better. Very inconspicuous. Yeah, she's like, But she even like was like, I saw her during like the fan dance and she was going like this. See? Like any. She's like, I can see you. But that's so sweet because I'm like so happy all the people that I loved were there. Yeah. Like, I now I don't want it any other way. It was like the perfect proposal. Aw, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:18

When we get Carson on, we'll have his side of the side.

SPEAKER_00 29:20

Yeah, I want to hear, I want to hear his side.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Well, I remember like um he was like telling us about like the plan and everything in Germany, and he like showed us the ring, and I was like, gagged. And then um I was like, he was like talking about like your wig. He was just like, oh, I just don't know how she feels about like being in a wig. And then I was like, oh, don't you worry. Like, I am not gonna let my girl look busted. No, these pictures are all things. So that's why I literally, I don't know if you remember this, but I tried to like be sly and I was really overthinking, and I like tried to like plant the seed like during spacing, and I looked at you and I looked at you, and I was like, we need to start doing like wig checks like before bows and we don't know. I literally said that because like to try and like make it seem not suspicious, and then that's why I did like closing night. I was like, oh, let me just make sure bug, and you're like, oh, thanks. And then I like kept doing it. And you're like, what, what, why? I remember you saying that now. I was like, I was like trying to be like, oh, I was away, oh good.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

I I don't even know if you noticed, but I switched spots with Miley during the bows. Yeah. And like me and Athena were on both sides of you. Yeah. Because Miley was like, I I'm too nervous. Like, I'm not sure. Because you fixed my dress a little bit. I fixed her dress, nothing was wrong with it. I was just like, wait, no, no, no. I'm gonna go. Nothing's wrong, but my screen is out of place. It didn't have to be the button. I was like beside me. Yeah. And then the background of all the photos.

SPEAKER_01 30:47

Like, then all the photos is so cute.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

It's so funny because I look back and it's literally just us three right there, my which honestly makes me so happy to see all the photos. The all the photos, I'm literally in the air. Yeah. Jump and jump and put it my feet on the floor, like down for like two seconds.

SPEAKER_01 31:07

No, it was so cute. Oh my god. I was so excited. Like I remember like I was like shaking. And then I was like, why am I scared?

SPEAKER_02 31:18

No, the whole person. I'm more nervous. Like, I'm so excited. I'm more nervous. Like, are you okay? Like, are you how are you gonna do it? And he's like, I just a song is gonna play and walk out. And I'm like, that's all like RD. Oh my god, okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:31

And I'm just like, yeah, and Lily's just like bumping along. What's so cute is like before the finale, like while you were on stage and you like wouldn't hear anything we were saying, it was like me, Allie, and Riley, and like all of us over there. We were like, oh my god, guys, like what's about to happen there. Oh my god, I'm so excited. And then Peyton, love her. She was like, wait, what? She was like, What's going on? And I was like, Peyton, like the thing is happening. And she was like, Oh, oh my god! She got cut off. She did not have time to actually think about it. She was like, oh my god. That's so funny. No, it was really cute that we were all like, oh my god, guys! That's so funny. I love like hearing all of this because like no idea. That is so funny. And I low-key thought that like you kind of knew because like once I like first started fixing your wig, you like looked like nervous. And I was like, oh my god, she knows. And then you said that you didn't, and I was like, wait, work. No, no, good for us.

SPEAKER_00 32:35

I definitely like kind of like maybe had like a gut feeling, like a little bit. I definitely at like intermission, I texted one of my fans, Haley, who lives in Florida, and I was like, it could happen tonight, but I'm like not sure. I'm like, everyone's acting so normal, but like I think I'm crazy. I'm like, I think it does. And she knew it was happening. Yeah, and she was texting me, she's like, Oh yeah, maybe not. Like, I don't think, and I was like, Wow.

SPEAKER_02 32:57

Like, what it what is it gonna happen? Yeah, I'm like, so it was crazy. Yeah, yeah. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 33:02

But it was it was so awesome. That's wow. We did that. We really I'm so proud. It's all the it's all the Romeo and Juliet, like we're just actors now. Like they prepared us for that moment. They really did know what's all leading up to that. That's perfect. Okay, well, should we bring Carson in? Yeah. Is it time? I think it is. Okay, we're gonna do it. Okay, thank you, Lily. It's been fun.

