You may have seen them on NBC's World of Dance, dancing behind your favorite artist, choreographing Meghan Trainer's latest music video, or scrolling through your Instagram. Ask anyone in the dance world and they will tell you - Kaycee Rice and Sean Lew are child prodegy legends. Not only have they grown into even more talented teenagers, but they have stayed best friends along the way. (And guys, they aren't just Instagram bffs, these two actually accidentally showed up in matching outfits and continually finished eachother's sentences). On this episode, Kaycee and Sean tell all about their experience competing on World of Dance, the story of how they met and began dancing together, building their dance careers on Instagram, and stories of the celebrities they have worked with.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Behind the Influence, a production of I Heart
Radio and TDC Media. I guess like I went through
like a certain life experience, and I felt like the
only person that would understand that certain life experience was Casey.
I don't think anyone really truly understand. Most of our
resumes are on YouTube or on Instagram, showing people what
(00:22):
you're able to do with your body. It's kind of
like you're using dancing to show people what you're able
to do with your heart and with your soul and
with your mind. And it's like and what you can
explain without having to say a word. Casey Rises Shanlu
pro dancers. In real life, theffs are in the house,
in the house. Not only are you in the house,
(00:43):
you're you're in the house and coordinated in the house.
You guys want to tell the people who can't see
us right now, what's going on with the ensemble. Well,
we always for some reason like color coordinate. It's scary. Yeah,
the guys, this is not just a color a white
chop and a jean jacket, and it's almost like the
(01:04):
same texture gene jacket. I mean literally, there would be
times where like we would either like see each other
in class or walk down on the lobby, and I
would wear colors that I would never wear at all,
and I'd be like, you know, I'm gonna throw in
some yellow. And then I walked down and then she
walks down. I'm like, so you're wearing yellow. I'm wearing yellow.
When do you wear yellow different? Today? That is so funny.
(01:29):
So you guys are you guys obviously have a long
history of working together and being friends. Let's take it
back to where it all began for people who don't
know the backstory of Casey and Sean. Who wants to
take this tale or one of you can start at
the other convenish it. You're so insanc I feel like
it could work. I can start it. So we started
(01:50):
competing like seven to eight years ago. I had a
separate studio and she had a separate studio, and we
kind of competed with each other. But then it was
always like just like, hey, hey, you're good, you too,
And then and then after that we started when I
started moving into the classes in l A and everything
like that, I also saw her in classes there too,
(02:13):
and so we always kept bumping into each other. But
like when we first met each other, it was far
from like being like even friends at all. We were
always just like, like I admired her, admired her as
a dancer when I first saw her on stage and
everything like that. But I was never like, I want
to grab some lunch. I was just gonna say, for
people who are not aware of how young both of
(02:35):
you are, sixteen and seventeen, yeah, when you met, you
had to have been at the ripe age of eight
and nine. It was more like our parents were doing
the talking, so you're not really necessarily being like, want
to go to soho house talking to each other, and
then we just hear your parents like, Hi, this is
my son, this is my daughter. Yeah, I mean, but
all in all, it was really just like we kept
seeing each other a lot in like competitions and then
(02:58):
in classes and all that stuff. So it was really
just kind of this like sign where I was like,
maybe we should just be friends. See where that goes.
Had you seen the video of Casey when she did
is it work that Katie didn't carry? Katie Perry tweet that,
okay when I saw that video today because I was
watching it this morning and just to you know, go
(03:20):
through all the research. Yeah, well that's what I do
every morning. I like that I have my coffee that
I do. You but oh my goodness, so talented. How
old are you in that video? I was ten years old.
I mean like when she does those like hit thrust, like,
oh my god, those are like powerful, they were power power,
(03:43):
And then Katie Perry sees it. How was it as
a ten year old? Honestly, I didn't really quite know
what was going on at the time because I was
so young. I just remember like one of my fans
like commented on one of my random selfies on Instagram.
I was like, hey, Katy Perry just retweeted as your
solo and I was like what, And we all thought
(04:04):
it was like something like it was a fake account.
So we went and did like the research and we're like,
oh no, it's like the actual Katy Perry. But at
the time I was just kind of like cool, I
don't I don't know what this means, Like I don't
even know what you do with this, yeah exactly, And
my parents were like, oh my gosh, like this is
(04:25):
for real, and it just blew up and it was
one of the very first dance videos to actually sort
of go viral. So that was like really really cool,
and I got so many opportunities after that. That's just
been insane and it's just crazy. Well you are too,
I mean a lot of your stuff went viral as well.
(04:46):
That's obviously probably your first memory of something really going
viral and people you kind of became a household name
at that point. Yeah, and then what was it for you, Sean,
when you realize that this was something because obviously dance
is something that people take very seriously. Some unfortunately, do
not have the careers that you guys have had. And
you're you're so young, you saw the world in front
(05:08):
of you. You had a moment in your career, your
career as a ten year old perhaps where you realized
this is something I could really make into a longtime career. Yeah,
I mean, was there a moment for you, like a
a video got a lot of attention, or somebody asked
you to choreograph something where you were like, they're taking
me seriously, this is something I could really do well. Actually,
(05:30):
when I think when I was ten, it was generally
a competition and I was like I asked my studio owner.
I was like, hey, can I just choreograph my own
solo and like try it in the studio and it
was like no, I don't do that, and like there's
no point and I was like, no, I really want
to try, and she was very doubtful about it, and
I was like, Okay, if I really prepare and if
(05:51):
I go into the next one by myself, will you
let me? And I was like I'll even like even
compete away from your studio. I'll go independently, and she
just like okay, fine. So then you know, I spent
a lot of time, you know, choreographing like my own solo,
and do you remember what song it was to um?
It was so long ago. It was so long ago,
(06:12):
and it was so brief. It was just like it
was just a moment for me that kind of like
stuff like this light where I was like I realized that,
you know, as I cho ground, was like, oh, no,
one knows me more than myself. So so I really
tried to push it out there. And then at that point,
I beat all my other solos and I beat all
like my other like routines that I did in the
competition with that solo, and I was like, oh my god,
(06:34):
this is like something I want to do and this
is something that I want to share. And so then
I started like teaching in any possible way I could,
either in charities or in fundraisers or in just my
sister's high school. And from that point on, it was
kind of just like, I want to keep doing this
forever and beat that studio owner success story. So, you
guys were so young at this point, and obviously big
(06:56):
things are happening for both of you, you know of
each other. How was it because you're obviously were you
still in school at that point, yes, So how are
you balancing because obviously you're in a different tier of
talent of dance. How are you balancing practicing and taking
dance seriously and maybe going pro and also taking school
(07:16):
seriously as well. Well. At the moment, we're both graduated
from school. But at the time it was tough, like
separating dance and school and also, yeah, finding that balance,
but we always like managed to do it. And obviously
(07:37):
school does come first, but dances also our passion and
our loves. So it was just really finding that balance
between studying but then also doing what we loved. And
it's also just kind of the idea of knowing that,
like school is a priority, so because dance is our passion,
we kind of have to make sure that we get
the school thing done first, and then you go into
(07:58):
like moving with dancing. Because I feel like every time
you decide to push school away when you have to
do it and you start to kind of go into,
you know, your passion, you're always distracted by knowing that
you still have to do school, and like at a
certain point, you know, so it pulls away from that,
you know, you giving that whenever you are dancing. So
(08:19):
for us, either for us when we were on set
or when we were rehearsing or this, this, and that,
it was always just making sure that we at least
finished school. We at least had to finish what we
had to finish for school, and then we can move
on to you know, and in your mind was what
you had to finish was high school. Yeah. So I
always wondered this about child stars and your actors who
(08:41):
are land big TV roles at a very young age,
how you can really commit to two things equally, because
I feel like you're taking from one to focus on
the other, knowing that you had to finish school and
just get it done, and you both knew that you
had this promising career in dance. Were you taking school
(09:02):
less seriously just because you had this career that you
felt you could fall back on or was it the
other way around where school was taken really seriously because
you never knew where dance would take you. Oh, I
felt like a new where dance would take me. I
feel like I feel like in our case, I feel
like we we kind of looked at dancing as like
our guiding hand kind of thing, because I mean, obviously
(09:23):
we took school very seriously, and at least for me
and my parents are very strict about making sure that, like,
you know, you had to finish this year to firms
that otherwise you don't get to do this and that
kind of thing. So it was kind of like school
was my motivation. Would dance get taken away from you?
You think if you started slipping in school for sure?
For sure? For sure? Yeah, I mean, I mean it
(09:43):
makes sense. You know. I love that your parents both
did that for you guys, but you'd be surprised in
the industry how many parents would say, you know what,
don't worry about it, you just gotta you know this
series regular on this show. We'll focus on school later.
I mean, when you think about it, like at the moment,
we were obviously like, fine, well, every high school kid,
(10:04):
you're not You're not a bad person for not wanting
to go to class by the way, nobody likes. I mean,
there would be like tough moments at certain times because
it was like we had to sacrifice this for school
or sacrifice that for school. You know, once you kind
of like look back at it, you're kind of just
like really grateful for the fact that, like our parents,
we're super strict with what our priorities had to be
(10:24):
at and just knowing that, like I said, I feel
like dancing was really our guiding hand into what we
wanted to do in the future. Is settled that in
our heart, and that's why we were able to commit
so fully into school and then going back into dance,
just because we kind of trusted that dance would continuously
take us to where we needed to be at while
we're still doing school. So and then as far as
(10:46):
post high school, a lot of dancers, I guess would
try to apply to school like Juilliard or some kind
of dance institution. You guys were already making moves in
the real world. So did you ever have a conversation
with parents, or with yourselves or amongst yourselves and try
to decide, Okay, do we go into the real world
(11:06):
now or do we continue to maybe foster this through
school in another way that was focused on dance. I
think for dancing, I just knew I love to do it.
So since we kind of already dove our feet into
like the real life world in the industry and everything,
I think that's just where our paths are taking us.
(11:30):
And at the moment, I don't think like we want
to study dance like at school, because dance is more
than just studying it. It's also a feeling and it's
something that makes you feel good. It makes you who
you are. Yeah, a lot of people say that your
real life experience always trumps right, And I'm sure you
(11:53):
guys are learning so much more actually doing the routines
and trying things out versus getting it from a textbook
or Yeah, I just feel like the way that we
approach dance isn't necessarily I guess you could say, supported
from like she said, textbooks and from you know, certain limitations.
I feel like for us, we kind of look at
it in a way where we're driven from, like she said,
(12:16):
of feeling, rather than it being a certain technique or
a certain you know, rule that you get from school.
You know. So yeah, a lot of schools are formulaic.
Whereas you guys, I feel like just from all the
videos I saw of you guys dancing together, it's very
it's almost created between the two of you, or you'll
create something or you'll from a thing exactly, and you're
(12:38):
not necessarily in a box of a certain kind of dance.
You're kind of creating your own lane. Is that? Would
you agree that you're creating your own lane? So what
is the lane that you've created? If you were to
describe to somebody your styles of dance, I would kind
of say it's a fusion. There really is no specific
word to describe what we do or even anybody in
(13:01):
the dance industry nowadays. It's all just based off of
who people are, and they kind of create their own
style based on what feels good to them, which is
like really cool. So not everyone's doing the same thing,
and you're constantly learning new things from different people and
stepping outside of your comfort zone. Yeah, it's it's really
(13:22):
just about that certain lane that you're talking about that
represents who you are, not as a dancer, but as
like just a regular human being, because I feel like
it really shows as to what you do every day
outside of dance, and you kind of infuse that when
you're dancing, and so not not saying like oh, I'm
a hip hop dancer or I'm a contemporary dancer, I'm
(13:42):
a lyrical dancer. It's like whenever they're dancing, they're not
limiting limiting their selves to that certain style. They're limiting
themselves to how they feel and that day even just
like on that certain time or that certain moments. So
I feel like nowadays dance is really driven by just
who we are as people and who we surround ourselves
with and how we prepare ourselves just to the world.
