June 17, 2024 • 35 mins
The Rollettes, Abilities Expo fan faves, are in the Zone with Paul Amadeus Lane! Dance
Captain Conner Lundius and Dancer Joci Scott share their personal stories from injury, to
coming to grips with a future on wheels to how they found their way back to dance. The
Rollettes’ mission is clear: to empower woman and girls with disabilities to live boundlessly
through dance. They do that through their annual Rollettes Experience each summer, through
their outreach and, of course, through their long-awaited comeback to Abilities Expo Chicago on
About the Host, Paul Amadeus Lane
Abilities Expo ambassador, TV & radio personality and disability advocate Paul Amadeus Lane
has leveraged his considerable media experience to host the Abilities Zone. Former Bureau
Chief of both ABC News Radio, KMET 1490-AM and NBC News Radio, KCAA 1050-AM, Paul is
a self-proclaimed tech junkie and also hosts the TECH ZONE and Entertainment Zone
podcasts. As an accessibility consultant, he was instrumental in helping PlayStation create its
Access Controller to level the playing field for disabled gamers. If you don’t see him on the red
carpet interviewing celebrities, you’ll find him speaking at CES, E3, the TechConneXt Summit
and more.
Captain Conner Lundius and Dancer Joci Scott share their personal stories from injury, to
coming to grips with a future on wheels to how they found their way back to dance. The
Rollettes’ mission is clear: to empower woman and girls with disabilities to live boundlessly
through dance. They do that through their annual Rollettes Experience each summer, through
their outreach and, of course, through their long-awaited comeback to Abilities Expo Chicago on
About the Host, Paul Amadeus Lane
Abilities Expo ambassador, TV & radio personality and disability advocate Paul Amadeus Lane
has leveraged his considerable media experience to host the Abilities Zone. Former Bureau
Chief of both ABC News Radio, KMET 1490-AM and NBC News Radio, KCAA 1050-AM, Paul is
a self-proclaimed tech junkie and also hosts the TECH ZONE and Entertainment Zone
podcasts. As an accessibility consultant, he was instrumental in helping PlayStation create its
Access Controller to level the playing field for disabled gamers. If you don’t see him on the red
carpet interviewing celebrities, you’ll find him speaking at CES, E3, the TechConneXt Summit
and more.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Five, six, seven, andeight, shoulder one, shoulder two knees
three up four, group five,group six, last seven eight. We
did it. Guess what, y'allwe got the Rolettes with us today.
You ready, let's do this?Oh oh my god. I don't wait
(00:20):
for no one. It ain't nogoven. When I'm reaching for the top
and I know I'm looking back,I'm only looking forward. My goal to
find who you know. And I'mfine, I'll be fine. I just
want you to know what is up, what's going on? Family to meet
Paul Amadea's lane and this is theAbility Zone. We have a great show
(00:44):
lined up today. We have twomembers of the amazing Rolette team. You
do not want to miss our chatwith them. Don't forget our Abilities Expo
Chicago is coming out, so makesure you go to our website and register
for free. It's gonna be Junetwenty first to the twenty third at the
(01:06):
Renaissance Chamberg Convention Center, and there'ssome amazing things that's going to go on
during that expo you do not wantto miss. Well, now, let's
bring on our very special guest.I am so delighted to have them.
Right now, My next two guests. These amazing ladies are incredible. We
(01:29):
have Connor Lundius, she is danceCaptain with the Rolettes, and Josie Scott,
who is a member of the Rolettes. Ladies, welcome to the program.
What is up? How are youboth doing? Good? Good morning,
Good morning. So great to talkto you both. You know,
I I have had a spinal quidinjury for over thirty one years, and
(01:53):
I've seen the inception of the Rolette, so I go way back. So
it's great to talk to you andtalk to you both and just find out
about what life is like being amember of the Rolettes, but not only
that, your own personal experience ofliving with the spinal cord injury and how
dance intercepted that, and how youboth are just living some amazing, incredible
(02:17):
lives and doing things that you loveto do. So tell me a little
bit about your spinal cord injury.Maybe some of our viewers and our listeners
out there may not be familiar withit, so you want to go first.
Connor, Yeah, I was injured. Gosh, it's almost nine years
ago. I was injured at theage of twenty two, just after I
(02:39):
graduated college. But I had beena dancer in my whole life. I
started dance when I was five anddance competitively and at all of my schools,
so I did dance in college aswell. And after my injury and
occupational therapist showed me the dance teamin Los Angeles. I'm from the Midwest,
(03:05):
I'm from southern Illinois, and Iwas shown what then we're not called
the Rolettes. Very soon after iswhen the dance team started to be called
the Rolettes, and I just sortof I connected with Chelsea Hill, our
founder, and met them actually atan Abilities expo in Chicago. A few
months later, they invited me tocome out to LA to dance with them,
(03:29):
and because I tried dancing a littlebit through social media channels and tutorials
there, and that's kind of likehow my newly injured self restarted life.
I started dancing with the team andcoming out to Los Angeles every once,
you know, once or twice ayear, and decided five years ago to
(03:53):
move out here and pursue this fulltime. Awesome. Welcome to the West
Side. I hope you hope youenjoy living out here, and you'll be
going and you'll be going home tothe Abilities Expo Chicago. So what's going
to be like having at homecoming?I'm very excited. Actually, my my
family lives many many hours south ofChicago. We're from southern Illinois, but
(04:17):
it's close enough, so they're actuallythey're making the journey and my niece and
nephew and my sister, I thinkin my grandma too. They've been they
haven't seen me dance in person.They've seen all my dance videos and everything
on social media, but they haven'tseen me perform live yet since my injury.
So they're coming up to watch.So I'm really excited. It's going
(04:39):
to be super special. That isamazing. Okay, Josie Scott, I'm
not gonna let you off the hook, So tell us a little bit about
about your history spinal cord injury andjust your introduction into dance and how'd you
become a member of the Rolettes.Yeah, I'm also a Midwest girl.
I am from Agron, Ohio ofLebron, so I grew up there.
(05:03):
I went to college at Ohio State, and my whole life I grew up
and I was actually doing theater,so I trained and danced through my musical
theater productions, and once the actingbug bit me, it never stopped.
Can't keep me off the stage orcan't keep me from in front of the
camera. But when I was twentyyears old, I was paralyzed in a
(05:27):
small plane crash and there were noother injuries, thankfully, but I thought
that performing was over for me.I hadn't seen anybody in a wheelchair,
you know, doing what I wantedto do, and that was really devastating.