SPEAKER_02 33:29

Wait, wait, do a little close-up of your ring on the camera. Oh, please. Yes. Gorgeous.

SPEAKER_01 33:36

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 33:37

Love.

unknown 33:38

Get in there, Carson.

SPEAKER_01 33:40

Bro. Okay, uh, Carson.

SPEAKER_03 33:46

I'm here, guys.

SPEAKER_01 33:48

Wow. Okay. Well, let's start with you.

SPEAKER_03 33:51

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

I want to talk about like you just for a second and like who you are because we love Car Car. He's a gem in our company. Um, and he's like resident hip-hop know everything about it guy. Yeah. Well, you didn't know. I just want you to talk about like when you started dancing and like all of that stuff.

SPEAKER_04 34:11

Uh well, I started dancing uh back when I was five years old. Um, yeah, my my brother and sister all danced before me. Um and I uh watched them dance uh as a child, and I was like, I remember there was a specific duet that they did to it was like the song where I could do better than you or that that song. I don't remember how it was. Yeah, anything you can do, I could do better. That song, I remember there was a duet that they did. I remember it perfectly. I think it was a tap piece, actually, too. And um, so I was like, you know what, I kind of want to do that. And then also my mom, she does jazzer size. Wow. She does jazzer size and still does it. Has been doing it ever since I was born. So um I would go with her. Uh my mom's name. Yeah. Oh, her name's Shalina.

SPEAKER_02 35:07

Shout out Shalina.

SPEAKER_04 35:08

Yeah, Shine. Um that's that's one of her that's one of her that her nicknames from her parents or from her uncle and grandpa. So um, but uh she would go to jazz or size, and since I wasn't old enough to go to school, I would go to the daycare there uh for jazzer size. Oh my god. And um there were times when this is from what she told me, I can't remember a whole lot about it, but um, they would teach us uh little dance for the kids to show our moms. And uh she told me that everyone in the room said that I was just a natural performer and everything. And so I was like, okay, and so um I kind of started feeding off of the attention I was getting. Of course, of course, I jumped into dance as a child, and I started out as hip-hop. Um, I did my first hip-hop class at my elementary school. Um, didn't go to the studio quite yet, uh, that my uh brother and sister were going. But then um once it hit school season, then I jumped into my first hip-hop class there. And I was on stage and did the recital, and I think we actually did competition with that piece too. So I jumped right into competition as a lot of people. And what studio are you at again? Um the the studio I started at was uh uh called Local Motion. Oh dance studio.

SPEAKER_02 36:28

Where is that?

SPEAKER_04 36:29

Uh right now it's in I think it's still in West Jordan. Uh it might be in South Jordan now. Um but they've moved around quite a bit. Diane Hawker's the studio owner. Um she taught me a little bit. My first dance teacher was uh her name was McCall. Um Shadow McCall. And so I started doing that, and then after a couple of years, a year or two, um I still my mom asked me, I was like, Do you want to start doing more? And I was like, sure. Sure, I'll do more because I I had the I just had like the mindset of like once my mom taught us very s quickly that once you start doing something, you have to complete it. And so for me, um as a kid, I still I felt like I I had to do more and I had to to complete the what I was learning. And so I decided to start doing jazz, and I did my first jazz piece um in competition to the to beat it by Michael Jackson. Oh, and the seed was planted, and you're like, I have no idea who Michael Jackson was for uh like five years after that, though. Oh my god, which is crazy. I didn't know that Michael Jackson's music was really Michael Jackson's music until he died. And then my mom was like, He Michael Jackson died, and I was like, Who's that?

SPEAKER_03 37:47

Yeah, like all your music.

SPEAKER_04 37:49

She was like, It's you you know all the songs. I was like, I don't know what you're talking about. And then she played the song and was like, No way! And so I fell in love with Michael Jackson after that. Yeah, once she played the music, I was like, Yeah, that that makes sense. Yeah, and so um, but I did that, and then um my brother left to go to a different studio called The Vibe, um, which was in Pleasant Grove area, and um he went there for ballroom. Okay, and so I actually started, and uh once I he did one year of that, and I was like, I want to do ballroom. And so I left the studio to go to the vibe, and I did the hip-hop, jazz, ballet, contemporary, ballroom, all of it, except for tab. Yeah, if I would have stayed at local motion, I probably would have taken tab, but I didn't know I want to do tab, and no one else offered it that I was with, so yeah, yeah. Did that and then I went to um uh extravagance after that and found my mentor, Mark. I moved to one more studio called the Dance Project for basically my high school time. Then I went on a mission.