(14:05):
Someone used around yourself with this Casey and Casey surrounds
herself with you and you guys were and are basically
very exactly when did you guys decide it was a
good move to start collaborating. It was a feeling, Yeah,
it really was. It wasn't something that like we were
always talking about like texting, like oh, we gotta collapse,
(14:27):
we gotta do this together, like and then like it
never happened that kind of situation. But I guess like
I went through like a certain life experience, and I
felt like the only person that would understand that certain
life experience was Casey, And I felt like she was
the only person that kind of stood out from whatever.
I was always taking class with her. Whenever I saw
(14:47):
her dance, it was like this level of commitment that
wasn't necessarily always around in the world, you know. So
I kind of took that really seriously and I was like, Casey,
do you want to do this video? It wasn't even
a video. I just told her, like what it was
about was just like, Casey, there's a certain thing that
I want to tell people about and this this isn't that.
(15:09):
And I was like, I would love for you to
be a part of it. Was that the first do
you do you want to tell us what that was? Yeah?
It was this video called wrong Words, and actually the
title of it's called life Experience Wrong Words. And I
feel like that's basically like what we strive for when
we're dancing. It's just especially for when I'm creating something
or when we're creating something it's built off of a
(15:31):
life experience, because that's one of the most genuine feelings
and the most genuine ways of portraying something comes out.
And so, you know, after it came out, a lot
of the responses like it was more than I could
ever imagine, and it was it was just that the
idea of what we do as dancers could be so
much more than just showing people what you're able to
(15:52):
do with your body. It's kind of like you're using
dancing to show people what you're able to do with
your heart and with your soul and with your mind.
And it's like what you can explain without having to
say a word exactly. And I think that kind of
that kind of way of showing people that sticks in
people's heads because it's like you can tell people one thing,
but then when you're putting your full commitment into telling
(16:14):
people something that you don't even have to say, it
like creates this longevity in their head where it like
always sticks in their head and it's like, oh my god,
I always remember this, This isn't that, and it's all
from this certain video. And I guess that that was
really the first time that I felt like I really
used dance to fully impact someone's life rather than just
trying to impress someone, you know. And I think that
(16:36):
from just the whole process of doing it with Casey
and and creating it, it wasn't like it was far
from being stressful. It was just literally like us clicking
back and forth being like this, this, this, this, this, this,
even no one knows what this means exactly. I was
(16:57):
like this, well, yeah, like as we're like going back
and forth with like the whole idea of the video,
it was always just going back and forth with the
right ideas, and it always stuck to the same concept
of what we were trying to say rather than pulling away.
And I don't know, I guess my favorite part about
that whole first experience of creating that video with her
(17:19):
it was just the process of it and then seeing
people truly become affected by it and become fully aware
of what we were trying to say for their lives.
I think that was just like the greatest feeling possible.
And we both we both talked about it. We were like,
you know, when this video comes out, it's not necessarily
about how big it does or how many views it gets.
(17:43):
It was like, as long as we're able to at
least impact someone from them just watching the video, that
for us is like the biggest thing we could possibly achieve.
What was the message of the video? I mean the
message of it was just basically, the wrong words may
not hurt yourself, but or no, may not hurt other
(18:03):
I don't know. It's your video, other people, but yourself
in the end as well. It's just being careful about
what you say because it could really do damage to
other people but yourself mainly in the end. That's so
evolved for you to be thinking like that because and
there's no problem with this, but there's so many I
see a lot of dance videos we were actually scouring.
(18:25):
As I told you guys before we went, we started
recording so many dancers on the internet, so many dancers
on YouTube, Instagram. Rarely are feelings evoked. I mean sometimes
you're like, oh wow, they look hot and like that
was a sick dance move. But it sounds like you
guys really honed in on something that moved you because
you were moving others and you were I don't know,
(18:47):
you were evoking feelings and others that you didn't even
people you didn't even know. Yeah, I mean, I think
like you're saying, when you see when you come across
all these videos, they're all great because everyone's doing it
based off of, you know, what they love to do.
And it's so cool being able to see seven just
so many different kinds of people dancing into so many
(19:07):
different kinds of songs, and you know, you get so
high because you're just like, oh my god, they're all dancing,
you know, like this is all coming from dance, and
you can all see that like same kind of love
that they all have for it. But at a certain
point too, there's always that like little spark that we
feel like we should be putting out that kind of
reminds people like dances so much more, you know, and
(19:30):
it can go beyond just the certain moves that we're doing,
or it can go beyond the certain classes that we take,
or you know, what we're capable to do with their body.
You know, what makes us stand out from others is
not necessarily what we can do with our body, but
what we can say from our hearts, you know. So
I think that that's something that we really wanted to
take advantage of when it comes to not just dancing,
(19:51):
but just in anything you know. So, so how long
ago was this that first clab? Would you say that
was okay? So it's been about two years since then.
Since then, you guys have launched your YouTube channel that
you are on together, and you also were on World
of Dance Together. Walk me through one why you decided
(20:12):
to do that show. I love that show. First of all,
nothing makes me happier than watching people dance. But then
also you made j Lo cry, which not a lot
of people can say that. So to your point of
bringing people's feelings forward, tell me about your experience on
World of Dance. Well, how it all came about was
we were actually asked to go on the show as individuals,
(20:35):
as soloists, and neither of us really wanted to do that.
But Sean then approached me one day, he facetimely awkward
FaceTime call, like, so do you want to be again?
That's exactly what you guys didn't see me. I was
(20:55):
you're you're sitting next to me, yeah, and so he
faced on me. He based it was like, so you
want to do a World to Dance together? And then
two hours went by of us not saying anything. But
at this point, had they approached each of you individually? Yeah,
was it for the same season? Okay, so they approached
(21:16):
both of you, you both kind of didn't didn't give
an answer or did you just say no? I said
no because I did the first season, and after going
through the first season, I was like, no way am
I going back, Like, there's no way you can't make
me Why there was a certain, like I guess level
confidence that I was going through at that time where
I was just like, there's no way I could pull
it off, Like especially by myself. I was like, there's
(21:39):
with a certain level of pressure that there isn't like competition,
It's more than just you being a great d answer,
you know. So I was like, it's just like I
was like, no alone. So you said no, you did
you say anything? I mean mine was just a shorter
like no, thank you. Both of you say no, But
then it sits with you for a second and you decide, Okay,
(22:01):
maybe I'll do it if Casey does it with me. Yeah,
I was on. I was gonna plane. Then after that,
when I got back, I like called her and she's like,
she said, it was a really awkward FaceTime call. And
after I asked her the question, um, I just ended
up staring at her ceiling about a very indecisive person
with anything everything. So were you just thinking on FaceTime
(22:24):
but not speaking? I couldn't tell because I was staring
at the ceiling, like I said, I think't so she
went downstairs to get some food or if she went
out or if you know, to move into a phone call, yeah,
you know you stuck around, I would have hung up.
I have such a hello, you're not there by I
was literally staring at my phone, like just like hello.
But then I knew it was like such like a
(22:44):
big question. So I was like, I'm not going to
like rush for anything. But did you ask this question
already knowing that the show would have done it with
the two of you together? Or were you just thinking
maybe they'll take us in together? No, I asked her,
knowing that they would take both of us in, But
it was just more of the matter of like, are
we both wanting to do it? You know, because it's
(23:04):
like it's one thing for one of us to do
and then we both come in. But you know that's
not going to work because it's going to affect the
whole journey and process of us being doing the competition.
For me, it was like if she wasn't going to
do it, I mean, there's no point in doing it
at all because I mean, I'm not going to push
her into doing something that she doesn't want to do, right,
(23:24):
But you guys decided to go for it. But what
made you decide it was the move I think, like
I said, it was like a two hour face to
call and it was just like a simple all right,
let's do it. Literally, what were your parents thinking at
that time, because I'm sure they tried and my parents
were like go for it, like do it echoes of
(23:46):
like her mom just being like, yeah, go for it,
just like as like I wasn't seeing anything on the
FaceTime call and then and then I told my dad
and I was like, oh my god, yeah, you should
definitely do it. I was just like, all right, you
guys want to go on. It sounds like you guys
have really supportive parents, and I really think that that
makes or breaks people's careers, especially as young as you
(24:09):
guys were when you started out. I'm sure there were
days when as young dancers had hard days you might
have wanted to quit and maybe mom said, stick it out,
let's go to one more class or whatever it is. Yeah,
it's really interesting because for me, like me and my mom,
like we're still learning too. It's just like there's not
a certain thing where you know, she would know one
(24:29):
thing that I would know a certain thing. It's always
just like we're both learning it together and we're kind
of like teaching each other. And that's a certain way
because I would say I'm still like new to what's
going on right now, Like I'm not fully aware of like, oh,
this person lived in the cave for six years, so
that's why he dances like this or anything. You know.
I don't know those kind of like stuff. So for me,
(24:52):
it's like being with like Casey and then you know,
and then going through all these places with my mom
and all the stuff. It's just like it's just learning
as we're going. Um. And I think that's that's the
best part about having such great people around you in
great parents, because you know, you guys are both just
(25:14):
learning together rather than always trying to like one up
the person. Did you have any dance in your family
or were you kind of like the pioneer before I
started dancing, My whole family actually did taekwondo whenever, Like
I would go to the competitions, I would kind of
just go in like the sparring ring and let the
(25:34):
other kids kick me because I didn't want to fight um.
And so I was kind of like the lone ranger
because my brother and my sister like, I just want
to dance. Yeah, I start kicking you. I didn't even
know anything else. I was just like, I don't like this.
So then just one day as a fluke, my mom
just put me in a dance class and you just
(25:55):
went viral at the right page of ten. But it
was just like not even knowing anything, but it was
just love it first step, I guess you could say,
and I just I just something clicked in me and
I was like, this is what I was meant to do. Amazing.
It really had a spotlight on her when she was
taking her first class and they had a camera and
she was like, this is what I was meant and
(26:16):
her first class she did work and it went viral.
It was her first just nailed it right up the gate. Okay,
so at this point, you guys both say, yes, you
are on World of Dance. This was your first time
on the World of Dance, Right, You've already done it.
How how was it going in a second time around
(26:36):
with Casey? Was the whole vibe different for you? Yeah,
I mean the one was because I was in such
a large group in the first season, so going in
with just another person by my side, I was like hesitant.
I was like, I don't I was obviously going to
tell her like, oh, this is how it works, and
this is how it works. But then going in, like
going on set with her, I was like, I don't
(26:56):
even know what's going on in the second season, Like
I don't, I have no idea. So, like I said,
we were both like like learning what was going on
with the season at the same time. I just walked
in taking season one out of my head. And then
obviously during interview questions they were like if a producer's dream,
it's like the Last Sea. But it was definitely a
(27:18):
different feeling that I got walking on set with Casey, because,
like I said, obviously I was in a larger group
in the first season, but it was more it was
less about feeling like nervous and it was more like
like I felt like it was more pressuring, which I
don't know if that's there's much of a difference, but
it was just because now like all their eyes are
on like just us, rather than being like shadowed by
(27:41):
other dancers. And so it was just this like rush
of okay, if we screw up or if we don't
do good, like you know, there's no there is there
a fear when going into a show like this. We
were having Maddie Poppion on Friday, she won American Idol.
She I always wonder if you're wildly talented, but everyone
(28:03):
has a bad day, right what if your bad day
is on national television and it's the one time people
see you, it is not not the biggest fear for sure.
We were always so nervous, especially for our first round
because obviously our first round dance, we had the blindfolds
when we were dancing, but we didn't actually practice with
(28:25):
the blindfolds until three days before we went on stage.
And the blindfolds that we used, we couldn't really see
out of them, like we saw like shadowy figures. But
with the lights beaming down on you and everything, and
that that stage as well had the light, you can't
see anything. So the day of when we were doing
tech rehearsal. There's this one move where my arm like
(28:48):
smacks and he's supposed to duck, and like I hit him,
and just like everything was going wrong. We're like, oh no,
this is like our worst fear coming true. And we
were blind that day and it was just like our
last rehearsal before we actually did the real thing, like
our last person and it was like we were able
to do on stage, and then there was a certain
lift in the end, and then they kept dropping her,
(29:09):
and you know, we just kept adding and adding until
the day of. We changed the whole dance the day before.