But as I continued my rehabilitation,I started to see videos on social
(05:53):
media, similarly to Connor, ofthe rolettes of Ali Stroker, you know,
winning her Tony Award and things thatreally inspired me to get back on
the stage, which I ultimately didend up doing. Four months after my
injury. I ended up in acommunity theater production back home and that was
really healing and empowering for me todo. So that I think is what
(06:15):
catapulted me to get connected with therolettes. I started doing their online dance
classes during the pandemic and got connectedwith Chelsea through that, and in twenty
twenty one, she asked me tobe a little sister on the team,
which is like a part time teammember who may or may not live in
California, and then I ultimately decidedto move to California at the end of
(06:39):
twenty twenty one, and ever sinceI've been dancing with the rolettes and pursuing
my acting journey. Awesome, Welcometo the West Side. We love having
you, having you both with us, And Josie, will you and I
still be cool? If I gotyou a Michigan sweater, we were still
good. Maybe just keep that toyourself. I know for exactly. I
(07:00):
know all my friends who went tothe Ohio State University. Whenever I tell
them that joke, you know,they they look at me kind of sideways
too. But thank you, Thankyou both for sharing a little bit about
your story about being a member ofthe spinal cord injury community like myself and
everything, and also how dance isreally you know, really inspired you both
(07:23):
to do some amazing things. Andin congrats to Josie, I mean,
correct me if I'm wrong. Youdid something with the Easter Seals just recently,
did you? Yeah? I participatedwith the Easter Seals Disability Film Charge
for my second year. This year, I produced and co wrote a film
and started it called Body Swap.Awesome. Well, congratulations. And that's
(07:43):
one thing I noticed about our community. You know, we we start off
a lot doing things that we love, especially that we did pre injury,
and then post injury we we morefall into different things like acting, wilchair
dancing, all these different things,and it's amazing to see just what we
do to just continue to push thatenvelope to let people know that we've arrived
(08:07):
and we are here and we're gonnajust it's gonna make it do what it
does out there. And ladies,one thing I really appreciate about you both
is just how ones who are youngeror ones who are who have newer injuries,
how you have been able to bringsmiles on their faces to really inspire
(08:30):
them to push the envelope and startdancing. To what is it like to
introduce this dancing to others out therewho feel that dancing might not have been
even an option for them. Ithink that's one of the reasons why the
reason why we do what we dois because we can see the impact,
(08:54):
especially on children with disabilities. ButI think personally, as someone who's danced
basically their whole life, dance issuch it's a vehicle for so much and
I personally feel it's a great wayfor people with disabilities to be comfortable with
themselves and feel good within themselves againbecause you're connecting with your body on a
(09:16):
level that you typically don't every day, and anyone can dance. It's just
really you know, finding that connectionwith your body and that movement and expressing
yourself in a way that maybe youhadn't before. Yeah, I'd love to
share that and that you share that. Connor and JOSEI, how do you
(09:39):
feel about it as well? Yeah? I think for me it's the confidence.
You know, we have our yearlyevent rolettes experience, and I think
I've seen multiple girls come into theweekend and they don't know anybody, and
they're shy and they're nervous, andthen by the end of the weekend they've
got their group of friends and they'reyou know, rocking it out on the
(10:00):
dance floor. And I think forme, like having that community and seeing
other people when they get that community, it's like a transformation and it's empowering
and incredible. And I work withthis little girl in particular, her name
is Cecily Taylor and she's five,and just seeing her confidence, you know,
(10:22):
she says, I'm going to bea dancer. I'm going to be
on the Rolette when I grow up. And her confidence of just like everything
that she would ever want to dois you know, attainable to her because
she has role models like us,and it's really humbling to be in that
position. And I think it groundsme and all of us because we know
(10:43):
what who we're impacting and what we'redoing for them. You know, I
love to hear that. I rememberwhen I talked with you, your founder,
Chelsea Hill, many years ago,and hearing about the Rolette experience.
You know, it just really justblew my mind, you know, to
see how rolelets of paying it forward, uh well with the next generation,
(11:05):
you know, because I look atthe community that I represent when it comes
to gaming, when it comes tocontent creation. And also I did a
little acting too, Josie. Imean I'm not not as good as you,
but and and you know, justkind of paying it forward to ones
out there who didn't know that theycould do these things as well. And
(11:26):
and just to see that that thatlook on their face, that smile on
their face, you know, itjust really warms our heart. I mean,
maybe maybe both of you kind offelt like I did when I first
got injured. I never thought that, you know, I thought my whole
world, you know, was overit when when I first got injured,
because you know, we went frombeing this active young kid and now now
being a power wheelchair user, andI was like, my life is over.
(11:50):
But then when I realized that Iwas going to be able to help
others get over that hump too thatthey were feeling, it just opened a
whole new world for me. Andladies, I don't know if you both
felt that way too when that momentcame up, when you're like, hey,
I'm going to help my community outto see how they can just break
down a lot of barriers head Haveany of you felt that way? I
(12:15):
think in some ways I managed myrecovery mentally quite well. I don't know
how. I mean, I thinkfor me, I really I was twenty
two when I was injured, andI had just graduated college, so mentally,
I was really looking to start mylife in a way. I had
(12:37):
worked so hard in school and thatwas like a finish line for me and
I had just crossed it. SoI was ready to just like live and
experience and do all of the thingsthat my twenty two years of hard work,
you know, had allowed me todo. And then when I got
injured, life kind of stopped sofrom me. The one thing that I
(13:01):
didn't want it to do is takeaway any precious time that I thought that
I had as a female in myyoung twenties. And so that's why I
kind of started immediately just trying tofigure out what I was going to do
next, and how I was goingto get to the next step, and
how I was going to get myindependence back and started achieving all of those
(13:26):
like new goals that I set formyself. And I think when I found
dance, it was so familiar andit was something that I loved. It's
not what I thought that i'd stillbe doing today, you know, ten
years later. So there is that. But when I I don't want to
say rediscovered, because it was alwaysin me. But when I discovered this
(13:46):
like new path of dance and thecommunity that it serves, I just,
you know, couldn't say no toit. And I'm so passionate about what
I'm doing and what Rolette is doingtoday. I love that kind of kind
of said, don't call them tocomeback because I've been here for years.
That's what I'm talking about, youknow, and that that's amazing. And
(14:07):
Jolseie, how did you feel justafter after injury and and and just the
adjustment period, because you know,I hear a lot from one who are
who are recently injured or even theirfamilies and just there's there's that adjustment period.