SPEAKER_03 38:56

Where to?

SPEAKER_04 38:57

Yeah. I went to Vegas and I spoke Spanish, which is super awesome. It was like going to another country if like if if you had to stay in the States. Because there's so many people that are from different places around the world in Vegas, and so it was awesome. Yeah, awesome. But yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:16

When did you start like getting into like breaking?

SPEAKER_04 39:20

Breaking?

SPEAKER_01 39:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:22

So I'm actually not a breaker.

SPEAKER_01 39:24

No, but like you are. Like the like the dance battle like scene and all.

SPEAKER_04 39:30

So dance battles, um the so I started battling once I went. Um actually, let's see. What was my first dance battle? I was probably 10 or 12, 10 or 11 or 12. Uh, when I had my first dance battle, it was at the peanut butter jam. Um I want to see that.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

This used to be this used to be chocolate peanut butter jam. Next is what's next animal or no is happening.

SPEAKER_04 40:00

No way.

SPEAKER_02 40:01

Spaghetti downtown breakdowns. Hey.

SPEAKER_04 40:05

I was part of the spaghetti dance code. We did ballet there.

SPEAKER_02 40:08

Oh my god. I'm done. I'm done. No, um ridiculous.

SPEAKER_04 40:15

Yeah, the peanut butter jam. It was a fundraiser for um uh we'll dance for kids, and so uh, we like you had to bring a jar of peanut butter to get into the place. And it was uh if you brought the most peanut butter though, you'd get like some prize or whatever. Um yeah, it was it was really it was a really cool vet. Um and uh Chick Fly sponsored it, so that was pretty cool. The cow was there.

SPEAKER_01 40:39

The cow the big cow was there, usually it was awesome.

SPEAKER_04 40:43

Um that event happened for a long time. Um it's no longer called the peanut butter jam. They just have a fundraiser every year, usually at like Millennium. Um but yeah, that was my first battle, and I I can't remember if I won it or not. I did win it at one point as a junior as a kid in the junior category, won one of the peanut butter jams.

SPEAKER_02 41:04

Um okay, correct me if I'm wrong. Do you do this like by yourself or do you have like like as a group you go on a battle?

SPEAKER_04 41:13

It depends. Okay. Um some battles are 1v1, some battles are 2v2, some battles are crews versus crews. And so it just depends on who wants uh who wants to host what, because like you'll have to make it interesting, some people will do like a what they call a Bonnie and Clyde um battle where it's uh uh you have a boy and a girl dancing together and they're they're going against their that's their team. Um they'll have events where they're like, okay, we're gonna put a breaker with an all-styles battler. Um so because breakers are so prominent in the battle realm that um it seems like the a lot that we have to have a whole separate category without with the breakers excluded because they're just so good at battle. Um sometimes that's what it feels like, and so um, but yeah, so they would do that. Um there's different types of ways that you'd battle, and I prefer single battles, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_01 42:10

He wants all the attention.

SPEAKER_04 42:12

It's not really that, it's more like I can't live up to the person that I'm dancing with all the time. Okay, well that should be. That's how I feel. It's so hard. It's a lot of pressure. Yeah, I've been battling for years, and I still it's still hard.

SPEAKER_02 42:27

I mean, like I can oh god. When you hire yourself, you just like go off. You don't really need to worry about anyone else.

SPEAKER_01 42:34

So I get that.

SPEAKER_04 42:35

It's like I don't if I lose, I lose, and that's on me. That's it. Yeah, you know, but sometimes if you feel like you lose, you're like, well, I made this other guy lose. It's really hard when it's like um uh when it's your when it's like a good friend that you know and they have like all these high expectations for you, and you're like, Yeah, we're gonna do so good.

SPEAKER_03 42:54

Uh oh.

SPEAKER_04 42:55

And then you don't win, you're like, oh no!

SPEAKER_03 43:00

I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 43:01

So uh but yeah, I love battling. It's uh it's one of my favorite things to do. That's good. I always try to hit as many as I can. I don't get to as much right now just because of like Odyssey and stuff. And yeah, so but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:13

Well, season's over, you have no excuse.