Could you have removed the blind I mean it was
possible that we could have removed the blindfold, but the
only problem was just that like the story that we
were trying to give out wouldn't have you needed the
blindfold story. And also Jlo cried, yeah, I mean you
(29:30):
nailed it. It was just that risk where we were like,
we don't want to regret anything. You know, well, it's
bigger impact, right if you're doing a crazy routine. Basically
blind people are going to be like they know what
they're doing. Yeah, I mean, like I said, we honestly
just walked into that competition competition, not wanting to regret
anything at all, even if it took a risk, even
(29:52):
if it was you know, no one liked it, and
at least we went forward knowing that we gave it
at all. And I think that that was kind of
just like our entire mindset throughout the entire competition. Did
you guys notice after the show, more followers, more fans,
because obviously in the dance community, people probably knew who
you were, but you're not necessarily in the dance community.
(30:13):
If you're watching the show, everyone watches World of Dance.
It's a fun show to watch. Did you guys notice
new fandom. Yeah, our fan base definitely grew since then,
and I think because our main goal when we went
on that show was honestly to not lose sight of
who we were. And every round we didn't care if
(30:33):
we had the coolest moves or like the biggest wow moments.
We just we just wanted to portray our messages and
portray stories that people could really connect with. Because after
the show, after our dances aired, people reached out to us.
I mean, like you guys like really touched our hearts
(30:55):
and thank you for this because this message is very important,
and that was just our main goal because we didn't
want to just reach out reach out to dancers. We
wanted to reach out to the world and too, people
who may not even know about dance, but something in
us clicked in them and they're like wow, like this
like really touched us. So that was just our mangle,
(31:17):
and I think that's why our fan base grew so much,
because we stay true to who we are, and I
think that was like the greatest feeling ever, you know,
because like she said, we didn't walk in hoping that
we were going to get a larger fan base or
like you know, like, oh, this is great for exposure.
Like for us, we we didn't need that. That's not
(31:38):
what we were seeking for. It wasn't something that was
going to give us longevity and what we wanted to do.
It was just that it was just the mindset that
we had to put in ourselves making sure that the
world got to see us for who we were. And
as long as that's been portrayed and we could leave
the competition knowing that it's going to leave a stain
to the world forever, then that's all we could have
(32:01):
possibly wanted. You guys are so evolved for thinking that
way because I think a lot of people and there's
nothing wrong with this, but they may have picked the
trendiest song and done the trendier moves that aren't necessarily
on brand with who they are or authentic to themselves,
not using mainstream So did you have to kind of
(32:23):
pitch producers and say this is what we want to do?
It was yeah, Like every round was very tough because
we wanted to use songs that weren't the top forties.
But it's also very hard because in the TV world,
songs have to get cleared as well, so some of
the songs that we wanted to use couldn't get cleared
(32:46):
by the artist or the label our songs. Even for
the second round, we had three different songs, three different dances,
and we're changing it up up until like the week
before because we didn't know which song was going to
be cleared, and then they told us one song got cleared,
but then they're like, oh wait, no it's not cleared,
you can't use it. And it was just ya my stress,
(33:07):
And that competition was funding songs, just music, Like I
had to contact the artist at one time. For the
second round just to get it like fully cleared, just
so I can rush things up a little bit. It
was like, we need to know what dance we're doing
for the show, and it's tomorrow. Wow, that's but But honestly,
(33:28):
I think it paid off. All the struggle paid off
because now the show is not forever, right, but your
careers are forever and you basically you set the tone
and people know what to expect out of the two
of you, and you're not going to have random people
contacting you for jobs that don't make sense for your brand,
but you get contacted for other jobs. Like I don't
(33:50):
know Megan Trainer perhaps might have called. Did she call
after seeing the show? Or well, actually, when I was
a bit younger, I had been in one of her
first music videos, all about that bass, so I had
met her and she has been a fan of Sean
for as long as she can remember. And um and
(34:12):
one of like her choreographer's Charm, knew us and had
worked with us before. And Megan and Charm got together
and we're like, we watched Sean and Casey to do
a dance to like my new song, and so Charm
I've reached out to us and it was such a
cool experience because we didn't expect it at all. Um
(34:34):
and it's so cool to have artists like that support
dance and support what we do, and we're so grateful
to have had that opportunity. And it also allowed us
to grow as partners as well, because it really helped
us learn how to do more partner work, because even
before World World of Dance, we never really did partner stuff,
(34:57):
like we danced next to each other, but we never
did lifts, we never did any partner work with one another,
So it really helped us launch into that next phase.
And also doing the Megan Trainer music video obviously helped
us with that while still keeping the fact that we
wanted to portray messages. Well, let's first of all, let's
(35:19):
tell people what this music video is so they when
they're listening to this, they can watch it and also
know that Sean, you choreographed the entire dance. Don't be shy.
Tell the people why are you so shy? Your star.
I'm just going to continue to say the idea of
(35:42):
like being able to not only dance for an artist,
but dance for an artist like her, like Megan Trainer,
but like like Casey was saying that supports dancers and
it is so humble and I don't know it it
gives you that really like like it motivates you to
want to do your best, you know, because it's kind
(36:03):
of just like you want to give them everything that
you possibly could have and you possibly know, just because
you feel like they deserve what we're able to do.
Plus more charm. She she directs and choregrats a lot
of meg and stuff. When she approached us, she looked
at it as a collaboration because she was just like,
(36:23):
you know, I could do this, and then you guys
could do that, and this isn't that like. And I
think she was aware of like our process of whenever
we do create pieces. And so when she was showing
me all the like parts of the music that she
wanted us to do, I was literally just at her
house and we literally just started like messing around with
like certain concepts and ideas and one of them was
(36:45):
on the couch and then the other ones that were
on the the garage and I don't know. Hearing the song,
it was it had such like a warm feeling to it.
So we wanted that to drive us into what we
were going to do in the video, and then when
we got into that, we literally just started playing around
with it and then and we were like making it
up as we were going either on the stairs or
(37:07):
on a table, and the moment we finally figured it out,
we literally just shot it right out there like once,
like we were just like, okay, we'll do this. Then
you move here and you move that, great, let shoot
it right now. We were just like yeah, cool, cool, yeah,
oh there's the camera. Um. But there were certain parts
that we we kind of prepared before the shoot. As
(37:30):
most people may know, like I like to overthink certain things, um,
and so for me, it was kind of just that
idea when we were creating, I was just like, okay,
is this the right feeling or does this feel right
for you? Do this just feel right at all? Does
this fit the music? And you know, just the idea
of like choreographing something from begging trainer and I was
just like, I don't know. I was like yeah, I
(37:52):
was like I don't know what represents us the most
and this isn't that. And then her Casey being Casey,
she was just like super super cheesy, was super helpful.
She was just like just do what we always do,
and that's what you guys did and it worked out. Yeah,
And honestly, like being able to do like a music video,
it was a definitely it was definitely a much different
(38:14):
experience from just doing like a concept video or a
dance video that most of us usually do, which really
gave us an insight of like the infinite possibilities that
you can take a dance video with, because it didn't
feel like a dance video. It felt like we were
watching a story that was based off of what the
song was about, a story, which was like a really great,
(38:38):
great feeling because I was just like, I didn't expect
it to come out like that, and I've never seen
us kind of do something like that, which kind of
drove us into really stepping into more of that kind
of region whenever we started creating more after that music video.
Just that whole experience being able to work with Charm
she's the best um and the idea of all of it.
(38:59):
It was just really great. And you guys definitely are
pioneers in the sense that rarely are dancers in the
forefront of these music videos oftentimes. Obviously you've been in
music videos I'm sure you have some, but yeah, well
we don't. We don't talk about that point being oftentimes
dancers are in the background and they're not really the
(39:21):
focal point very rarely. I mean Maddie Ziegler with Sia. Obviously,
Sia put Maddie on the map for sure, and I
love that, and she kind of has the same vibe
of the storytelling, or at least Sia did, and that
Maddie did the move. I think it's it's really awesome
that you guys are in a small group of dancers
that actually were put at the forefront, and not only
(39:42):
put at the forefront, but trusted by the star, by
this pop icon to say, you guys, take the lead.
I trust you. I like what you're doing. That had
to be a moment where one pinch me moment, and
also just that validation, shin and reassurance that you needed,
not that you needed per se, but we're humans. We
(40:04):
all need somebody to say you're doing the right thing.
Was that, in a sense validation that you guys were
doing the right thing? Yeah, it was definitely validation for
us that what we're doing is what we're meant to do.
So when we got the opportunity to do that and
be trusted by an artist like Megan, it really put
(40:27):
in perspective for us that wow, like dance is so
impactful and patful, clearly, but to be able to do
that and also it helps us grow as artists ourselves,
it was just the most validating feeling. Yeah, it's it's
(40:47):
really just motivating for us, Like it motivates us to
want to do more because for us, it's like that
that kind of feeling that you you get from working
for beautiful artists like Megan and and working with great people,
it makes you never want to stop. It makes you
want to just keep going and just being like, okay,
what else you can do exactly, like what's gonna what
(41:09):
else can we do for the world? What else can
we do that that will keep our names and people's conversations,
that has to do with, you know, impacting their lives.
It's it's it's just a whole different world that you
step into whenever you get that sense of validation from
just making sure that you are doing the right thing.
(41:29):
And you know, like you said, we are humans, so
we do seek validation at certain moments, but whenever we're
creating or whenever I'm whenever I'm just with her doing something,
you don't necessarily like I never feel the need for
like me making sure I'm doing the right thing or
making sure that I'm validated for doing this. It's just
like because when you're working with such great people, when
(41:50):
you surround yourselves with such like a great support system,
that's all you ever really need. I feel like, because
I guess the point in validation comment is more of
there's a friends between something being on hobby and it's okay,
and you can do your thing and do whatever you want,
and then there's a career that can actually be your
way of living and your your life's path, and the
(42:12):
validation is needed to be because at some point you
have to pay bills and at some point you know,
luckily right now you guys probably don't have to, but
at some point in life, yeah, I have to talk
about Yeah, your mom told me before you guys started
that you're kicked out. No, but you know, at some point,
(42:35):
this this love that you guys have for dance has
to have its return on investment at some level, and
it seems like both of you guys are absolutely on
the path for that. Where do you guys see the
next couple of years, where would you like this career
to go if you could rub a magic genie bottles
(42:57):
that what they call a bottle. Okay, so you have
a genie lamp, you have a magic wand whatever sorcery
you want to use. Where do you see that the
career is going? And maybe you have the same vision,
maybe you have completely separate visions. You want to take
this one shot or Casey. I think throughout the past
things that we've done together, we kind of realized that
(43:19):
it was far beyond dancing obviously, like we explained, and
in order to achieve that, it requires a lot of
like acting, and it requires a lot of like soul
and requires a lot of like heart into it. And
so I definitely hope for the next couple of years
to kind of just seek into creating certain projects in
certain films that will have a wider reach of an
(43:43):
audience the world, that that's much more than just dance,
that that actually may involve dialogue, that may involve lines
that you will need to say and hopefully it happens
in theaters and that kind of idea. I don't know.
I just find that people start to from member your voice.
Whenever you put yourself out on such a huge platform
(44:05):
like like movies and in films, that's definitely like a
goal that I kind of well, it seems like you're
working towards that goal right now. Do you want to
tell everybody about your film journey? At the moment the
perfect segue, I feel like we just set that up
so beautifully transitions. Yeah. For the past I guess three
(44:28):
years now, I've been working on a certain film, a
short film, and it revolves around that first experience that
I explained earlier about wrong words with me and Casey.
So yeah, this whole short film are certain aspects of
lessons that I've kind of learned throughout life. Is Casey
in the film, she's filming it. It revolves about me
(44:52):
and Casey, so yeah, she's the majority of the film.