What did you go through a periodwhen you had to suggest to to
like maybe the new normal, andand how does it feel now that you
(14:28):
are You and Connor are positions tohelp others adjust to that new normal to
see that hey, life, lifedoes go on and you can still have
a lot of fun. Yeah.I mean, I think Connor and I
are very similar. So I wasvery like goal oriented and like I had
all the steps to go through becomingindependent and going back to college. I
(14:50):
had to take semester off. ButI think I also really try to allow
myself to grieve the life that Iwouldn't have. You know, at first,
I think a lot of us gothrough, you know, the period
where we're like, oh, I'mgoing to walk again, I'm going to
heal and kind of coming to termswith that not happening. Was was difficult,
(15:15):
and the pandemic hit as well rightafter my injury. It was about
eight months after my injury where everythingshut down and so then I was really
like at home alone. Well,my family was there, but like I
was, I was I didn't havemy whole support system and I was just
there sitting and thinking about everything.And that was that was a really rough
(15:39):
time for me, because like I, I didn't know what my life would
look like. I didn't know howI could be a mother, I didn't
know what I would do after college. So it was hard. It was
hard to come to terms with andI never want to minimize that because you
know, I know that there arethousands of people going through even more what
(16:03):
we all went through. And sowhen I found the rolettes, that was
empowering for me, not just becauseI could reconnect with dance, but also
because I saw these women like Connorand Chelsea and all the girls really who
were unapologetically and happily living their livesand they didn't care about walking again and
(16:26):
they just said, this is howI am now, and I'm going to
make the most of it. Andthat was so empowering and motivating for me.
And once I got connected with them. They're teaching me tricks that I
had never learned before, and itjust like felt so right to be part
of this community. And I thinkthat's what a lot of the women who
come to rolettes experience and follow therolettes, they experienced that as well,
(16:49):
because you know, it's people whounderstand what you go through on a daily
basis, and it's really powerful.Yeah, I'm glad you shared that,
Josie, because it's interesting. Youknow, like I know, when I
got hurt too, it like,oh, I'm gonna walk again, and
that's gonna be real quick. Youknow. You see all these success stories
that I'm gonna be like that,and then and then then when the reality
(17:11):
comes in, then now you realize, Okay, now I have to make
the best of out of my outof my situation, and and I don't
know, I'm kind of weird nowbecause in mine was thirty one years ago,
so I'm kind of weird now.I'm like, Okay, if I
were to walk again today, Iwould lose all of my shine. I
mean, I would be just normalnow, and I would just fit in
(17:32):
the crowd. You know, Iwon't be Paul the guy in the wheelchair
who does this and does that,I would just be like the regular Joe
Schmoe. And I'm like, doI want to give that up for all
the attention that I get. SoI'm kind of weird with it now,
but but but it just shows thatwe can all live like a fulfilled,
amazing life, you know, eveneven post energy and you too are just
(17:53):
amazing. I mean, Connor,I watched him of year old dancing that
was pre injury, and you're amazing. And see what you're doing now amazing
too. Now, Josie, Ihaven't seen any of yours yet. I'm
sure some of your stuff post injury. I'm sorry, pre injury is out
on the internet yet. I haven'tlooked at it yet, but I'm gonna
(18:15):
look at it. But just tosee that, you know, you two
amazing women are just you know,helping our community out so much, and
I just want to want to giveyou both your flowers for doing what you
all are doing. And if wecan for a moment, let's talk about
the Abilities Expoe experience and what itmeans to have the rolettes be an integral
(18:41):
part of the Abilities Expone. Someexperiences that you have over the years of
being a part of the Abilities Expone. Yeah, I was just gonna say,
I mean, a community is thisword that we say a lot and
I don't, and it's such animportant word for the disability community. And
(19:03):
I think when it comes to recoveringand you know, rediscovering life and refinding
your passion or finding new passions,having people there to support you and be
by your side is so important.And that's why Rolette to Experience exists to
(19:23):
have that community moment for women andgirls with disabilities all across the world.
But I think that's also why AbilitiesExpo exists, to have that community and
bring together people that all have sharedexperiences in the same space and guide them
and educate them and have them likelearned from one another. So Abilities Expo
(19:47):
is something that I think every newlyinjured person does if they if they're familiar
with it. It's what I did. I was I think less than a
year after my injury, got mymom and I reloaded than the car and
drove five hours to the Chicago AbilitiesExpo to to meet the rolettes and to
also gather information about you know,so many things and find resources and because
(20:11):
there's just not social media is onething, and it's a very powerful tool,
and that's great, but I thinkbeing able to have Abilities Expo as
a physical place where all of thatcan happen as well is even more important.
So I have such such fond memoriesof Abilities Expos. When I joined
the team part time as a littlesister, I would come out to Los
(20:34):
Angeles every early every spring for theLaxpo and that is just on another level.
So dancing at the Abilities Expos it'show we kick off our like Rolette's
calendar year, we only debut ournew choreography and really just get to see
all of our friends and you know, our our family, our Rolettes family.
(21:00):
So it's something that we look forwardto. And I think this year
especially, we're so thankful to beable to have attended New Jersey and be
in Chicago and just be traveling aroundto share the message and have all of
these community moments with the Abilities Expo. That is so awesome. We're hearing
your Abilities Expo memory remind me ofmine. It was like one year after
(21:27):
my injury and a friend of mineand my sister they saw this commercial said
hey, you know, I wantto take you down to this Expo and
that's that was when it was inOrange County over there over there by Disneyland.
So and I went there and Iwas getting out of the vehicle and
I saw this wheelchair limo and itjust like blew my mind. I was
(21:48):
like, whoa, they got stufflike that. So it's pretty amazing some
of the things that we see atthe expo that really just help us out.
And Josie, your thoughts to please. You know, the first time
I rolled into an Abilities Expelled,I think I was so just overwhelmed because
there's so much to look at andso much, like you said, like
(22:11):
so many possibilities that you never eventhought of, like equipment and accommodations and
things that that you wouldn't have thoughtof, just like by yourself. And
it's it's really cool to see.And I think some of my fondest memories
are just like interacting with people,you know, meeting new people and seeing
them do the rock wall and justhaving a blast. And you know,
(22:34):
seeing people experience everything for the firsttime and experiencing this community and meeting other
people like them is really cool andreally powerful. And Josie, are you
like me when you see people onthat wall. Do you say you want
me on that wall? You needme on that wall? You think,
Yeah, I have done it afew times. I had nice I love
(22:56):
that. I love it. Yeah, just to and and win inspire me.
Is the younger generation, you know, who are part of our community.
You know, just to see them. I learned a lot from them.
You know, when you get alittle older, you know, you
get kind of grumpy, set inyour ways, and and just to see
the joy in their eyes and theirface, you know, it's it's really
(23:17):
like it's you know, it's it'san amazing thing in the expo, you
know, give us that opportunity tomeet up like a family. And you
know, I always always say thisthat people in the world who love all
this division and all this nonsense,they need to spend some time at their
Abilities Expo and they need to seewhat it means to get along as a
community. And they can learn alot from us, you know, and
(23:40):
and really appreciate the vibe, theflavor, all the amazingness and awesomeness that
you all, as the rolettes bringthat to their Abilities Expo too. I
wanted to talk about your routines.We always see the finished product and be
like, who hoa these ladies justjust just just doing it. Does it
(24:02):
take a lot of hard work toget in sync? And is it different
from when when you both were upand around to now doing wheelchair choreography?