SPEAKER_04 43:15

Oh, I know.

SPEAKER_01 43:16

Get out there.

SPEAKER_04 43:16

I know. I went to uh I went to a battle not too long ago, it was a little about a month ago. Yeah. One at UVU. There you go. I wanted to go to it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:24

I have for that. Wait, I missed that invite. I didn't see that. Oh, I'm sorry. I kind of invited myself. I was like, wait, Curtin, you have one coming up. I want to go. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 43:36

I would love to go to a dance battle. I want to, yeah. My studio used to do this like really janky one. It was called Battle on the Coast, and it would like happen in our dance studio, and they would invite like guys from like everywhere. So it would be a bunch of like little like 10 year olds, and then there would just be random like 30 year old men walking around. It was kind of weird. Um funny video of my brother battling because obviously they had like a younger category I think or maybe no looking I feel like I remember my brother battling like a grown man but the like there it's just him it's just him like literally like bopping around and like he was in like taekwondo at the time and so he was literally throwing in like taekwondo moves and then he eventually he didn't know what this meant but he just eventually at one point went like this to the guy.

SPEAKER_04 44:23

He went yo that's crazy he was 10 he was like never and he didn't he had no idea like what that meant because apparently it was some kind of like taekwondo thing it's like a block or something that's so awesome anyways that's not important so that's my that's my experience with the right right right oh man anyways Carson how'd you find your way to Odyssey um my way to Odyssey um is kind of different so um when I got back from my mission um I didn't really start dancing right away um I had my crew because um I I had my my crew before I left um I came back and they were still training and so I went back and started training with them again to get back into the groove of everything and like I was like I don't know if I'm gonna like really keep dancing or not I just kinda want to do it for fun on the side right now. Yeah um and I got a job at Mount America as a loan officer so that was kind of cool. I was making some good money uh started going to BYU for school as a dance manager business minor and um it was uh oh my sister she was on the my younger sister was on the drill team for JuWab high school and uh um her coaches knew me and what I like to do and the new thriller and everything from Odyssey um they saw the news that uh thriller was happening again yeah because me and my sister we went and saw the last show as well the very last show we went and saw it closing night yeah yeah we didn't even know oh my god yeah it was awesome and then uh so I was like oh well that's that's that's that ship sailed and so whatever and I was like I don't even know if I'd even want to be on Odyssey because it wasn't I I saw the thriller show and I was like the hip hop is not my hip hop you know right you know it's you know do you want to so Rick the the person that choreographed a lot of uh mummies was Rick Robinson he was my ballroom coach and uh he told me that he choreographed it and I was like he was like yeah it's a hip hop piece in the thriller I was like oh six when I went and saw it first time I was like wait what call that hip hop that's like that's jazz inside yeah it was crazy with a turn section at the end so I was like already like I don't know about Odyssey but once uh once the my sister's coaches found out about it they told my sister to tell me to audition uh for it and so I was like oh really I don't know and it was like I kind of kind of blew it off actually because I was like I don't know if I really want to do that yeah yeah and so um I was there at DYU in class and Natalie Haas was in my class actually yes yeah she was in my yes she was yeah I do remember this um she was in my class and um she said that she was going to the thriller audition for Odyssey and I was or the Odyssey audition and I was like wait actually you're doing that you're going to do that no way that's crazy and so I was like and she was like wait you know about it I was like yeah I I actually do she was like are you going I was like maybe maybe I'll go she's like well I'm going I was like okay maybe I should go I don't know it just kind of boosts me to kind of like it's people are going maybe I should just go and kind of see what it's like and so um I figured out the details of it all and I saw it online I saw it started through Lily's Instagram book and the website yep uh everything um and so I uh um I decided to go uh found the time and the address and um thought I had more time to get there so I showed up five minutes late didn't have any of the paperwork done nothing I just had my resume show I walked in running because I knew I was late for one. I was like well well I already blew this audition it seems like because I'm late and so I walk in and um everyone's warming up in the one studio and uh um luckily I saw the bags in the other studio because it was I put my bag in the other in the studio that we're all warming up that was really embarrassing. Oh bad so um I started warming up with everybody and um the whole time they were like did you get your paperwork done I was like what no was I supposed to fill something out I don't know and so I like I felt so immature at the time because I knew how to audition but I'd never like I hadn't been to one for for a long time yeah and I just felt so unprofessional so I was like I already no I didn't get the job I was there to like kind of chill and I had the impression because I only saw the start time I didn't see an end time so I was like it's an audition all the auditions I went to were an hour to two hours so it was like six hours the first style and we went through everybody going through the first style that we did.