And yeah, it's insane. Oh my gosh, I can't wait.
When does it? When can we see this? It's undecided yet,
just because it's still in the works and I'm not
necessarily focused on the release date or how it's going
to come out, or you know, where it's going to
(45:15):
come out, just because I'm more just focused on making
sure that it's worth people's time, because I asked, because
I did um put out a go fund me um
to just get people involved, to kind of motivate myself
to really go for it. UM. I really want to
make sure that's worth their money and their time and
their support. But yeah, this whole film, it's then almost
(45:37):
more than three years now, and it's really just certain
things that I wanted to highlight that represent the definition
of what life, what I think life is, and I
just wanted to do this film with some of the
most important people in my life and just people that
have really impacted the world in their own craft, you know,
because there's certain times where you can work with really
(45:59):
great dancer and you can work with really incredible movers,
but you're not going to remember that at a certain point,
you know. But when you do start to work with
not only great dance but really great people, it sticks
with you forever. And I think that that's kind of
something that that I really wanted to focus on. And
(46:21):
I don't know it's the trailer will come out your time.
I mean, between Winning Chopped, I had to say that
starting a YouTube channel, choreographing music videos, it's fine that
(46:42):
you're taking a little bit of time with this. There's
people that their main focus is a short film for
ten years and still nothings out. So you're okay, So
is it safe to say that you'd like to move
into the film world per um in the future. The
point of that short film was creating a certain infusion
of of acting and dancing. Great. It's basically an unspoken narrative,
(47:05):
you know, so very cool. So like I said, it
revolves around me in Casey because she holds, like I said,
that level of determination and commitment, and also she can act,
so it's like great, you know. So for me, it's
like being able to really influence and push that sense
of like, okay, if you really take the idea of
(47:26):
actual acting with dancing, then when you think about it,
you're really storytelling. Like I feel like sometimes the definition
of people's storytelling and they're dancing gets confused because step
it up or step up. It's like we're not talking
step up here. This is and it's it's not like
a driven film where it's like one person is going
(47:49):
through a certain path. It's just certain scenes in this film.
It holds different messages, very calm, and I think that's
that's the biggest goal with that, and I don't know,
who knows. Maybe if it does well. When it does
it does well, you know, it can step up into
(48:11):
a different series and maybe we could shoot it around
the world or something like that. You know. Like it's
just like that certain mister where I feel like pushing
it to different boundaries and going into different even countries
or different continents. It's like like being able to just
have the idea of with with Dance and obviously being
able to do with Casey. It's like it's just like
(48:32):
something that you want to go for no matter the
cost or the matter of the risk, you know, because
it's like if you're not going to do it now,
then when you're going to do it, you know. And
what about you, Casey. Obviously you're the star of this
Oscar winning film, so after you've taken your oscars home
(48:56):
some more, you're an actress. Well not an actress now.
I want to become one um sound acting and in
a short film. For me, like obviously dancing requires a
certain level of acting, and I think that's where I
(49:18):
kind of grew the love of acting from. And to me,
it's not so much acting because I feel like it
just truly comes from a raw place. And I never
like when I dance or when I portray messages. I
never wanted to be portrayed as I'm portraying someone else.
I wanted to be that I'm portraying myself or someone
(49:42):
else through who I am as well, so it comes
out as real as possible. But when I do get older,
obviously like I want to get more into the acting world,
and I think it's just really cool how you could
dive into different characters and really create something out of
the ordinary that you can't really do in reality, go
(50:03):
past the imagination. Well, I mean, it's funny because you
say you're you would like to become an actor, but
really you are one. You said when you dance, you're
taking on these different characters in essence and these different
these feelings that made you know you're portraying something and
you're you're showing the world and you're entertaining. So I
think you're on the right path. And I also feel
(50:24):
so obviously the show A Full Circle is about influence,
and you guys have both individually and together created a
platform where I truly feel that if you decided to
try something whether it's acting or filmmaking or directing or
whatever it is, you already have this platform, You have
this experience to take you wherever you want to go.
(50:45):
Do you guys feel like you're your visibility social media wise?
And just the shows that you've done and the big
winds like the music videos have helped you, helped open
doors to things that you may not know that you
want to do, but maybe you do it anyway. And yeah,
for sure, Yeah, I mean you basically said it. Yeah,
(51:06):
there's there's definitely power in social media. I'm sure you
guys both know that already. I'm sure you can book
jobs over other people because of the millions of followers
you both have between yourselves. I think the biggest like
thing about social media, and I usually say this, is
that it's like, it's obviously one of the greatest things ever,
(51:26):
but it's also one of the most dangerous things ever,
you know, because what you put out is how Yeah,
what you put out is forever, and it's what people
hold against you and what people use for certain gigs
and everything like that. But I think the biggest thing
is when you do get a certain job based off
(51:47):
of who you are on social media is that you
almost have to prove to your like, at least, you
almost have to prove to yourself that when you're doing
a certain gig, it's not coming from it's not only
coming from who you are on social media, but it's
coming from what you're actually capable of, because it's hard
to it's hard to like, book a job just from
(52:08):
how many followers you have, and then when it's when
that certain project comes out, you don't look so great
at it, you know what I mean, because because they're
not depending on your actual your actual capabilities, they're not
actually they care more about the numbers. Yeah, and that's
I think that that's something that's do you see that
(52:28):
happen a lot with other people? I would say, I
would say it happens. I'm not fully aware of it,
but I just want I think that for us, it's
like it's just making sure that if we do book
a certain thing, we want to make sure it comes
out in the most genuine, genuine way possible. Yea, the
most authentic way possible. Because it's great to book a job,
(52:51):
but if you don't, you know, if you don't feel
like you fully deserve it, it's going to show, you know,
And I think that making sure that we're able to
you know, either if it is a dancing job or
if it is an acting job, it's making sure that
you know, we're not We don't look like we're trying
to push into being someone else. It's like you are.
(53:13):
It's come from who you are at a certain level
of imagination, you know. So I don't know, it's just
that it's just that level of pressure where you want
to make sure that you feel like you do deserve
it based off of your capabilities rather than your you know, numbers. Yeah,
I feel like social media has definitely impacted our career
so much because honestly, without it, I don't think anyone
(53:36):
would really truly understand the dance industry, like all in all, because, um,
most of our resumes are on YouTube or on Instagram.
And I think that's one of the more positive sides
of it, is that we get to share with so
many people what we love to do, and if they
love it as well, that's like a bigger plus. But
(53:59):
for us, whenever post something, it's because we truly love
and we truly think it represents who we are, and
that's why we use social media the way that we do. UM.
We don't use it to get clout, as as people say,
I hate that. Hey if I could never hear get
clout ever, I'd be okay. But like, we use it
(54:23):
to just show who we are. And social media has
grown so much and I feel like so many people
are more aware of dance now than they were years ago.
And that's one of the coolest parts because dance has
become incredibly huge around the world and it's a form
(54:43):
of communication in a way, people communicate through dance through
their bodies, and that's really really cool. Brings people closer
from all over the world. We've had a few really
big dancers um in for interviews and in closing, I
will say, because we're talking about social media, they also
said that Instagram was basically their resume. And because it's
(55:08):
Instagram and because this person had a lot of followers
in the blue check, other artists are able to easily
find them and slide into the d M and be like, Hey,
do you want to work on this music video? Or oh,
do you want to come on tour with me? If
you guys could pick one person to slide into the
d M and ask you to collaborate. Who would it
be like? Who would make you drop the phone maybe
(55:31):
possibly crack it and make you use your Apple Care app?
Use the Apple Care because you cracked the phone. You're
so excited take some time. That's like you're like, can
I have a two hour FaceTime? Please? Um, I don't know.
It could be an artist, It could be It could
(55:52):
be literally anyone Sean Lou's going to see your name.
You guys don't have an artist that it like? Um
little way and slides into the DM and obviously or
like you know, like Beyonce would be fantastic great. Oh yeah,
and I think I feel like Beyonce would be a
(56:12):
good one for sure. Yeah yeah, definitely anyone else. Um,
we gotta put it out there. I mean, if we
don't put it out Beyonce is obviously listening. Okay, Bay,
did you hear this? Just give a call or slide
to the DM. Give both of us a call. Um.
I would also say probably uh not to um Day.
(56:37):
What's his name? Um? You must love him? Because no,
I've seen a lot of his work and it is
kind of just like shadowing his life as an actor. UM,
names and things he's been will help you. He did
Robot and then he did oh he did? He mean Rhapsody? Oh,
(57:03):
Ronnie Malick, there you go love him. So maybe he
does like a limited series on Amazon Prime and he's like,
it's spoken word, no, no word, it's just dance. These
guys hire me. Just stick with me. We'll go straight
to the top. Were all three of us together, Let's go. Okay,
(57:23):
that's a good one. Do you have any casey? I
don't know. It's so tough. I could give you Beyonce too. Yeah,
I mean, obviously, I don't know. It's such a tough
question because like I don't know if I wanted to
be like an artist or like an actor or just
like an influencer in general. But yeah, I don't know.
Are there any dancers you guys would have liked to
(57:44):
collaborate with it? You haven't yet? Yeah, um, there's a
certain uh like I don't. I don't think I've ever
really thought about that because I feel like, will you
guys collab together all the time and it works perfectly? Yeah?
For me, it's like, I think, the reason why I
don't really think about it so much just because whenever
the time comes where you know, we do end up
collaborating with someone, where we end up dancing with someone,
(58:07):
I feel like it happens for a reason. And I
feel like every time I try to push myself into
like like trying to meet with the person, will collaborate
with the person, it doesn't necessarily end up with such
a great collaboration or you know, just because it doesn't
come off of it doesn't come it doesn't come from
a hungry feeling. It just comes from like a feeling
that you feel like you have to do it, so
(58:29):
you're not seeking out collapse per se. I think that
I just think that like, if it happens, it happens
for a reason, and and we kind of just let
that take us into who whoever we're dancing with, whoever
we're collaborating with. Great. Okay, So in closing, because I
could talk to both of you forever, but we can't. Unfortunately,
(58:51):
just face time you later. Um, what advice would you
guys give someone who wants to follow in your footsteps
a young dancer? Maybe a lesson you learned along the
way that you wish you had known, or something that
you just have done the whole way through, like staying
authentic to to yourselves, which has obviously worked very much
(59:13):
in your favor. Any advice you guys want to give
your fans or just a hopeful dancer, Yeah, honestly the
main thing. I know everyone says it, but it's just
too continue to stay true to who you are, because
the moment you try to be someone else, no one's
gonna want to listen to what you have to say.
(59:34):
Everyone is put on this earth for a reason, and
everyone has their different reason and different paths, and I
think it's really important to uh, just be who you
are and not care what anybody else thinks, because as
long as you're happy and you're doing what you you
love to do, that's that's all that really truly matters.
(59:56):
Whatever you're doing anything, either if it is sports, if
it's dancing, if it's singing, if it's acting, if you
don't truly love it, then it's never gonna last. I
feel like I feel like you have to continue with
a certain passion in a certain love that comes from yourself.
(01:00:16):
You can't expect it from anyone else, So you have
to truly love something in order to continue it and
pursue it. Because I feel like I live by this
where you know, where there is love, there is life. So, um,
I just feel like thinking about that. When it comes
to dancing, when it comes to just being with people,
(01:00:36):
that's where you truly discover success, you know, because otherwise
you can you can push yourself into feeling a certain
way of being a certain person for a certain time,
but it's never gonna last. Like you can keep telling
yourself that, but it's never gonna last. And I remember,
I just saw this a few days ago, and it's
stuck by me so much. Um. This was Steve Jobs,
(01:01:02):
but he said that if you want to go fast,
go alone, and if you want to go far, go together.
So for me, it's like that really stuck with me
because I find the best experiences with with people, you know.
I mean, that's why I'm amos around her. So it's
(01:01:23):
really just the idea of making sure that you you
do what you love, you do it with great people.