If you don't watch share some ofthose secrets with this, you can,
Yes, it's not easy. Ithink there, it's the same. I
(24:26):
think in so many ways I choreographedstill and the way that it like translates
in my brain to my seated bodyis very familiar, and the movements feel
the same, and when I perform, I feel the same. But that's
the performance. There's so much thatwe have to think about. I think
(24:48):
that maybe I wasn't thinking about before. When it comes to doing things with
the rolet it's a wheelchair dance team. The factoring in the wheelchair can be
quite tricky sometimes, especially because wewant to change formations, and sometimes we
try to change formations like while we'redancing, so how to move the wheels
(25:11):
while keeping your arms moving and notcolliding with the person next to you.
Everyone's wheelchair is different, it's alla different size, so the timing can
be different depending on each girl andthe team. I think that's like my
biggest thing is like factoring and foreveryone's wheelchairs and how fast are they are
(25:33):
and what is the movement like what'srestricted? What could be not restricted on
me, could be a restriction onanother person. And then I think too
just sometimes trying to we really tryand push and push and push, and
some things we just can't so thingsI just can't do. So we're like
(25:56):
trying to reinvent the wheel all thetime to come up with new things.
I think our routine this year wehave some tricks in that we haven't that
at least for the you know,five plus years that I've been dancing with
the team, we haven't had Andwe're really trying to just kind of make
(26:17):
our routines as entertaining as possible,and that can be quite complicated. It's
a very like choreographed orchestrated thing withthe timing, because if you're off or
if you didn't quite make that turnaround to the front on five, six,
seven, eight, and the oneinvolves both of your arms above your
reels not touching reels, you're notgoing to get back to the front,
(26:38):
you know, So it's like there'sno adjusting. Sometimes that can happen.
It's like you have to hit yourmark, you have to hit your movement
on account because that's just your youronly option. So it can be quite
complicated, especially when we're learning,and I think when we're trying to like
figure out what we're and what doesn'twe're doing things so so many different ways.
(27:04):
But we love what we do.That's a very long long answer.
I love it, you know,you know I love it. And Joe
sh I'm gonna put you on thespot. So so when Connor comes up
with the choreography and everything and sharewith the rest of the team, do
you ever sit and be like,Wow, Connor, you want us to
do this? Can we do this? And then when you put it together,
(27:26):
you're like, wow, Connor,this was amazing. You were just
you were spot on. You everhad those type of moments? Yeah,
exactly that Connor. Connor likes tochallenge us. So I'm a pretty confident
dancer. But sometimes there are partsof the choreography that are very quick and
very sharp, and all the girlsare like, oh, what's going on?
(27:48):
And then then we learn it andConnor always says like we end up
rushing it, so we end updoing it faster than we need to.
They're only shocked and and then weyou know, a week later after rehearsals,
everyone's fine. Yeah, I totallyget it. And just to see
where we're at where I know,on this past season and so you think
(28:10):
you can dance, there was awheelchair dancer who who you know, went
pretty far in the in the auditions, and that was really amazing to see
see where we're at, where onesaren't. This is really awesome. Yeah,
that's Kaylee Bass. She's a roleas little sister. Actually, I
had no idea she was a roleat that's that's cool. And and and
(28:32):
you know what, Connor, youwent from a little sister and now to
dance captain. What what was thatlike? Someone asked me this question recently
about how I kind of became teamcaptain, and I just sort of I
think I just coasted in. Ithink I just rolled into the position.
(28:56):
My background and dance has really preparedme for a lot. And I I've
been a part of teams and organizationsand different groups like my whole life.
So the functionality of that is somethingthat I'm very very used to. And
I think when I really started tosee what Rolettes does. I feel so
passionate about expanding that mission and reallyjust doing the work because I also helped
(29:25):
produce Rolettes Experience and our Boundless Talentshowcase as well. So once I really
started to see what we can doand what we are doing and the message
that we're being that we're sending outthere in the world every day, I
just couldn't not be a part ofit. So I wanted to push myself
to do more within the company.Look at you, Oh, that's what
(29:48):
I'm talking about in Josie, Well, what about you? You know you're
gonna push the envelope too, You'llbe You're gonna be a Rolette captain one
day. You go, what what'sup? I don't know about that.
My passion definitely is acting, sodefinitely I love dancing with the girls and
(30:10):
you know, having a good time. But I think my passion mainly with
Rolettes is the community and connecting withpeople, and that's something that I'll I'll
do until I die. I thinkI'll always be connected to the Rolettes in
some capacity. And I think that'swhy I love Rolettes too, is because
we all have something that we're passionateabout. We all love dance, and
(30:32):
dancing and performing is the foundation ofeverything that we do, but there's so
much else that needs to be outthere in the world as well. So
with Josie and her acting, she'sreally made some incredible waves in the community
the last couple of years with theprojects that she's been involved on and the
work that she's been doing, andbeing able to have her be a part
(30:53):
of Rolette and have all of usas a team support her and see her
journey and you know, do whateverwe can to push and elevate her career
and her confidences. You know,it's what we're all about. It's community
at the end of the day.Yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome.
And before I let you go,Abilities Expo Chicago is coming up. Tell
(31:18):
us about what the rolettes are goingto going to be doing there, what
the presence is going to be like, and you might sharing that with us.
Yeah, I'm very excited to bein Chicago myself and Josie will be
there with our teammate Danica, Andit's been many years since we've been to
a Chicago expo, so I can'twait to just reconnect with everyone in the
(31:41):
Midwest. We all, let's wetravel often, but our travel has been
quite affected the last handful of years. So I think I personally am really
excited to just meet new people andsee some familiar faces. We're going to
be performing on a Friday and Saturdayof the Expo. Might be there with
(32:02):
some of our merch, some ofour disabled isn't a bad word shirts and
hats if if anyone is interested,and really just you know, we're going
to be there dancing, performing.I'll teach a dance class really just to
get everybody moving and connect with people. That's what I'm most excited about.
(32:22):
But we're going to be there Fridayand Saturday, so you're gonna get us
all dance and we can get ourroof on and all that other dis Absolutely,
I love it. I love it. I love it. And any
closing thoughts from the both of youbefore before we let you go, no
closing thoughts. We're just so excitedand so thankful to Abilities Expo to continue
(32:45):
to give us this platform to showcasethe roletts and what we do to empower
women and girls with disabilities to liveboundlessly. If anyone is searching for community,
definitely check out the Abilities Expo.They happen all across the United States.
Check out Rolettes Experience. It's Julyeleventh through fourteenth in Los Angeles,
(33:07):
California. And if you want moreinformation on Rolettes or you can also stalk
the page and find Josie and Iand our personal like handles as well.
But we're on Instagram, TikTok andYouTube at Rolette to underscore LA. Awesome,
awesome, awesome. We want tomake sure everybody come out to the
(33:28):
West Side because you and I knowit's the best side. Come see us
in LA. You know we knowhow to get it done because like the
late Great pox Ed California, knowhow to party. Yes, we do.