SPEAKER_01 49:34

Yeah ballet and yeah ballet when you did your torture day that made quite an impression on me.

SPEAKER_04 49:41

Can I just say something we never did ballet ever since until then for like for like years it was like four years since I did a ballet class that was crazy.

SPEAKER_02 49:50

Here's my impression of Carson at that audition because all three of us were there and I remember seeing you like rush in and you had like a backwards hat on you had like baggy clothes and I was like look at this guy and then I see you go across the floor from ballet and I said so he's here for something else get a little bit so funny it was so good.

SPEAKER_04 50:16

Because I actually felt like I did okay.

SPEAKER_01 50:19

Yeah I actually felt like I did get it I remember like I remember watching you and being like oh like he's obviously a hip hop guy like there is like no mistaking it but I remember watching ballet and being like okay but like he knows what he's doing like and you were the only guy who knew what you're he was doing.

SPEAKER_04 50:35

Yeah there was only there was like only a couple others in those roles the ones that they hired that like were actually like doing good but yeah like you and Grayden were the I thought the only guys that were like oh okay yeah they're gonna make it did Peter was Peter he was at the audition but I don't remember him doing ballet Peter Morten he was helping I'm sure because I because I would have saw him I would have saw him in the Sketchula V like I don't think I remember anyway at that side of the room at the bar with this roller yeah yeah and his massage gun and he is gonna cop out like for half of Ton Bus oh and he did this okay anyways you auditioned how that go it went it went well I was so tired because I did not prepare myself for seven hours of dancing because it it went the first the first style we did all the auditions so I was like waiting for like a callback or like something like that like hey kid thanks for everybody okay you're good to go yeah like some cuts to go through yeah like cuts to go through because that's how I remember in like convention once you did if you that's why I never got scholarships in convention because they always had ballet first if you did not do good in ballet you didn't get a scholarship. I was like okay so um yeah and then we went to the next style and then we went to the next style and I was like I'm still here we're still here what are we doing here it was the next next style and then we did tap which was the last one and I was like oh my gosh I had a feeling that we would might be doing tap because it said it in the audition and so I I mean I I I had a feeling but I was like maybe not because I'm like we've already been here for two hours so why would we do tap audition I like vividly remember like the infographic that Lily probably spent so much time making I remember it vividly saying like dancers come prepared to do ballet jazz tab ballroom contemporary I had a hard time I had a really hard time believing it after two hours of breathing I was like we're done yeah so and then also acro yeah oh my goodness oh my god I can't imagine though walking into that audition like thinking that you were gonna be there for an hour and then then being like okay everyone get your ballroom show okay get your tap shoes okay we're moving to hip hop that I would have been so frustrated it was blowing my mind I was like man I thought I had I I think I had plans that night too I was like not anymore to make up well I guess not going because I'm still here yeah that is actually really funny and then at the end of the whole audition they uh sat us on the line and they they called people to go in the the other room and they said I got the job and I was like what back I got the job I was like y'all gonna have to give me like two months to think about this because I'm prepared not to get the job oh my god I did not think I was gonna get it I had no intention of getting it is so that's actually hilarious yeah I was like okay well we'll figure it out I guess oh my gosh so uh because I had I I was like I felt like I needed to start like doing a career and I was like I don't know if a professional dancer was gonna be my career so because I ever since I um since before my mission actually I've had the dream of starting my own convention um my own dance convention and so I was like oh I'm gonna go to school get business classes and use my dance degree to pay for those business classes right um and so uh I had no intention of actually performing because I thought I was done I was like I performed it out and I went on two years and no one's gonna want me now because I can't dance as well.

SPEAKER_01 54:31

Yeah but here you are Odyssey definitely wanted you because of Odyssey.