And like she said, see who you are. That was
really good advice from both of you. All Right, we'll
have a good rest of the day. We hope you
guys enjoyed this interview. Make sure to check out Casey
(01:01:44):
and Shawn's YouTube channel together. I'm sure They'll be on
fifty other music videos, shows and films at your local theater,
so just you know, anywhere you want to look, they'll
be there, all right, by guys, all right behind the
Influences a production of I Heart Radio and TDC Media
Welcome to Behind the Influence, a production of I Heart
Radio and TDC Media. I guess like I went through
like a certain life experience, and I felt like the
only person that would understand that certain life experience was Casey.
I don't think anyone really truly understand. Most of our
resumes are on YouTube or on Instagram, showing people what
(00:22):
you're able to do with your body. It's kind of
like you're using dancing to show people what you're able
to do with your heart and with your soul and
with your mind. And it's like and what you can
explain without having to say a word. Casey Rises Shanlu
pro dancers. In real life, theffs are in the house,
in the house. Not only are you in the house,
(00:43):
you're you're in the house and coordinated in the house.
You guys want to tell the people who can't see
us right now, what's going on with the ensemble. Well,
we always for some reason like color coordinate. It's scary. Yeah,
the guys, this is not just a color a white
chop and a jean jacket, and it's almost like the
(01:04):
same texture gene jacket. I mean literally, there would be
times where like we would either like see each other
in class or walk down on the lobby, and I
would wear colors that I would never wear at all,
and I'd be like, you know, I'm gonna throw in
some yellow. And then I walked down and then she
walks down. I'm like, so you're wearing yellow. I'm wearing yellow.
When do you wear yellow different? Today? That is so funny.
(01:29):
So you guys are you guys obviously have a long
history of working together and being friends. Let's take it
back to where it all began for people who don't
know the backstory of Casey and Sean. Who wants to
take this tale or one of you can start at
the other convenish it. You're so insanc I feel like
it could work. I can start it. So we started
(01:50):
competing like seven to eight years ago. I had a
separate studio and she had a separate studio, and we
kind of competed with each other. But then it was
always like just like, hey, hey, you're good, you too,
And then and then after that we started when I
started moving into the classes in l A and everything
like that, I also saw her in classes there too,
(02:13):
and so we always kept bumping into each other. But
like when we first met each other, it was far
from like being like even friends at all. We were
always just like, like I admired her, admired her as
a dancer when I first saw her on stage and
everything like that. But I was never like, I want
to grab some lunch. I was just gonna say, for
people who are not aware of how young both of
(02:35):
you are, sixteen and seventeen, yeah, when you met, you
had to have been at the ripe age of eight
and nine. It was more like our parents were doing
the talking, so you're not really necessarily being like, want
to go to soho house talking to each other, and
then we just hear your parents like, Hi, this is
my son, this is my daughter. Yeah, I mean, but
all in all, it was really just like we kept
seeing each other a lot in like competitions and then
(02:58):
in classes and all that stuff. So it was really
just kind of this like sign where I was like,
maybe we should just be friends. See where that goes.
Had you seen the video of Casey when she did
is it work that Katie didn't carry? Katie Perry tweet that,
okay when I saw that video today because I was
watching it this morning and just to you know, go
(03:20):
through all the research. Yeah, well that's what I do
every morning. I like that I have my coffee that
I do. You but oh my goodness, so talented. How
old are you in that video? I was ten years old.
I mean like when she does those like hit thrust, like,
oh my god, those are like powerful, they were power power,
(03:43):
And then Katie Perry sees it. How was it as
a ten year old? Honestly, I didn't really quite know
what was going on at the time because I was
so young. I just remember like one of my fans
like commented on one of my random selfies on Instagram.
I was like, hey, Katy Perry just retweeted as your
solo and I was like what, And we all thought
(04:04):
it was like something like it was a fake account.
So we went and did like the research and we're like,
oh no, it's like the actual Katy Perry. But at
the time I was just kind of like cool, I
don't I don't know what this means, Like I don't
even know what you do with this, yeah exactly, And
my parents were like, oh my gosh, like this is
(04:25):
for real, and it just blew up and it was
one of the very first dance videos to actually sort
of go viral. So that was like really really cool,
and I got so many opportunities after that. That's just
been insane and it's just crazy. Well you are too,
I mean a lot of your stuff went viral as well.
(04:46):
That's obviously probably your first memory of something really going
viral and people you kind of became a household name
at that point. Yeah, and then what was it for you, Sean,
when you realize that this was something because obviously dance
is something that people take very seriously. Some unfortunately, do
not have the careers that you guys have had. And
you're you're so young, you saw the world in front
(05:08):
of you. You had a moment in your career, your
career as a ten year old perhaps where you realized
this is something I could really make into a longtime career. Yeah,
I mean, was there a moment for you, like a
a video got a lot of attention, or somebody asked
you to choreograph something where you were like, they're taking
me seriously, this is something I could really do well. Actually,
(05:30):
when I think when I was ten, it was generally
a competition and I was like I asked my studio owner.
I was like, hey, can I just choreograph my own
solo and like try it in the studio and it
was like no, I don't do that, and like there's
no point and I was like, no, I really want
to try, and she was very doubtful about it, and
I was like, Okay, if I really prepare and if
(05:51):
I go into the next one by myself, will you
let me? And I was like I'll even like even
compete away from your studio. I'll go independently, and she
just like okay, fine. So then you know, I spent
a lot of time, you know, choreographing like my own solo,
and do you remember what song it was to um?
It was so long ago. It was so long ago,
(06:12):
and it was so brief. It was just like it
was just a moment for me that kind of like
stuff like this light where I was like I realized that,
you know, as I cho ground, was like, oh, no,
one knows me more than myself. So so I really
tried to push it out there. And then at that point,
I beat all my other solos and I beat all
like my other like routines that I did in the
competition with that solo, and I was like, oh my god,
(06:34):
this is like something I want to do and this
is something that I want to share. And so then
I started like teaching in any possible way I could,
either in charities or in fundraisers or in just my
sister's high school. And from that point on, it was
kind of just like, I want to keep doing this
forever and beat that studio owner success story. So, you
guys were so young at this point, and obviously big
(06:56):
things are happening for both of you, you know of
each other. How was it because you're obviously were you
still in school at that point, yes, So how are
you balancing because obviously you're in a different tier of
talent of dance. How are you balancing practicing and taking
dance seriously and maybe going pro and also taking school
(07:16):
seriously as well. Well. At the moment, we're both graduated
from school. But at the time it was tough, like
separating dance and school and also, yeah, finding that balance,
but we always like managed to do it. And obviously
(07:37):
school does come first, but dances also our passion and
our loves. So it was just really finding that balance
between studying but then also doing what we loved. And
it's also just kind of the idea of knowing that,
like school is a priority, so because dance is our passion,
we kind of have to make sure that we get
the school thing done first, and then you go into
(07:58):
like moving with dancing. Because I feel like every time
you decide to push school away when you have to
do it and you start to kind of go into,
you know, your passion, you're always distracted by knowing that
you still have to do school, and like at a
certain point, you know, so it pulls away from that,
you know, you giving that whenever you are dancing. So
(08:19):
for us, either for us when we were on set
or when we were rehearsing or this, this, and that,
it was always just making sure that we at least
finished school. We at least had to finish what we
had to finish for school, and then we can move
on to you know, and in your mind was what
you had to finish was high school. Yeah. So I
always wondered this about child stars and your actors who
(08:41):
are land big TV roles at a very young age,
how you can really commit to two things equally, because
I feel like you're taking from one to focus on
the other, knowing that you had to finish school and
just get it done, and you both knew that you
had this promising career in dance. Were you taking school
(09:02):
less seriously just because you had this career that you
felt you could fall back on or was it the
other way around where school was taken really seriously because
you never knew where dance would take you. Oh, I
felt like a new where dance would take me. I
feel like I feel like in our case, I feel
like we we kind of looked at dancing as like
our guiding hand kind of thing, because I mean, obviously
(09:23):
we took school very seriously, and at least for me
and my parents are very strict about making sure that, like,
you know, you had to finish this year to firms
that otherwise you don't get to do this and that
kind of thing. So it was kind of like school
was my motivation. Would dance get taken away from you?
You think if you started slipping in school for sure?
For sure? For sure? Yeah, I mean, I mean it
(09:43):
makes sense. You know. I love that your parents both
did that for you guys, but you'd be surprised in
the industry how many parents would say, you know what,
don't worry about it, you just gotta you know this
series regular on this show. We'll focus on school later.
I mean, when you think about it, like at the moment,
we were obviously like, fine, well, every high school kid,
(10:04):
you're not You're not a bad person for not wanting
to go to class by the way, nobody likes. I mean,
there would be like tough moments at certain times because
it was like we had to sacrifice this for school
or sacrifice that for school. You know, once you kind
of like look back at it, you're kind of just
like really grateful for the fact that, like our parents,
we're super strict with what our priorities had to be
(10:24):
at and just knowing that, like I said, I feel
like dancing was really our guiding hand into what we
wanted to do in the future. Is settled that in
our heart, and that's why we were able to commit
so fully into school and then going back into dance,
just because we kind of trusted that dance would continuously
take us to where we needed to be at while
we're still doing school. So and then as far as
(10:46):
post high school, a lot of dancers, I guess would
try to apply to school like Juilliard or some kind
of dance institution. You guys were already making moves in
the real world. So did you ever have a conversation
with parents, or with yourselves or amongst yourselves and try
to decide, Okay, do we go into the real world
(11:06):
now or do we continue to maybe foster this through
school in another way that was focused on dance. I
think for dancing, I just knew I love to do it.
So since we kind of already dove our feet into
like the real life world in the industry and everything,
I think that's just where our paths are taking us.
(11:30):
And at the moment, I don't think like we want
to study dance like at school, because dance is more
than just studying it. It's also a feeling and it's
something that makes you feel good. It makes you who
you are. Yeah, a lot of people say that your
real life experience always trumps right, And I'm sure you
(11:53):
guys are learning so much more actually doing the routines
and trying things out versus getting it from a textbook
or Yeah, I just feel like the way that we
approach dance isn't necessarily I guess you could say, supported
from like she said, textbooks and from you know, certain limitations.
I feel like for us, we kind of look at
it in a way where we're driven from, like she said,
(12:16):
of feeling, rather than it being a certain technique or
a certain you know, rule that you get from school.
You know. So yeah, a lot of schools are formulaic.
Whereas you guys, I feel like just from all the
videos I saw of you guys dancing together, it's very
it's almost created between the two of you, or you'll
create something or you'll from a thing exactly, and you're
(12:38):
not necessarily in a box of a certain kind of dance.
You're kind of creating your own lane. Is that? Would
you agree that you're creating your own lane? So what
is the lane that you've created? If you were to
describe to somebody your styles of dance, I would kind
of say it's a fusion. There really is no specific
word to describe what we do or even anybody in
(13:01):
the dance industry nowadays. It's all just based off of
who people are, and they kind of create their own
style based on what feels good to them, which is
like really cool. So not everyone's doing the same thing,
and you're constantly learning new things from different people and
stepping outside of your comfort zone. Yeah, it's it's really
(13:22):
just about that certain lane that you're talking about that
represents who you are, not as a dancer, but as
like just a regular human being, because I feel like
it really shows as to what you do every day
outside of dance, and you kind of infuse that when
you're dancing, and so not not saying like oh, I'm
a hip hop dancer or I'm a contemporary dancer, I'm
(13:42):
a lyrical dancer. It's like whenever they're dancing, they're not
limiting limiting their selves to that certain style. They're limiting
themselves to how they feel and that day even just
like on that certain time or that certain moments. So
I feel like nowadays dance is really driven by just
who we are as people and who we surround ourselves
with and how we prepare ourselves just to the world.
(14:05):
Someone used around yourself with this Casey and Casey surrounds
herself with you and you guys were and are basically
very exactly when did you guys decide it was a
good move to start collaborating. It was a feeling, Yeah,
it really was. It wasn't something that like we were
always talking about like texting, like oh, we gotta collapse,
(14:27):
we gotta do this together, like and then like it
never happened that kind of situation. But I guess like
I went through like a certain life experience, and I
felt like the only person that would understand that certain
life experience was Casey, And I felt like she was
the only person that kind of stood out from whatever.