That's what we do in Connor,Josie, thank you to for doing
what you do. Thank you toofor being who you are. Thank you
(33:49):
for the Rolettes and looking forward toto catching up and chopping up with you
both soon. Thank you, Thankyou so much for having us. A
huge shout out to Connor and alsoJosie. Really enjoy talking to those amazing
ladies and some of the great thingsthat they're doing. Don't forget to go
to our website right now and registerfor free. Are you ready? To
(34:14):
supercharge your independence. Well, thoseare some of the great things that you
are going to experience at the AbilitiesExpo in Chicago. And speaking of experiences,
did you know that the Rolettes havea special dance performance on Saturday,
June twenty second at ten thirty ambefore the show even opens. It's going
(34:36):
to be incredible. Now it's freeto see the special showing, but if
you need a ticket, all youhave to do is click the Rolettes box
in the registration form and will sendyou one. But don't wait because space
is limited that after the Rolettes performanceyou can go right into the Abilities Expo.
(35:00):
Thank you so much for tuning into the Ability zone. I am
Paul Almaedea Slain. Until next time, stay healthy, stay safe, and
remember I love you all of life. Take care of
Five, six, seven, andeight, shoulder one, shoulder two knees
three up four, group five,group six, last seven eight. We
did it. Guess what, y'allwe got the Rolettes with us today.
You ready, let's do this?Oh oh my god. I don't wait
(00:20):
for no one. It ain't nogoven. When I'm reaching for the top
and I know I'm looking back,I'm only looking forward. My goal to
find who you know. And I'mfine, I'll be fine. I just
want you to know what is up, what's going on? Family to meet
Paul Amadea's lane and this is theAbility Zone. We have a great show
(00:44):
lined up today. We have twomembers of the amazing Rolette team. You
do not want to miss our chatwith them. Don't forget our Abilities Expo
Chicago is coming out, so makesure you go to our website and register
for free. It's gonna be Junetwenty first to the twenty third at the
(01:06):
Renaissance Chamberg Convention Center, and there'ssome amazing things that's going to go on
during that expo you do not wantto miss. Well, now, let's
bring on our very special guest.I am so delighted to have them.
Right now, My next two guests. These amazing ladies are incredible. We
(01:29):
have Connor Lundius, she is danceCaptain with the Rolettes, and Josie Scott,
who is a member of the Rolettes. Ladies, welcome to the program.
What is up? How are youboth doing? Good? Good morning,
Good morning. So great to talkto you both. You know,
I I have had a spinal quidinjury for over thirty one years, and
(01:53):
I've seen the inception of the Rolette, so I go way back. So
it's great to talk to you andtalk to you both and just find out
about what life is like being amember of the Rolettes, but not only
that, your own personal experience ofliving with the spinal cord injury and how
dance intercepted that, and how youboth are just living some amazing, incredible
(02:17):
lives and doing things that you loveto do. So tell me a little
bit about your spinal cord injury.Maybe some of our viewers and our listeners
out there may not be familiar withit, so you want to go first.
Connor, Yeah, I was injured. Gosh, it's almost nine years
ago. I was injured at theage of twenty two, just after I
(02:39):
graduated college. But I had beena dancer in my whole life. I
started dance when I was five anddance competitively and at all of my schools,
so I did dance in college aswell. And after my injury and
occupational therapist showed me the dance teamin Los Angeles. I'm from the Midwest,
(03:05):
I'm from southern Illinois, and Iwas shown what then we're not called
the Rolettes. Very soon after iswhen the dance team started to be called
the Rolettes, and I just sortof I connected with Chelsea Hill, our
founder, and met them actually atan Abilities expo in Chicago. A few
months later, they invited me tocome out to LA to dance with them,
(03:29):
and because I tried dancing a littlebit through social media channels and tutorials
there, and that's kind of likehow my newly injured self restarted life.
I started dancing with the team andcoming out to Los Angeles every once,
you know, once or twice ayear, and decided five years ago to
(03:53):
move out here and pursue this fulltime. Awesome. Welcome to the West
Side. I hope you hope youenjoy living out here, and you'll be
going and you'll be going home tothe Abilities Expo Chicago. So what's going
to be like having at homecoming?I'm very excited. Actually, my my
family lives many many hours south ofChicago. We're from southern Illinois, but
(04:17):
it's close enough, so they're actuallythey're making the journey and my niece and
nephew and my sister, I thinkin my grandma too. They've been they
haven't seen me dance in person.They've seen all my dance videos and everything
on social media, but they haven'tseen me perform live yet since my injury.
So they're coming up to watch.So I'm really excited. It's going
(04:39):
to be super special. That isamazing. Okay, Josie Scott, I'm
not gonna let you off the hook, So tell us a little bit about
about your history spinal cord injury andjust your introduction into dance and how'd you
become a member of the Rolettes.Yeah, I'm also a Midwest girl.
I am from Agron, Ohio ofLebron, so I grew up there.
(05:03):
I went to college at Ohio State, and my whole life I grew up
and I was actually doing theater,so I trained and danced through my musical
theater productions, and once the actingbug bit me, it never stopped.
Can't keep me off the stage orcan't keep me from in front of the
camera. But when I was twentyyears old, I was paralyzed in a
(05:27):
small plane crash and there were noother injuries, thankfully, but I thought
that performing was over for me.I hadn't seen anybody in a wheelchair,
you know, doing what I wantedto do, and that was really devastating.
But as I continued my rehabilitation,I started to see videos on social
(05:53):
media, similarly to Connor, ofthe rolettes of Ali Stroker, you know,
winning her Tony Award and things thatreally inspired me to get back on
the stage, which I ultimately didend up doing. Four months after my
injury. I ended up in acommunity theater production back home and that was
really healing and empowering for me todo. So that I think is what
(06:15):
catapulted me to get connected with therolettes. I started doing their online dance
classes during the pandemic and got connectedwith Chelsea through that, and in twenty
twenty one, she asked me tobe a little sister on the team,
which is like a part time teammember who may or may not live in
California, and then I ultimately decidedto move to California at the end of
(06:39):
twenty twenty one, and ever sinceI've been dancing with the rolettes and pursuing
my acting journey. Awesome, Welcometo the West Side. We love having
you, having you both with us, And Josie, will you and I
still be cool? If I gotyou a Michigan sweater, we were still
good. Maybe just keep that toyourself. I know for exactly. I
(07:00):
know all my friends who went tothe Ohio State University. Whenever I tell
them that joke, you know,they they look at me kind of sideways
too. But thank you, Thankyou both for sharing a little bit about
your story about being a member ofthe spinal cord injury community like myself and
everything, and also how dance isreally you know, really inspired you both
(07:23):
to do some amazing things. Andin congrats to Josie, I mean,
correct me if I'm wrong. Youdid something with the Easter Seals just recently,
did you? Yeah? I participatedwith the Easter Seals Disability Film Charge
for my second year. This year, I produced and co wrote a film
and started it called Body Swap.Awesome. Well, congratulations. And that's
(07:43):
one thing I noticed about our community. You know, we we start off
a lot doing things that we love, especially that we did pre injury,
and then post injury we we morefall into different things like acting, wilchair
dancing, all these different things,and it's amazing to see just what we
do to just continue to push thatenvelope to let people know that we've arrived
(08:07):
and we are here and we're gonnajust it's gonna make it do what it
does out there. And ladies,one thing I really appreciate about you both
is just how ones who are youngeror ones who are who have newer injuries,
how you have been able to bringsmiles on their faces to really inspire
(08:30):
them to push the envelope and startdancing. To what is it like to
introduce this dancing to others out therewho feel that dancing might not have been
even an option for them. Ithink that's one of the reasons why the
reason why we do what we dois because we can see the impact,
(08:54):
especially on children with disabilities. ButI think personally, as someone who's danced
basically their whole life, dance issuch it's a vehicle for so much and
I personally feel it's a great wayfor people with disabilities to be comfortable with
themselves and feel good within themselves againbecause you're connecting with your body on a
(09:16):
level that you typically don't every day, and anyone can dance. It's just
really you know, finding that connectionwith your body and that movement and expressing
yourself in a way that maybe youhadn't before. Yeah, I'd love to
share that and that you share that. Connor and JOSEI, how do you
(09:39):
feel about it as well? Yeah? I think for me it's the confidence.