SPEAKER_04 54:37

Yeah I had a I had some uh spirit guided feelings because um I found the love of my life in Odyssey which was crazy well look at that it was it was it was a decision I was like I I debated to start Odyssey for years and or not years uh months it was a few months and then fell a year it happened it happened and now I know why everything happens for a reason yes everything does I'm a full believer everything happens for a reason what oh my gosh I have to say this the first um the first interaction that I had with Lily was through an email oh well of course it was her it was her getting on my back because I still hadn't send my bio for the Instagram hard she was like she was like she sent me a few emails before like hey I need your bio and I was like okay I didn't send it because I hated I didn't like I didn't want to write a bio I didn't know how to write one and I hate writing and uh the fact that I knew her late her name was Lily I was like man it's a girl scene my hand my my writing skills is really bad and so I was like already want to impress her and I didn't know anything about AI at the time I didn't understand it and so I didn't use that and so I just like and then she it was like it was past due and she asked I need your bio right now dude and I was like okay I'm cursing so I sent it and I said I was like if you want to change anything on this bio you totally can I really don't care like I don't know if it's good I hope you like it I sent that all in the email I hope you like it is that is so funny guys writing is very stressful if I if I'm scared of anything it's writing actually I hate writing what are you gonna do about your vows you better not use AI I'll kill you that's from the heart that's different I'm really good at speaking though I can speak on the fly sometimes okay I can be really good at it guys I did it for the proposal did you want to hear that or was that just like off the cut? I had an idea of what I was going to say but I had two options and I was like whatever happens happens well there you go and I picked the one oh my gosh and then this girl that you were so afraid of became your Frankenstein partner. Yes she did and the first time I saw her though was at was um at the photo shoot and uh um I was already I was embarrassed again because she was like I thought I freaking wear to this photo shoe and I am not I know I already knew that I was like I'm gonna be the only one with shoes. Oh my god well they did say like bring shoes options yeah like and I brought options and I remember she like looked at all my stuff and she was like this is kind of cool we'll do this I thought I was honestly my whole life I thought I was so stylish right um and then she humbled me very very quickly yeah in a in a photo shoot session yeah but then she became my Frankenstein partner and then um she became my ballroom partner and it just skyrocketed from there. And then she became your girlfriend and then she became your fiance and she's gonna become your wife that's crazy oh my god wow you like watched her dance on stage before you even like knew who she was yeah it's true I did I don't remember what you were though that night oh maiden I was gonna say you're the Blackwitcher maiden yeah and like was there a certain maiden that your eye was pulled to that night you remembered you were gone maiden number one um well now I want to hear about like your side of like the proposal and all the things um so uh I wanted to propose for a while I just didn't know like when and also I I was like I really need the money for a ring and for a good honestly I probably would have proposed yeah yeah authentic dynamic should I share that story that's not we talked about it in Germany and yeah sorry go on yeah so I uh I don't know what I was trying to um I've been wanting to propose for for a long time if I would have if I could have I would have proposed for it probably before Thriller or during thriller or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 59:32

I remember I remember rumors of this yeah I remember rumors of that like hopping around.

SPEAKER_04 59:38

I was gonna do it during the fall so that it could like happen faster. Yeah because I wanted to do it sooner. Right right also I also like didn't have like a total like timeline that I could actually do it until we went ring shopping in Park City because once I found out how much the rings were gonna be I was like yeah yeah yeah so we gotta it's gonna take it so I was like yeah maybe we're just we're just going for fun we're just going for fun I wanna we're just kind of fun little day to go look at rings. And so we decided to make rings instead right so um but yeah I've been I it's been on my mind for a long time um but then I had uh I didn't know how I wanted to propose for a while until um I knew that we were going to Germany and I was like well Germany would be a pretty cool place and so it was actually set to be in Germany um for a while and I told some of my family like well how are we supposed to be there right and I was like hmm right I'll FaceTime you right you know and so I was like I I was on the this constant battle of like do I want like a cool place or do I want special moment and I debated about a day and I was like okay special moment so because I just um I remembered I was like the first time I told her I loved her was the closing night last year. And so I was once I remembered that I was like that has to be the day. That has to be the day that I proposed to her because one it would also help with a really good speech. And it did it was a really good speech um and also it just it puts a really good marker I think for our relationship being a a year. Yeah a solid year and so I I decided to do it then and the preparation um just was me cat like very pick I was very picky on who I told at what time um so yeah so I I knew because I I understood the company I was like there are some people I'm not gonna tell there are some people that cannot keep their mouth shut true um and so say their names we won't do that he's like Daryl Yeager you can't you beat me to the punch probably so this is actually really funny this is really funny so wait um uh I told I asked Daryl um before we went uh to Germany about a couple weeks a few weeks before I was like hey I want to propose to Lily um at the end of a show and I was like can I do that will you let me he was like yeah that's no problem that should be that shouldn't be a problem um so I was like okay cool I have the permission I know he's gonna forget about it and I was like but I have the permission so I can actually plan on it right and um because I know he'll forget it and it was so casual and like passing by that he wasn't gonna bring it up so I was very strategic about that.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:49