I was always taking class with her. Whenever I saw
(14:47):
her dance, it was like this level of commitment that
wasn't necessarily always around in the world, you know. So
I kind of took that really seriously and I was like, Casey,
do you want to do this video? It wasn't even
a video. I just told her, like what it was
about was just like, Casey, there's a certain thing that
I want to tell people about and this this isn't that.
(15:09):
And I was like, I would love for you to
be a part of it. Was that the first do
you do you want to tell us what that was? Yeah?
It was this video called wrong Words, and actually the
title of it's called life Experience Wrong Words. And I
feel like that's basically like what we strive for when
we're dancing. It's just especially for when I'm creating something
or when we're creating something it's built off of a
(15:31):
life experience, because that's one of the most genuine feelings
and the most genuine ways of portraying something comes out.
And so, you know, after it came out, a lot
of the responses like it was more than I could
ever imagine, and it was it was just that the
idea of what we do as dancers could be so
much more than just showing people what you're able to
(15:52):
do with your body. It's kind of like you're using
dancing to show people what you're able to do with
your heart and with your soul and with your mind.
And it's like what you can explain without having to
say a word exactly. And I think that kind of
that kind of way of showing people that sticks in
people's heads because it's like you can tell people one thing,
but then when you're putting your full commitment into telling
(16:14):
people something that you don't even have to say, it
like creates this longevity in their head where it like
always sticks in their head and it's like, oh my god,
I always remember this, This isn't that, and it's all
from this certain video. And I guess that that was
really the first time that I felt like I really
used dance to fully impact someone's life rather than just
trying to impress someone, you know. And I think that
(16:36):
from just the whole process of doing it with Casey
and and creating it, it wasn't like it was far
from being stressful. It was just literally like us clicking
back and forth being like this, this, this, this, this, this,
even no one knows what this means exactly. I was
(16:57):
like this, well, yeah, like as we're like going back
and forth with like the whole idea of the video,
it was always just going back and forth with the
right ideas, and it always stuck to the same concept
of what we were trying to say rather than pulling away.
And I don't know, I guess my favorite part about
that whole first experience of creating that video with her
(17:19):
it was just the process of it and then seeing
people truly become affected by it and become fully aware
of what we were trying to say for their lives.
I think that was just like the greatest feeling possible.
And we both we both talked about it. We were like,
you know, when this video comes out, it's not necessarily
about how big it does or how many views it gets.
(17:43):
It was like, as long as we're able to at
least impact someone from them just watching the video, that
for us is like the biggest thing we could possibly achieve.
What was the message of the video? I mean the
message of it was just basically, the wrong words may
not hurt yourself, but or no, may not hurt other
(18:03):
I don't know. It's your video, other people, but yourself
in the end as well. It's just being careful about
what you say because it could really do damage to
other people but yourself mainly in the end. That's so
evolved for you to be thinking like that because and
there's no problem with this, but there's so many I
see a lot of dance videos we were actually scouring.
(18:25):
As I told you guys before we went, we started
recording so many dancers on the internet, so many dancers
on YouTube, Instagram. Rarely are feelings evoked. I mean sometimes
you're like, oh wow, they look hot and like that
was a sick dance move. But it sounds like you
guys really honed in on something that moved you because
you were moving others and you were I don't know,
(18:47):
you were evoking feelings and others that you didn't even
people you didn't even know. Yeah, I mean, I think
like you're saying, when you see when you come across
all these videos, they're all great because everyone's doing it
based off of, you know, what they love to do.
And it's so cool being able to see seven just
so many different kinds of people dancing into so many
(19:07):
different kinds of songs, and you know, you get so
high because you're just like, oh my god, they're all dancing,
you know, like this is all coming from dance, and
you can all see that like same kind of love
that they all have for it. But at a certain
point too, there's always that like little spark that we
feel like we should be putting out that kind of
reminds people like dances so much more, you know, and
(19:30):
it can go beyond just the certain moves that we're doing,
or it can go beyond the certain classes that we take,
or you know, what we're capable to do with their body.
You know, what makes us stand out from others is
not necessarily what we can do with our body, but
what we can say from our hearts, you know. So
I think that that's something that we really wanted to
take advantage of when it comes to not just dancing,
(19:51):
but just in anything you know. So, so how long
ago was this that first clab? Would you say that
was okay? So it's been about two years since then.
Since then, you guys have launched your YouTube channel that
you are on together, and you also were on World
of Dance Together. Walk me through one why you decided
(20:12):
to do that show. I love that show. First of all,
nothing makes me happier than watching people dance. But then
also you made j Lo cry, which not a lot
of people can say that. So to your point of
bringing people's feelings forward, tell me about your experience on
World of Dance. Well, how it all came about was
we were actually asked to go on the show as individuals,
(20:35):
as soloists, and neither of us really wanted to do that.
But Sean then approached me one day, he facetimely awkward
FaceTime call, like, so do you want to be again?
That's exactly what you guys didn't see me. I was
(20:55):
you're you're sitting next to me, yeah, and so he
faced on me. He based it was like, so you
want to do a World to Dance together? And then
two hours went by of us not saying anything. But
at this point, had they approached each of you individually? Yeah,
was it for the same season? Okay, so they approached
(21:16):
both of you, you both kind of didn't didn't give
an answer or did you just say no? I said
no because I did the first season, and after going
through the first season, I was like, no way am
I going back, Like, there's no way you can't make
me Why there was a certain, like I guess level
confidence that I was going through at that time where
I was just like, there's no way I could pull
it off, Like especially by myself. I was like, there's
(21:39):
with a certain level of pressure that there isn't like competition,
It's more than just you being a great d answer,
you know. So I was like, it's just like I
was like, no alone. So you said no, you did
you say anything? I mean mine was just a shorter
like no, thank you. Both of you say no, But
then it sits with you for a second and you decide, Okay,
(22:01):
maybe I'll do it if Casey does it with me. Yeah,
I was on. I was gonna plane. Then after that,
when I got back, I like called her and she's like,
she said, it was a really awkward FaceTime call. And
after I asked her the question, um, I just ended
up staring at her ceiling about a very indecisive person
with anything everything. So were you just thinking on FaceTime
(22:24):
but not speaking? I couldn't tell because I was staring
at the ceiling, like I said, I think't so she
went downstairs to get some food or if she went
out or if you know, to move into a phone call, yeah,
you know you stuck around, I would have hung up.
I have such a hello, you're not there by I
was literally staring at my phone, like just like hello.
But then I knew it was like such like a
(22:44):
big question. So I was like, I'm not going to
like rush for anything. But did you ask this question
already knowing that the show would have done it with
the two of you together? Or were you just thinking
maybe they'll take us in together? No, I asked her,
knowing that they would take both of us in, But
it was just more of the matter of like, are
we both wanting to do it? You know, because it's
(23:04):
like it's one thing for one of us to do
and then we both come in. But you know that's
not going to work because it's going to affect the
whole journey and process of us being doing the competition.
For me, it was like if she wasn't going to
do it, I mean, there's no point in doing it
at all because I mean, I'm not going to push
her into doing something that she doesn't want to do, right,
(23:24):
But you guys decided to go for it. But what
made you decide it was the move I think, like
I said, it was like a two hour face to
call and it was just like a simple all right,
let's do it. Literally, what were your parents thinking at
that time, because I'm sure they tried and my parents
were like go for it, like do it echoes of
(23:46):
like her mom just being like, yeah, go for it,
just like as like I wasn't seeing anything on the
FaceTime call and then and then I told my dad
and I was like, oh my god, yeah, you should
definitely do it. I was just like, all right, you
guys want to go on. It sounds like you guys
have really supportive parents, and I really think that that
makes or breaks people's careers, especially as young as you
(24:09):
guys were when you started out. I'm sure there were
days when as young dancers had hard days you might
have wanted to quit and maybe mom said, stick it out,
let's go to one more class or whatever it is. Yeah,
it's really interesting because for me, like me and my mom,
like we're still learning too. It's just like there's not
a certain thing where you know, she would know one
(24:29):
thing that I would know a certain thing. It's always
just like we're both learning it together and we're kind
of like teaching each other. And that's a certain way
because I would say I'm still like new to what's
going on right now, Like I'm not fully aware of like, oh,
this person lived in the cave for six years, so
that's why he dances like this or anything. You know.
I don't know those kind of like stuff. So for me,
(24:52):
it's like being with like Casey and then you know,
and then going through all these places with my mom
and all the stuff. It's just like it's just learning
as we're going. Um. And I think that's that's the
best part about having such great people around you in
great parents, because you know, you guys are both just
(25:14):
learning together rather than always trying to like one up
the person. Did you have any dance in your family
or were you kind of like the pioneer before I
started dancing, My whole family actually did taekwondo whenever, Like
I would go to the competitions, I would kind of
just go in like the sparring ring and let the
(25:34):
other kids kick me because I didn't want to fight um.
And so I was kind of like the lone ranger
because my brother and my sister like, I just want
to dance. Yeah, I start kicking you. I didn't even
know anything else. I was just like, I don't like this.
So then just one day as a fluke, my mom
just put me in a dance class and you just
(25:55):
went viral at the right page of ten. But it
was just like not even knowing anything, but it was
just love it first step, I guess you could say,
and I just I just something clicked in me and
I was like, this is what I was meant to do. Amazing.
It really had a spotlight on her when she was
taking her first class and they had a camera and
she was like, this is what I was meant and
(26:16):
her first class she did work and it went viral.
It was her first just nailed it right up the gate. Okay,
so at this point, you guys both say, yes, you
are on World of Dance. This was your first time
on the World of Dance, Right, You've already done it.
How how was it going in a second time around
(26:36):
with Casey? Was the whole vibe different for you? Yeah,
I mean the one was because I was in such
a large group in the first season, so going in
with just another person by my side, I was like hesitant.
I was like, I don't I was obviously going to
tell her like, oh, this is how it works, and
this is how it works. But then going in, like
going on set with her, I was like, I don't
(26:56):
even know what's going on in the second season, Like
I don't, I have no idea. So, like I said,
we were both like like learning what was going on
with the season at the same time. I just walked
in taking season one out of my head. And then
obviously during interview questions they were like if a producer's dream,
it's like the Last Sea. But it was definitely a
(27:18):
different feeling that I got walking on set with Casey, because,
like I said, obviously I was in a larger group
in the first season, but it was more it was
less about feeling like nervous and it was more like
like I felt like it was more pressuring, which I
don't know if that's there's much of a difference, but
it was just because now like all their eyes are
on like just us, rather than being like shadowed by
(27:41):
other dancers. And so it was just this like rush
of okay, if we screw up or if we don't
do good, like you know, there's no there is there
a fear when going into a show like this. We
were having Maddie Poppion on Friday, she won American Idol.
She I always wonder if you're wildly talented, but everyone
(28:03):
has a bad day, right what if your bad day
is on national television and it's the one time people
see you, it is not not the biggest fear for sure.
We were always so nervous, especially for our first round
because obviously our first round dance, we had the blindfolds
when we were dancing, but we didn't actually practice with
(28:25):
the blindfolds until three days before we went on stage.
And the blindfolds that we used, we couldn't really see
out of them, like we saw like shadowy figures. But
with the lights beaming down on you and everything, and
that that stage as well had the light, you can't
see anything. So the day of when we were doing
tech rehearsal. There's this one move where my arm like
(28:48):
smacks and he's supposed to duck, and like I hit him,
and just like everything was going wrong. We're like, oh no,
this is like our worst fear coming true. And we
were blind that day and it was just like our
last rehearsal before we actually did the real thing, like
our last person and it was like we were able
to do on stage, and then there was a certain
lift in the end, and then they kept dropping her,
(29:09):
and you know, we just kept adding and adding until
the day of. We changed the whole dance the day before.