You know, we have our yearlyevent rolettes experience, and I think
I've seen multiple girls come into theweekend and they don't know anybody, and
they're shy and they're nervous, andthen by the end of the weekend they've
got their group of friends and they'reyou know, rocking it out on the
(10:00):
dance floor. And I think forme, like having that community and seeing
other people when they get that community, it's like a transformation and it's empowering
and incredible. And I work withthis little girl in particular, her name
is Cecily Taylor and she's five,and just seeing her confidence, you know,
(10:22):
she says, I'm going to bea dancer. I'm going to be
on the Rolette when I grow up. And her confidence of just like everything
that she would ever want to dois you know, attainable to her because
she has role models like us,and it's really humbling to be in that
position. And I think it groundsme and all of us because we know
(10:43):
what who we're impacting and what we'redoing for them. You know, I
love to hear that. I rememberwhen I talked with you, your founder,
Chelsea Hill, many years ago,and hearing about the Rolette experience.
You know, it just really justblew my mind, you know, to
see how rolelets of paying it forward, uh well with the next generation,
(11:05):
you know, because I look atthe community that I represent when it comes
to gaming, when it comes tocontent creation. And also I did a
little acting too, Josie. Imean I'm not not as good as you,
but and and you know, justkind of paying it forward to ones
out there who didn't know that theycould do these things as well. And
(11:26):
and just to see that that thatlook on their face, that smile on
their face, you know, itjust really warms our heart. I mean,
maybe maybe both of you kind offelt like I did when I first
got injured. I never thought that, you know, I thought my whole
world, you know, was overit when when I first got injured,
because you know, we went frombeing this active young kid and now now
being a power wheelchair user, andI was like, my life is over.
(11:50):
But then when I realized that Iwas going to be able to help
others get over that hump too thatthey were feeling, it just opened a
whole new world for me. Andladies, I don't know if you both
felt that way too when that momentcame up, when you're like, hey,
I'm going to help my community outto see how they can just break
down a lot of barriers head Haveany of you felt that way? I
(12:15):
think in some ways I managed myrecovery mentally quite well. I don't know
how. I mean, I thinkfor me, I really I was twenty
two when I was injured, andI had just graduated college, so mentally,
I was really looking to start mylife in a way. I had
(12:37):
worked so hard in school and thatwas like a finish line for me and
I had just crossed it. SoI was ready to just like live and
experience and do all of the thingsthat my twenty two years of hard work,
you know, had allowed me todo. And then when I got
injured, life kind of stopped sofrom me. The one thing that I
(13:01):
didn't want it to do is takeaway any precious time that I thought that
I had as a female in myyoung twenties. And so that's why I
kind of started immediately just trying tofigure out what I was going to do
next, and how I was goingto get to the next step, and
how I was going to get myindependence back and started achieving all of those
(13:26):
like new goals that I set formyself. And I think when I found
dance, it was so familiar andit was something that I loved. It's
not what I thought that i'd stillbe doing today, you know, ten
years later. So there is that. But when I I don't want to
say rediscovered, because it was alwaysin me. But when I discovered this
(13:46):
like new path of dance and thecommunity that it serves, I just,
you know, couldn't say no toit. And I'm so passionate about what
I'm doing and what Rolette is doingtoday. I love that kind of kind
of said, don't call them tocomeback because I've been here for years.
That's what I'm talking about, youknow, and that that's amazing. And
(14:07):
Jolseie, how did you feel justafter after injury and and and just the
adjustment period, because you know,I hear a lot from one who are
who are recently injured or even theirfamilies and just there's there's that adjustment period.
What did you go through a periodwhen you had to suggest to to
like maybe the new normal, andand how does it feel now that you
(14:28):
are You and Connor are positions tohelp others adjust to that new normal to
see that hey, life, lifedoes go on and you can still have
a lot of fun. Yeah.I mean, I think Connor and I
are very similar. So I wasvery like goal oriented and like I had
all the steps to go through becomingindependent and going back to college. I
(14:50):
had to take semester off. ButI think I also really try to allow
myself to grieve the life that Iwouldn't have. You know, at first,
I think a lot of us gothrough, you know, the period
where we're like, oh, I'mgoing to walk again, I'm going to
heal and kind of coming to termswith that not happening. Was was difficult,
(15:15):
and the pandemic hit as well rightafter my injury. It was about
eight months after my injury where everythingshut down and so then I was really
like at home alone. Well,my family was there, but like I
was, I was I didn't havemy whole support system and I was just
there sitting and thinking about everything.And that was that was a really rough
(15:39):
time for me, because like I, I didn't know what my life would
look like. I didn't know howI could be a mother, I didn't
know what I would do after college. So it was hard. It was
hard to come to terms with andI never want to minimize that because you
know, I know that there arethousands of people going through even more what
(16:03):
we all went through. And sowhen I found the rolettes, that was
empowering for me, not just becauseI could reconnect with dance, but also
because I saw these women like Connorand Chelsea and all the girls really who
were unapologetically and happily living their livesand they didn't care about walking again and
(16:26):
they just said, this is howI am now, and I'm going to
make the most of it. Andthat was so empowering and motivating for me.