Big brain there.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:51

Yeah so I was like okay I'm not I'm not gonna bring it up again for a while to him um until um I think it was interviews um that's when we actually started talking about it and then um during our interview uh V and Darby were there and uh I can't remember what uh Daryl was saying but I was like dude you gotta be a little more careful actually because V V said like honestly he's the one you were the one that asked that you have to worry about because um uh the whole time like he just wanted once he once it was like set in stone for his brain he wanted to tell me like what are we doing for this how should we do this and he was constantly in the conversation whenever he talked to me right and so I was like Daryl you gotta be careful you gotta be more careful. It's like you with Lily he's like so when you propose to Lily on closing that felt like it felt like that I was like oh my gosh because he does like the whole like he he he thinks he's sometimes he thinks he's clever and is like putting it like it's like a sidebar like it's like oh you know what I'm talking about I'm like everyone knows what I'm talking about. Yeah right um but yeah so that's kind of like how it went and then um I finally got the ring and I didn't have the ring until we got back from Germany. Uh that's when I actually got the ring um and then the night before I sent the music to Daryl the night before I proposed I sent the music to Daryl and I was downstairs in my basement and it was 2 a.m in the morning couldn't sleep and um I started practicing what I was going to do. So I was in my basement and I was like okay and I hit the song and I started walking out on my queue and I was like Lily and I practice the speech and make sure I finish it on time. Like in front of the mirror or something oh my god this is I wasn't in front of the mirror I was I was down it was in my basement the big living room area in my basement and I was because I I had to have a stage I needed to walk I needed to practice walking to her yeah to talk about the measurements of the stage put it in your face exactly and I had it I had to measure out like the song especially so that it wasn't too long and then I wasn't speaking too long and that I would stop right when it said risk it all.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:11

No one heard it but I did but you did risk it all that's what matters yep the lyric said risk it all right when I finish saying my piece and so there you go it's with that context that actually makes a lot of sense because I remember like um like pushing Lily forward and she's like what's happening and then I expected to look over and like already see you walking out but like there was like a good like five beats before you started.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:34

So now that I know you were like waiting for your cue that actually makes a lot yeah because I knew I was like I'm gonna walk really fast because I know how nervous I was baby yeah um and so I had to I had to time it out as much as there you go as I could. I know we were all like this Well I saw I I actually came out early than when I wanted to because she was looking at me. Right and I was like ooh shoot I better go now And um I was I was shaking out of my mind.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:06

It was it was it was really I know I remember seeing that like because I actually I thought I was gonna drop the ring, putting it on her finger because I was like Yeah, and you opened the box upside down.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:18

It wasn't upside down, the box was not upside down. Oh, it wasn't it? They have a little the it had a little platform thing in it where the ring sits that's separate from the box. And because I had the ring in my pocket during finale, you danced with it? I did only for finale because V had it, and I was like, V, you're gonna give it to me right out right before I go on for finale, and I just dance with it. Yeah, and so it was flipped over upside down, the the platform was. I got it. So I just had to fix it, I just had to fix it really fast.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:47

I thought you opened it upside down. I was like, oh no.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:50

It was very embarrassing because I was like, oh man, I knew that was gonna happen though.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:58

That's true. That's a design flaw. You know what, and like hindsight, you it could have been a really cool moment. It could have been like you standing there and you like go like this, and then V like throws it to you. Like the hammer in panda. Like the hammer in panda! You know, see, and this is why you should have had me helping you.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:16

Oh my god! And when I came to my hand, and it'd be like, Mary, Mary!