Could you have removed the blind I mean it was
possible that we could have removed the blindfold, but the
only problem was just that like the story that we
were trying to give out wouldn't have you needed the
blindfold story. And also Jlo cried, yeah, I mean you
(29:30):
nailed it. It was just that risk where we were like,
we don't want to regret anything. You know, well, it's
bigger impact, right if you're doing a crazy routine. Basically
blind people are going to be like they know what
they're doing. Yeah, I mean, like I said, we honestly
just walked into that competition competition, not wanting to regret
anything at all, even if it took a risk, even
(29:52):
if it was you know, no one liked it, and
at least we went forward knowing that we gave it
at all. And I think that that was kind of
just like our entire mindset throughout the entire competition. Did
you guys notice after the show, more followers, more fans,
because obviously in the dance community, people probably knew who
you were, but you're not necessarily in the dance community.
(30:13):
If you're watching the show, everyone watches World of Dance.
It's a fun show to watch. Did you guys notice
new fandom. Yeah, our fan base definitely grew since then,
and I think because our main goal when we went
on that show was honestly to not lose sight of
who we were. And every round we didn't care if
(30:33):
we had the coolest moves or like the biggest wow moments.
We just we just wanted to portray our messages and
portray stories that people could really connect with. Because after
the show, after our dances aired, people reached out to us.
I mean, like you guys like really touched our hearts
(30:55):
and thank you for this because this message is very important,
and that was just our main goal because we didn't
want to just reach out reach out to dancers. We
wanted to reach out to the world and too, people
who may not even know about dance, but something in
us clicked in them and they're like wow, like this
like really touched us. So that was just our mangle,
(31:17):
and I think that's why our fan base grew so much,
because we stay true to who we are, and I
think that was like the greatest feeling ever, you know,
because like she said, we didn't walk in hoping that
we were going to get a larger fan base or
like you know, like, oh, this is great for exposure.
Like for us, we we didn't need that. That's not
(31:38):
what we were seeking for. It wasn't something that was
going to give us longevity and what we wanted to do.
It was just that it was just the mindset that
we had to put in ourselves making sure that the
world got to see us for who we were. And
as long as that's been portrayed and we could leave
the competition knowing that it's going to leave a stain
to the world forever, then that's all we could have
(32:01):
possibly wanted. You guys are so evolved for thinking that
way because I think a lot of people and there's
nothing wrong with this, but they may have picked the
trendiest song and done the trendier moves that aren't necessarily
on brand with who they are or authentic to themselves,
not using mainstream So did you have to kind of
(32:23):
pitch producers and say this is what we want to do?
It was yeah, Like every round was very tough because
we wanted to use songs that weren't the top forties.
But it's also very hard because in the TV world,
songs have to get cleared as well, so some of
the songs that we wanted to use couldn't get cleared
(32:46):
by the artist or the label our songs. Even for
the second round, we had three different songs, three different dances,
and we're changing it up up until like the week
before because we didn't know which song was going to
be cleared, and then they told us one song got cleared,
but then they're like, oh wait, no it's not cleared,
you can't use it. And it was just ya my stress,
(33:07):
And that competition was funding songs, just music, Like I
had to contact the artist at one time. For the
second round just to get it like fully cleared, just
so I can rush things up a little bit. It
was like, we need to know what dance we're doing
for the show, and it's tomorrow. Wow, that's but But honestly,
(33:28):
I think it paid off. All the struggle paid off
because now the show is not forever, right, but your
careers are forever and you basically you set the tone
and people know what to expect out of the two
of you, and you're not going to have random people
contacting you for jobs that don't make sense for your brand,
but you get contacted for other jobs. Like I don't
(33:50):
know Megan Trainer perhaps might have called. Did she call
after seeing the show? Or well, actually, when I was
a bit younger, I had been in one of her
first music videos, all about that bass, so I had
met her and she has been a fan of Sean
for as long as she can remember. And um and
(34:12):
one of like her choreographer's Charm, knew us and had
worked with us before. And Megan and Charm got together
and we're like, we watched Sean and Casey to do
a dance to like my new song, and so Charm
I've reached out to us and it was such a
cool experience because we didn't expect it at all. Um
(34:34):
and it's so cool to have artists like that support
dance and support what we do, and we're so grateful
to have had that opportunity. And it also allowed us
to grow as partners as well, because it really helped
us learn how to do more partner work, because even
before World World of Dance, we never really did partner stuff,
(34:57):
like we danced next to each other, but we never
did lifts, we never did any partner work with one another,
So it really helped us launch into that next phase.
And also doing the Megan Trainer music video obviously helped
us with that while still keeping the fact that we
wanted to portray messages. Well, let's first of all, let's
(35:19):
tell people what this music video is so they when
they're listening to this, they can watch it and also
know that Sean, you choreographed the entire dance. Don't be shy.
Tell the people why are you so shy? Your star.
I'm just going to continue to say the idea of
(35:42):
like being able to not only dance for an artist,
but dance for an artist like her, like Megan Trainer,
but like like Casey was saying that supports dancers and
it is so humble and I don't know it it
gives you that really like like it motivates you to
want to do your best, you know, because it's kind
(36:03):
of just like you want to give them everything that
you possibly could have and you possibly know, just because
you feel like they deserve what we're able to do.
Plus more charm. She she directs and choregrats a lot
of meg and stuff. When she approached us, she looked
at it as a collaboration because she was just like,
(36:23):
you know, I could do this, and then you guys
could do that, and this isn't that like. And I
think she was aware of like our process of whenever
we do create pieces. And so when she was showing
me all the like parts of the music that she
wanted us to do, I was literally just at her
house and we literally just started like messing around with
like certain concepts and ideas and one of them was
(36:45):
on the couch and then the other ones that were
on the the garage and I don't know. Hearing the song,
it was it had such like a warm feeling to it.
So we wanted that to drive us into what we
were going to do in the video, and then when
we got into that, we literally just started playing around
with it and then and we were like making it
up as we were going either on the stairs or
(37:07):
on a table, and the moment we finally figured it out,
we literally just shot it right out there like once,
like we were just like, okay, we'll do this. Then
you move here and you move that, great, let shoot
it right now. We were just like yeah, cool, cool, yeah,
oh there's the camera. Um. But there were certain parts
that we we kind of prepared before the shoot. As
(37:30):
most people may know, like I like to overthink certain things, um,
and so for me, it was kind of just that
idea when we were creating, I was just like, okay,
is this the right feeling or does this feel right
for you? Do this just feel right at all? Does
this fit the music? And you know, just the idea
of like choreographing something from begging trainer and I was
just like, I don't know. I was like yeah, I
(37:52):
was like I don't know what represents us the most
and this isn't that. And then her Casey being Casey,
she was just like super super cheesy, was super helpful.
She was just like just do what we always do,
and that's what you guys did and it worked out. Yeah,
And honestly, like being able to do like a music video,
it was a definitely it was definitely a much different
(38:14):
experience from just doing like a concept video or a
dance video that most of us usually do, which really
gave us an insight of like the infinite possibilities that
you can take a dance video with, because it didn't
feel like a dance video. It felt like we were
watching a story that was based off of what the
song was about, a story, which was like a really great,
(38:38):
great feeling because I was just like, I didn't expect
it to come out like that, and I've never seen
us kind of do something like that, which kind of
drove us into really stepping into more of that kind
of region whenever we started creating more after that music video.
Just that whole experience being able to work with Charm
she's the best um and the idea of all of it.
(38:59):
It was just really great. And you guys definitely are
pioneers in the sense that rarely are dancers in the
forefront of these music videos oftentimes. Obviously you've been in
music videos I'm sure you have some, but yeah, well
we don't. We don't talk about that point being oftentimes
dancers are in the background and they're not really the
(39:21):
focal point very rarely. I mean Maddie Ziegler with Sia. Obviously,
Sia put Maddie on the map for sure, and I
love that, and she kind of has the same vibe
of the storytelling, or at least Sia did, and that
Maddie did the move. I think it's it's really awesome
that you guys are in a small group of dancers
that actually were put at the forefront, and not only
(39:42):
put at the forefront, but trusted by the star, by
this pop icon to say, you guys, take the lead.
I trust you. I like what you're doing. That had
to be a moment where one pinch me moment, and
also just that validation, shin and reassurance that you needed,
not that you needed per se, but we're humans. We
(40:04):
all need somebody to say you're doing the right thing.
Was that, in a sense validation that you guys were
doing the right thing? Yeah, it was definitely validation for
us that what we're doing is what we're meant to do.
So when we got the opportunity to do that and
be trusted by an artist like Megan, it really put
(40:27):
in perspective for us that wow, like dance is so
impactful and patful, clearly, but to be able to do
that and also it helps us grow as artists ourselves,
it was just the most validating feeling. Yeah, it's it's
(40:47):
really just motivating for us, Like it motivates us to
want to do more because for us, it's like that
that kind of feeling that you you get from working
for beautiful artists like Megan and and working with great people,
it makes you never want to stop. It makes you
want to just keep going and just being like, okay,
what else you can do exactly, like what's gonna what
(41:09):
else can we do for the world? What else can
we do that that will keep our names and people's conversations,
that has to do with, you know, impacting their lives.
It's it's it's just a whole different world that you
step into whenever you get that sense of validation from
just making sure that you are doing the right thing.
(41:29):
And you know, like you said, we are humans, so
we do seek validation at certain moments, but whenever we're
creating or whenever I'm whenever I'm just with her doing something,
you don't necessarily like I never feel the need for
like me making sure I'm doing the right thing or
making sure that I'm validated for doing this. It's just
like because when you're working with such great people, when
(41:50):
you surround yourselves with such like a great support system,
that's all you ever really need. I feel like, because
I guess the point in validation comment is more of
there's a friends between something being on hobby and it's okay,
and you can do your thing and do whatever you want,
and then there's a career that can actually be your
way of living and your your life's path, and the
(42:12):
validation is needed to be because at some point you
have to pay bills and at some point you know,
luckily right now you guys probably don't have to, but
at some point in life, yeah, I have to talk
about Yeah, your mom told me before you guys started
that you're kicked out. No, but you know, at some point,
(42:35):
this this love that you guys have for dance has
to have its return on investment at some level, and
it seems like both of you guys are absolutely on
the path for that. Where do you guys see the
next couple of years, where would you like this career
to go if you could rub a magic genie bottles
(42:57):
that what they call a bottle. Okay, so you have
a genie lamp, you have a magic wand whatever sorcery
you want to use. Where do you see that the
career is going? And maybe you have the same vision,
maybe you have completely separate visions. You want to take
this one shot or Casey. I think throughout the past
things that we've done together, we kind of realized that
(43:19):
it was far beyond dancing obviously, like we explained, and
in order to achieve that, it requires a lot of
like acting, and it requires a lot of like soul
and requires a lot of like heart into it. And
so I definitely hope for the next couple of years
to kind of just seek into creating certain projects in
certain films that will have a wider reach of an
(43:43):
audience the world, that that's much more than just dance,
that that actually may involve dialogue, that may involve lines
that you will need to say and hopefully it happens
in theaters and that kind of idea. I don't know.
I just find that people start to from member your voice.
Whenever you put yourself out on such a huge platform
(44:05):
like like movies and in films, that's definitely like a
goal that I kind of well, it seems like you're
working towards that goal right now. Do you want to
tell everybody about your film journey? At the moment the
perfect segue, I feel like we just set that up
so beautifully transitions. Yeah. For the past I guess three
(44:28):
years now, I've been working on a certain film, a
short film, and it revolves around that first experience that
I explained earlier about wrong words with me and Casey.
So yeah, this whole short film are certain aspects of
lessons that I've kind of learned throughout life. Is Casey
in the film, she's filming it. It revolves about me
(44:52):
and Casey, so yeah, she's the majority of the film.
And yeah, it's insane. Oh my gosh, I can't wait.