And once I got connected with them. They're teaching me tricks that I
had never learned before, and itjust like felt so right to be part
of this community. And I thinkthat's what a lot of the women who
come to rolettes experience and follow therolettes, they experienced that as well,
(16:49):
because you know, it's people whounderstand what you go through on a daily
basis, and it's really powerful.Yeah, I'm glad you shared that,
Josie, because it's interesting. Youknow, like I know, when I
got hurt too, it like,oh, I'm gonna walk again, and
that's gonna be real quick. Youknow. You see all these success stories
that I'm gonna be like that,and then and then then when the reality
(17:11):
comes in, then now you realize, Okay, now I have to make
the best of out of my outof my situation, and and I don't
know, I'm kind of weird nowbecause in mine was thirty one years ago,
so I'm kind of weird now.I'm like, Okay, if I
were to walk again today, Iwould lose all of my shine. I
mean, I would be just normalnow, and I would just fit in
(17:32):
the crowd. You know, Iwon't be Paul the guy in the wheelchair
who does this and does that,I would just be like the regular Joe
Schmoe. And I'm like, doI want to give that up for all
the attention that I get. SoI'm kind of weird with it now,
but but but it just shows thatwe can all live like a fulfilled,
amazing life, you know, eveneven post energy and you too are just
(17:53):
amazing. I mean, Connor,I watched him of year old dancing that
was pre injury, and you're amazing. And see what you're doing now amazing
too. Now, Josie, Ihaven't seen any of yours yet. I'm
sure some of your stuff post injury. I'm sorry, pre injury is out
on the internet yet. I haven'tlooked at it yet, but I'm gonna
(18:15):
look at it. But just tosee that, you know, you two
amazing women are just you know,helping our community out so much, and
I just want to want to giveyou both your flowers for doing what you
all are doing. And if wecan for a moment, let's talk about
the Abilities Expoe experience and what itmeans to have the rolettes be an integral
(18:41):
part of the Abilities Expone. Someexperiences that you have over the years of
being a part of the Abilities Expone. Yeah, I was just gonna say,
I mean, a community is thisword that we say a lot and
I don't, and it's such animportant word for the disability community. And
(19:03):
I think when it comes to recoveringand you know, rediscovering life and refinding
your passion or finding new passions,having people there to support you and be
by your side is so important.And that's why Rolette to Experience exists to
(19:23):
have that community moment for women andgirls with disabilities all across the world.
But I think that's also why AbilitiesExpo exists, to have that community and
bring together people that all have sharedexperiences in the same space and guide them
and educate them and have them likelearned from one another. So Abilities Expo
(19:47):
is something that I think every newlyinjured person does if they if they're familiar
with it. It's what I did. I was I think less than a
year after my injury, got mymom and I reloaded than the car and
drove five hours to the Chicago AbilitiesExpo to to meet the rolettes and to
also gather information about you know,so many things and find resources and because
(20:11):
there's just not social media is onething, and it's a very powerful tool,
and that's great, but I thinkbeing able to have Abilities Expo as
a physical place where all of thatcan happen as well is even more important.
So I have such such fond memoriesof Abilities Expos. When I joined
the team part time as a littlesister, I would come out to Los
(20:34):
Angeles every early every spring for theLaxpo and that is just on another level.
So dancing at the Abilities Expos it'show we kick off our like Rolette's
calendar year, we only debut ournew choreography and really just get to see
all of our friends and you know, our our family, our Rolettes family.
(21:00):
So it's something that we look forwardto. And I think this year
especially, we're so thankful to beable to have attended New Jersey and be
in Chicago and just be traveling aroundto share the message and have all of
these community moments with the Abilities Expo. That is so awesome. We're hearing
your Abilities Expo memory remind me ofmine. It was like one year after
(21:27):
my injury and a friend of mineand my sister they saw this commercial said
hey, you know, I wantto take you down to this Expo and
that's that was when it was inOrange County over there over there by Disneyland.
So and I went there and Iwas getting out of the vehicle and
I saw this wheelchair limo and itjust like blew my mind. I was
(21:48):
like, whoa, they got stufflike that. So it's pretty amazing some
of the things that we see atthe expo that really just help us out.
And Josie, your thoughts to please. You know, the first time
I rolled into an Abilities Expelled,I think I was so just overwhelmed because
there's so much to look at andso much, like you said, like
(22:11):
so many possibilities that you never eventhought of, like equipment and accommodations and
things that that you wouldn't have thoughtof, just like by yourself. And
it's it's really cool to see.And I think some of my fondest memories
are just like interacting with people,you know, meeting new people and seeing
them do the rock wall and justhaving a blast. And you know,
(22:34):
seeing people experience everything for the firsttime and experiencing this community and meeting other
people like them is really cool andreally powerful. And Josie, are you
like me when you see people onthat wall. Do you say you want
me on that wall? You needme on that wall? You think,
Yeah, I have done it afew times. I had nice I love
(22:56):
that. I love it. Yeah, just to and and win inspire me.
Is the younger generation, you know, who are part of our community.
You know, just to see them. I learned a lot from them.
You know, when you get alittle older, you know, you
get kind of grumpy, set inyour ways, and and just to see
the joy in their eyes and theirface, you know, it's it's really
(23:17):
like it's you know, it's it'san amazing thing in the expo, you
know, give us that opportunity tomeet up like a family. And you
know, I always always say thisthat people in the world who love all
this division and all this nonsense,they need to spend some time at their
Abilities Expo and they need to seewhat it means to get along as a
community. And they can learn alot from us, you know, and
(23:40):
and really appreciate the vibe, theflavor, all the amazingness and awesomeness that
you all, as the rolettes bringthat to their Abilities Expo too. I
wanted to talk about your routines.We always see the finished product and be
like, who hoa these ladies justjust just just doing it. Does it
(24:02):
take a lot of hard work toget in sync? And is it different
from when when you both were upand around to now doing wheelchair choreography?
If you don't watch share some ofthose secrets with this, you can,
Yes, it's not easy. Ithink there, it's the same. I
(24:26):
think in so many ways I choreographedstill and the way that it like translates
in my brain to my seated bodyis very familiar, and the movements feel
the same, and when I perform, I feel the same. But that's
the performance. There's so much thatwe have to think about. I think
(24:48):
that maybe I wasn't thinking about before. When it comes to doing things with
the rolet it's a wheelchair dance team. The factoring in the wheelchair can be
quite tricky sometimes, especially because wewant to change formations, and sometimes we
try to change formations like while we'redancing, so how to move the wheels
(25:11):
while keeping your arms moving and notcolliding with the person next to you.
Everyone's wheelchair is different, it's alla different size, so the timing can
be different depending on each girl andthe team. I think that's like my
biggest thing is like factoring and foreveryone's wheelchairs and how fast are they are
(25:33):
and what is the movement like what'srestricted? What could be not restricted on
me, could be a restriction onanother person. And then I think too
just sometimes trying to we really tryand push and push and push, and
some things we just can't so thingsI just can't do. So we're like
(25:56):
trying to reinvent the wheel all thetime to come up with new things.