SPEAKER_01 1:07:26

Oh my god, you know, hindsight is 2020. It's okay. Oh man. You can do that when you guys like renew your advice.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:35

I'm gonna have her do that. And I'll be making her pull up her post tour as a kid and pandas. Yeah! Wait, that's terrible. That's a good idea. Oh my god, that's really funny. And then and I'll have a ring pop in it.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:53

Wait, this is good. It's really good. Daryl V, are you listening? Right this time. Yeah, that's so funny. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:01

That's so funny.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:02

Wow, such a such a special moment.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:05

Yeah. Definitely one of my favorite moments. Definitely turn into the best uh best night of my life.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:10

Yeah. Well, should we get Lily back in here so we can have a rapper lady? Come.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:18

Okay, we're here.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:19

Now we have mommy and poppy on.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:23

Mother and father. Thank you very much. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:29

Did you get that when I commented on that? Okay, great.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:32

Anytime we get comments from you guys, we read them.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:36

Thank you. Well, now we have both of Lily and Carson on our.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:42

We have both pairs of Lily and Carson.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:45

Both pairs? Yeah, both Lily and Carson, as you can see. And um we're just so happy for you guys. It's so crazy seeing this like front row from the beginning. From the journey. Oh yeah. Quite the journey. It's like, oh, it it was like it was bound to happen. Yeah. Right. Yeah. 100%. And I love it.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:11

Once I lifted it up in the air.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:13

That first frankly that you nailed, and I was really happy about it.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:16

Yeah. And you're like, oh, okay. So they're gonna be franking for you for life.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:21

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:22

But any like updates or like wedding, and like how's that going? Planning.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:30

We can't wait. No. I need time to plan. Yeah. I'm actually going to I'm actually going wedding dress shopping next week. Oh my god. Send all pictures. I was gonna say send me all of them. Yes. So we're doing that. We've been like talking to photographers today, looking at caterers and all that kind of stuff. So it's definitely it's going. Yeah. Um, you know, I've added that to my list of to-do things. Yep. So I need to hire an assistant. Honestly. Oh my god. Like, I made my hand first. She's a home assistant. Yes, way work.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:11

I will be living with Lily all of summer. And then possibly more. Yeah. So I'll be living with both of them. Yes. Within the space. My own space. It's totally fine. I'm gonna be so fine at this point. It's gonna be so awesome. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:25

Yeah, so we have a lot of planning to do still, engagement photos, all that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:29

We're super excited. Super excited.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:32

It's so awesome. I know. I just remember like after like you proposed and everything, and it was happening. Carson's like, we're like literally packing up like the theater trying to get out of there, and Carson's like, let's just go, let's just get eloped. Like, let's just go get married right now. Like, let's just go. Like, I can't wait till I was like, oh my god. Like he was ecstatic.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:51

He walks into the dressing room. The first thing he says, he's like, guys, I have a fiance.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:59

Even though.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:00

I'm stoked about it. As you should be. As you should be. Yes. I love it.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:07

Well, we love you guys so much, and we're so grateful for you guys to be putting on this podcast. Oh my goodness. That's kind of awesome.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:15

You know, there's one thing I want to say though. Okay. Um from uh from that proposal, I just want to say thank you to every single one of the company members that was there. Because it really like I though the while I was out there, it was me and her. But uh I watched the video, I've watched the video so many times, and I've cried so many times, and it's because every single one of you were there, and you guys were so excited and so happy for us. And it just it it means a lot to me to see the support from everyone from my friends to my family.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:50

How about I cry?

SPEAKER_04 1:11:52

Um, yeah, you guys are are super awesome, and I'm so so so happy that I know you and you guys are my friends. And this doesn't just go to you three, it goes to everyone on the company. I'm yeah, I'm just ecstatic.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:05

Oh, I'm loving you guys so much. I love Lady Lily.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:11

She's my jump in Lily now. No, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:16

That was so cute. Oh guys, thank you for coming in front of the camera.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:21

Yeah, doing this again for a while. This is this is the laugh that you hear all the time. That cackle. Now you have a face to the laugh. And you too. You get some cutting there. Goodbye. Love you. Thank you for watching. Goodbye.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:38

See you later, unscripted.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:40

Ooh. See you later, unscripted. See you later, unscripted. Yes. Yay! Woohoo!