When does it? When can we see this? It's undecided yet,
just because it's still in the works and I'm not
necessarily focused on the release date or how it's going
to come out, or you know, where it's going to
(45:15):
come out, just because I'm more just focused on making
sure that it's worth people's time, because I asked, because
I did um put out a go fund me um
to just get people involved, to kind of motivate myself
to really go for it. UM. I really want to
make sure that's worth their money and their time and
their support. But yeah, this whole film, it's then almost
(45:37):
more than three years now, and it's really just certain
things that I wanted to highlight that represent the definition
of what life, what I think life is, and I
just wanted to do this film with some of the
most important people in my life and just people that
have really impacted the world in their own craft, you know,
because there's certain times where you can work with really
(45:59):
great dancer and you can work with really incredible movers,
but you're not going to remember that at a certain point,
you know. But when you do start to work with
not only great dance but really great people, it sticks
with you forever. And I think that that's kind of
something that that I really wanted to focus on. And
(46:21):
I don't know it's the trailer will come out your time.
I mean, between Winning Chopped, I had to say that
starting a YouTube channel, choreographing music videos, it's fine that
(46:42):
you're taking a little bit of time with this. There's
people that their main focus is a short film for
ten years and still nothings out. So you're okay, So
is it safe to say that you'd like to move
into the film world per um in the future. The
point of that short film was creating a certain infusion
of of acting and dancing. Great. It's basically an unspoken narrative,
(47:05):
you know, so very cool. So like I said, it
revolves around me in Casey because she holds, like I said,
that level of determination and commitment, and also she can act,
so it's like great, you know. So for me, it's
like being able to really influence and push that sense
of like, okay, if you really take the idea of
(47:26):
actual acting with dancing, then when you think about it,
you're really storytelling. Like I feel like sometimes the definition
of people's storytelling and they're dancing gets confused because step
it up or step up. It's like we're not talking
step up here. This is and it's it's not like
a driven film where it's like one person is going
(47:49):
through a certain path. It's just certain scenes in this film.
It holds different messages, very calm, and I think that's
that's the biggest goal with that, and I don't know,
who knows. Maybe if it does well. When it does
it does well, you know, it can step up into
(48:11):
a different series and maybe we could shoot it around
the world or something like that. You know. Like it's
just like that certain mister where I feel like pushing
it to different boundaries and going into different even countries
or different continents. It's like like being able to just
have the idea of with with Dance and obviously being
able to do with Casey. It's like it's just like
(48:32):
something that you want to go for no matter the
cost or the matter of the risk, you know, because
it's like if you're not going to do it now,
then when you're going to do it, you know. And
what about you, Casey. Obviously you're the star of this
Oscar winning film, so after you've taken your oscars home
(48:56):
some more, you're an actress. Well not an actress now.
I want to become one um sound acting and in
a short film. For me, like obviously dancing requires a
certain level of acting, and I think that's where I
(49:18):
kind of grew the love of acting from. And to me,
it's not so much acting because I feel like it
just truly comes from a raw place. And I never
like when I dance or when I portray messages. I
never wanted to be portrayed as I'm portraying someone else.
I wanted to be that I'm portraying myself or someone
(49:42):
else through who I am as well, so it comes
out as real as possible. But when I do get older,
obviously like I want to get more into the acting world,
and I think it's just really cool how you could
dive into different characters and really create something out of
the ordinary that you can't really do in reality, go
(50:03):
past the imagination. Well, I mean, it's funny because you
say you're you would like to become an actor, but
really you are one. You said when you dance, you're
taking on these different characters in essence and these different
these feelings that made you know you're portraying something and
you're you're showing the world and you're entertaining. So I
think you're on the right path. And I also feel
(50:24):
so obviously the show A Full Circle is about influence,
and you guys have both individually and together created a
platform where I truly feel that if you decided to
try something whether it's acting or filmmaking or directing or
whatever it is, you already have this platform, You have
this experience to take you wherever you want to go.
(50:45):
Do you guys feel like you're your visibility social media wise?
And just the shows that you've done and the big
winds like the music videos have helped you, helped open
doors to things that you may not know that you
want to do, but maybe you do it anyway. And yeah,
for sure, Yeah, I mean you basically said it. Yeah,
(51:06):
there's there's definitely power in social media. I'm sure you
guys both know that already. I'm sure you can book
jobs over other people because of the millions of followers
you both have between yourselves. I think the biggest like
thing about social media, and I usually say this, is
that it's like, it's obviously one of the greatest things ever,
(51:26):
but it's also one of the most dangerous things ever,
you know, because what you put out is how Yeah,
what you put out is forever, and it's what people
hold against you and what people use for certain gigs
and everything like that. But I think the biggest thing
is when you do get a certain job based off
(51:47):
of who you are on social media is that you
almost have to prove to your like, at least, you
almost have to prove to yourself that when you're doing
a certain gig, it's not coming from it's not only
coming from who you are on social media, but it's
coming from what you're actually capable of, because it's hard
to it's hard to like, book a job just from
(52:08):
how many followers you have, and then when it's when
that certain project comes out, you don't look so great
at it, you know what I mean, because because they're
not depending on your actual your actual capabilities, they're not
actually they care more about the numbers. Yeah, and that's
I think that that's something that's do you see that
(52:28):
happen a lot with other people? I would say, I
would say it happens. I'm not fully aware of it,
but I just want I think that for us, it's
like it's just making sure that if we do book
a certain thing, we want to make sure it comes
out in the most genuine, genuine way possible. Yea, the
most authentic way possible. Because it's great to book a job,
(52:51):
but if you don't, you know, if you don't feel
like you fully deserve it, it's going to show, you know,
And I think that making sure that we're able to
you know, either if it is a dancing job or
if it is an acting job, it's making sure that
you know, we're not We don't look like we're trying
to push into being someone else. It's like you are.
(53:13):
It's come from who you are at a certain level
of imagination, you know. So I don't know, it's just
that it's just that level of pressure where you want
to make sure that you feel like you do deserve
it based off of your capabilities rather than your you know, numbers. Yeah,
I feel like social media has definitely impacted our career
so much because honestly, without it, I don't think anyone
(53:36):
would really truly understand the dance industry, like all in all, because, um,
most of our resumes are on YouTube or on Instagram.
And I think that's one of the more positive sides
of it, is that we get to share with so
many people what we love to do, and if they
love it as well, that's like a bigger plus. But
(53:59):
for us, whenever post something, it's because we truly love
and we truly think it represents who we are, and
that's why we use social media the way that we do. UM.
We don't use it to get clout, as as people say,
I hate that. Hey if I could never hear get
clout ever, I'd be okay. But like, we use it
(54:23):
to just show who we are. And social media has
grown so much and I feel like so many people
are more aware of dance now than they were years ago.
And that's one of the coolest parts because dance has
become incredibly huge around the world and it's a form
(54:43):
of communication in a way, people communicate through dance through
their bodies, and that's really really cool. Brings people closer
from all over the world. We've had a few really
big dancers um in for interviews and in closing, I
will say, because we're talking about social media, they also
said that Instagram was basically their resume. And because it's
(55:08):
Instagram and because this person had a lot of followers
in the blue check, other artists are able to easily
find them and slide into the d M and be like, Hey,
do you want to work on this music video? Or oh,
do you want to come on tour with me? If
you guys could pick one person to slide into the
d M and ask you to collaborate. Who would it
be like? Who would make you drop the phone maybe
(55:31):
possibly crack it and make you use your Apple Care app?
Use the Apple Care because you cracked the phone. You're
so excited take some time. That's like you're like, can
I have a two hour FaceTime? Please? Um, I don't know.
It could be an artist, It could be It could
(55:52):
be literally anyone Sean Lou's going to see your name.
You guys don't have an artist that it like? Um
little way and slides into the DM and obviously or
like you know, like Beyonce would be fantastic great. Oh yeah,
and I think I feel like Beyonce would be a
(56:12):
good one for sure. Yeah yeah, definitely anyone else. Um,
we gotta put it out there. I mean, if we
don't put it out Beyonce is obviously listening. Okay, Bay,
did you hear this? Just give a call or slide
to the DM. Give both of us a call. Um.
I would also say probably uh not to um Day.
(56:37):
What's his name? Um? You must love him? Because no,
I've seen a lot of his work and it is
kind of just like shadowing his life as an actor. UM,
names and things he's been will help you. He did
Robot and then he did oh he did? He mean Rhapsody? Oh,
(57:03):
Ronnie Malick, there you go love him. So maybe he
does like a limited series on Amazon Prime and he's like,
it's spoken word, no, no word, it's just dance. These
guys hire me. Just stick with me. We'll go straight
to the top. Were all three of us together, Let's go. Okay,
(57:23):
that's a good one. Do you have any casey? I
don't know. It's so tough. I could give you Beyonce too. Yeah,
I mean, obviously, I don't know. It's such a tough
question because like I don't know if I wanted to
be like an artist or like an actor or just
like an influencer in general. But yeah, I don't know.
Are there any dancers you guys would have liked to
(57:44):
collaborate with it? You haven't yet? Yeah, um, there's a
certain uh like I don't. I don't think I've ever
really thought about that because I feel like, will you
guys collab together all the time and it works perfectly? Yeah?
For me, it's like, I think, the reason why I
don't really think about it so much just because whenever
the time comes where you know, we do end up
collaborating with someone, where we end up dancing with someone,
(58:07):
I feel like it happens for a reason. And I
feel like every time I try to push myself into
like like trying to meet with the person, will collaborate
with the person, it doesn't necessarily end up with such
a great collaboration or you know, just because it doesn't
come off of it doesn't come it doesn't come from
a hungry feeling. It just comes from like a feeling
that you feel like you have to do it, so
(58:29):
you're not seeking out collapse per se. I think that
I just think that like, if it happens, it happens
for a reason, and and we kind of just let
that take us into who whoever we're dancing with, whoever
we're collaborating with. Great. Okay, So in closing, because I
could talk to both of you forever, but we can't. Unfortunately,
(58:51):
just face time you later. Um, what advice would you
guys give someone who wants to follow in your footsteps
a young dancer? Maybe a lesson you learned along the
way that you wish you had known, or something that
you just have done the whole way through, like staying
authentic to to yourselves, which has obviously worked very much
(59:13):
in your favor. Any advice you guys want to give
your fans or just a hopeful dancer, Yeah, honestly the
main thing. I know everyone says it, but it's just
too continue to stay true to who you are, because
the moment you try to be someone else, no one's
gonna want to listen to what you have to say.
(59:34):
Everyone is put on this earth for a reason, and
everyone has their different reason and different paths, and I
think it's really important to uh, just be who you
are and not care what anybody else thinks, because as
long as you're happy and you're doing what you you
love to do, that's that's all that really truly matters.
(59:56):
Whatever you're doing anything, either if it is sports, if
it's dancing, if it's singing, if it's acting, if you
don't truly love it, then it's never gonna last. I
feel like I feel like you have to continue with
a certain passion in a certain love that comes from yourself.
(01:00:16):
You can't expect it from anyone else, So you have
to truly love something in order to continue it and
pursue it. Because I feel like I live by this
where you know, where there is love, there is life. So, um,
I just feel like thinking about that. When it comes
to dancing, when it comes to just being with people,
(01:00:36):
that's where you truly discover success, you know, because otherwise
you can you can push yourself into feeling a certain
way of being a certain person for a certain time,
but it's never gonna last. Like you can keep telling
yourself that, but it's never gonna last. And I remember,
I just saw this a few days ago, and it's
stuck by me so much. Um. This was Steve Jobs,
(01:01:02):
but he said that if you want to go fast,
go alone, and if you want to go far, go together.
So for me, it's like that really stuck with me
because I find the best experiences with with people, you know.
I mean, that's why I'm amos around her. So it's
(01:01:23):
really just the idea of making sure that you you
do what you love, you do it with great people.
And like she said, see who you are. That was
really good advice from both of you. All Right, we'll
have a good rest of the day. We hope you
guys enjoyed this interview. Make sure to check out Casey
(01:01:44):
and Shawn's YouTube channel together. I'm sure They'll be on
fifty other music videos, shows and films at your local theater,
so just you know, anywhere you want to look, they'll
be there, all right, by guys, all right behind the
Influences a production of I Heart Radio and TDC Media
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