I think our routine this year wehave some tricks in that we haven't that
at least for the you know,five plus years that I've been dancing with
the team, we haven't had Andwe're really trying to just kind of make
(26:17):
our routines as entertaining as possible,and that can be quite complicated. It's
a very like choreographed orchestrated thing withthe timing, because if you're off or
if you didn't quite make that turnaround to the front on five, six,
seven, eight, and the oneinvolves both of your arms above your
reels not touching reels, you're notgoing to get back to the front,
(26:38):
you know, So it's like there'sno adjusting. Sometimes that can happen.
It's like you have to hit yourmark, you have to hit your movement
on account because that's just your youronly option. So it can be quite
complicated, especially when we're learning,and I think when we're trying to like
figure out what we're and what doesn'twe're doing things so so many different ways.
(27:04):
But we love what we do.That's a very long long answer.
I love it, you know,you know I love it. And Joe
sh I'm gonna put you on thespot. So so when Connor comes up
with the choreography and everything and sharewith the rest of the team, do
you ever sit and be like,Wow, Connor, you want us to
do this? Can we do this? And then when you put it together,
(27:26):
you're like, wow, Connor,this was amazing. You were just
you were spot on. You everhad those type of moments? Yeah,
exactly that Connor. Connor likes tochallenge us. So I'm a pretty confident
dancer. But sometimes there are partsof the choreography that are very quick and
very sharp, and all the girlsare like, oh, what's going on?
(27:48):
And then then we learn it andConnor always says like we end up
rushing it, so we end updoing it faster than we need to.
They're only shocked and and then weyou know, a week later after rehearsals,
everyone's fine. Yeah, I totallyget it. And just to see
where we're at where I know,on this past season and so you think
(28:10):
you can dance, there was awheelchair dancer who who you know, went
pretty far in the in the auditions, and that was really amazing to see
see where we're at, where onesaren't. This is really awesome. Yeah,
that's Kaylee Bass. She's a roleas little sister. Actually, I
had no idea she was a roleat that's that's cool. And and and
(28:32):
you know what, Connor, youwent from a little sister and now to
dance captain. What what was thatlike? Someone asked me this question recently
about how I kind of became teamcaptain, and I just sort of I
think I just coasted in. Ithink I just rolled into the position.
(28:56):
My background and dance has really preparedme for a lot. And I I've
been a part of teams and organizationsand different groups like my whole life.
So the functionality of that is somethingthat I'm very very used to. And
I think when I really started tosee what Rolettes does. I feel so
passionate about expanding that mission and reallyjust doing the work because I also helped
(29:25):
produce Rolettes Experience and our Boundless Talentshowcase as well. So once I really
started to see what we can doand what we are doing and the message
that we're being that we're sending outthere in the world every day, I
just couldn't not be a part ofit. So I wanted to push myself
to do more within the company.Look at you, Oh, that's what
(29:48):
I'm talking about in Josie, Well, what about you? You know you're
gonna push the envelope too, You'llbe You're gonna be a Rolette captain one
day. You go, what what'sup? I don't know about that.
My passion definitely is acting, sodefinitely I love dancing with the girls and
(30:10):
you know, having a good time. But I think my passion mainly with
Rolettes is the community and connecting withpeople, and that's something that I'll I'll
do until I die. I thinkI'll always be connected to the Rolettes in
some capacity. And I think that'swhy I love Rolettes too, is because
we all have something that we're passionateabout. We all love dance, and
(30:32):
dancing and performing is the foundation ofeverything that we do, but there's so
much else that needs to be outthere in the world as well. So
with Josie and her acting, she'sreally made some incredible waves in the community
the last couple of years with theprojects that she's been involved on and the
work that she's been doing, andbeing able to have her be a part
(30:53):
of Rolette and have all of usas a team support her and see her
journey and you know, do whateverwe can to push and elevate her career
and her confidences. You know,it's what we're all about. It's community
at the end of the day.Yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome.
And before I let you go,Abilities Expo Chicago is coming up. Tell
(31:18):
us about what the rolettes are goingto going to be doing there, what
the presence is going to be like, and you might sharing that with us.
Yeah, I'm very excited to bein Chicago myself and Josie will be
there with our teammate Danica, Andit's been many years since we've been to
a Chicago expo, so I can'twait to just reconnect with everyone in the
(31:41):
Midwest. We all, let's wetravel often, but our travel has been
quite affected the last handful of years. So I think I personally am really
excited to just meet new people andsee some familiar faces. We're going to
be performing on a Friday and Saturdayof the Expo. Might be there with
(32:02):
some of our merch, some ofour disabled isn't a bad word shirts and
hats if if anyone is interested,and really just you know, we're going
to be there dancing, performing.I'll teach a dance class really just to
get everybody moving and connect with people. That's what I'm most excited about.
(32:22):
But we're going to be there Fridayand Saturday, so you're gonna get us
all dance and we can get ourroof on and all that other dis Absolutely,
I love it. I love it. I love it. And any
closing thoughts from the both of youbefore before we let you go, no
closing thoughts. We're just so excitedand so thankful to Abilities Expo to continue
(32:45):
to give us this platform to showcasethe roletts and what we do to empower
women and girls with disabilities to liveboundlessly. If anyone is searching for community,
definitely check out the Abilities Expo.They happen all across the United States.
Check out Rolettes Experience. It's Julyeleventh through fourteenth in Los Angeles,
(33:07):
California. And if you want moreinformation on Rolettes or you can also stalk
the page and find Josie and Iand our personal like handles as well.
But we're on Instagram, TikTok andYouTube at Rolette to underscore LA. Awesome,
awesome, awesome. We want tomake sure everybody come out to the
(33:28):
West Side because you and I knowit's the best side. Come see us
in LA. You know we knowhow to get it done because like the
late Great pox Ed California, knowhow to party. Yes, we do.
That's what we do in Connor,Josie, thank you to for doing
what you do. Thank you toofor being who you are. Thank you
(33:49):
for the Rolettes and looking forward toto catching up and chopping up with you
both soon. Thank you, Thankyou so much for having us. A
huge shout out to Connor and alsoJosie. Really enjoy talking to those amazing
ladies and some of the great thingsthat they're doing. Don't forget to go
to our website right now and registerfor free. Are you ready? To
(34:14):
supercharge your independence. Well, thoseare some of the great things that you
are going to experience at the AbilitiesExpo in Chicago. And speaking of experiences,
did you know that the Rolettes havea special dance performance on Saturday,
June twenty second at ten thirty ambefore the show even opens. It's going
(34:36):
to be incredible. Now it's freeto see the special showing, but if
you need a ticket, all youhave to do is click the Rolettes box
in the registration form and will sendyou one. But don't wait because space
is limited that after the Rolettes performanceyou can go right into the Abilities Expo.
(35:00):
Thank you so much for tuning into the Ability zone. I am
Paul Almaedea Slain. Until next time, stay healthy, stay safe, and
remember I love you all of life. Take care of
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