0:04

Welcome back to post friend High.

0:06

Today is a very exciting day because

0:09

I am here with Julianne. Huh. Julianne

0:11

is an award winning dancer, singer, actress,

0:13

entrepreneur, author from Gracing Our Screens

0:16

on Dancing with the Stars,

0:18

starring in Footloose, Rock of Ages,

0:21

Safe Haven, and so many more things.

0:23

Wow, you have truly done it all and

0:35

we are currently sitting here in Julianne's

0:37

Kinergy studio. How

0:39

are you? How is the run for you?

0:41

I mean it was great. I was

0:43

with you, we were talking.

0:44

We were talking about our bob haircuts, so

0:47

that's all I care about.

0:49

But we just thought Julian's bob haircut

0:51

is literally perfect right now. And I

0:53

love You've rocked every hairstyle,

0:55

but I'm loving the short hair.

0:57

Thank you. Yeah.

0:58

You know what I always say that like hair is

1:00

like my outward expression of what I'm going and

1:02

like going through internally.

1:03

What are you going through internally right now?

1:05

Internally? Freedom?

1:06

That's why it's as short as possible and

1:08

sassy and free like that is.

1:10

That's definitely that's the era.

1:13

I love it.

1:13

I love it too well.

1:14

Our run was a short burst today. We was

1:16

we ran approximately two la blocks,

1:19

but it was just enough to get our

1:21

post frum high going. And then we hit

1:23

a few dance mooths, which was really fun.

1:25

Yes, and I will tell you right now,

1:27

I won't be able to sit still while we're sitting here.

1:29

I will be in seven different positions

1:31

by the time this podcast.

1:32

We're on a yoga map. So you do it

1:34

ever.

1:35

Full downward dogget.

1:38

No. I'm obsessed with Julian's energy. Like

1:40

as soon as she got here, she was like doing this salsa

1:42

move. It was amazing. It's like those guys that do jiu jitsu,

1:45

where everywhere you go they're just like made a conversation.

1:47

Moving and yeah, that's me. I'm just fully

1:49

just and every conversation that

1:52

it's perfect.

1:53

Okay, talk to us about Kinergy. We're here in your

1:55

studio. What is Kinergy? When

1:57

did you start it? And how did this amazing

2:00

studio come to be?

2:01

So the first thing is,

2:03

first, anywhere I have ever gone

2:05

for the last fifteen years or seventeen

2:07

now that I've been on Dancing with the Stars that long, the

2:09

number one question I get asked from anyone

2:12

around the world is when are

2:14

they going to do dancing with Stars for the regular people.

2:16

And I'm like, well, first of all, nobody is regular. Everybody

2:19

is special and amazing, But why

2:21

do you want to do dancing with Stars? I

2:24

was like, is it because you want to do apasitoblay

2:26

or like They're like no, no, no, I just I want to learn

2:29

how to dance, like I used to dance when I was a

2:31

kid and I haven't since. Or I

2:33

feel like when I watch the celebrities,

2:35

I just feel confident again, and like I

2:38

also want to lose weight and get into that dancer body.

2:40

So I was like, how do I how do I

2:42

transfer the like ten weeks

2:44

of transformation because

2:46

it's a dance show, but it's really a transformation

2:49

show, And so I was like, how do I take ten

2:51

weeks and put it in like a forty five

2:53

minute class? And So through

2:56

everything that I've done in my life, it's all been

2:58

through dance. It's through the lens of dance,

3:00

it's through the lens of transformation. And

3:03

I realized, like dance is

3:05

also so healing, and so I

3:07

kind of just took everything that I had gathered

3:10

throughout my whole life dance, healing,

3:12

transformation, and all of a

3:14

sudden, I just like was like ding. This

3:16

modality came to fruition and that's

3:19

what k energy is. So it's a forty five

3:21

minute class that when you first come

3:23

in, you don't have to dance at all. It's supposed

3:25

to not be intimidating. It's our whole

3:28

mantras. It's not about perfection, it's about

3:30

expression. So when you come in, you

3:32

know, people are a little like nervous to

3:34

start, and by the end, I mean they're

3:36

laughing and crying and hugging and connecting.

3:39

And that's the experience that you get

3:41

on Dancing with the Stars. It becomes a family. And

3:43

I think that's the essence people feel

3:46

when they're watching the show is I

3:48

get to transform my body, I get to learn how to

3:50

dance, I feel confident, and I have this new

3:53

family. That's why Dancing with the Stars just

3:55

lasts as long as it has is because of that

3:57

like key formula.

4:00

So that's what kinergy is.

4:01

But for the average person who just

4:03

wants to connect to themselves,

4:06

relate to people around them, and then just

4:08

experience the world.

4:09

I can definitely see that the fandom of Dancing

4:11

with the Stars runs so deep and I

4:13

feel like I have connected with Dancing

4:15

with Stars with the Stars in a whole new way literally

4:18

through TikTok Oh my god, and just seeing

4:20

them post their lives, all the celebrities

4:23

and the pros that are partnered up together post their

4:26

lives and then really

4:28

like a reality show almost Oh you these

4:30

social media platforms and it's

4:32

wild.

4:33

Yeah, you should do Dancing with the Stars. M that

4:35

would be amazing.

4:35

That would be a true transformation after

4:37

what we just witnessed on the running show. I

4:40

love it. Yeah.

4:41

Hey, but that's the whole point, right, Like even

4:44

the dancers that go on the show, or the celebrities

4:46

that go on the show that aren't necessarily

4:48

the best quote unquote best, it's

4:51

about the energy and the commitment that they

4:53

put into it and the vulnerability that they share.

4:55

That's what people fall in love with. That's who they want

4:57

to root for.

4:58

It's amazing. I mean, you've been dancing your whole life,

5:00

Like to now have a studio class

5:02

that resembles the work that, of course you've

5:04

been doing with Dancing with the Stars for the past seventeen

5:06

years, but also the work that you've been doing your entire

5:09

life training. It is so

5:11

amazing, and I'm sure as an athlete it's

5:13

cool to be able to express yourself

5:16

and the workouts that you love to do and now

5:18

be able to give them to a broader range

5:20

of people.

5:21

That's the key, is like taking everything

5:23

that I've learned in my life and

5:26

being able to share that. I think

5:28

I'm in that stage of my life now, which

5:30

is like I definitely tried

5:32

a bunch of different things, and it was about my own self

5:34

expression, my own transformation. But

5:37

now it's about how can I pass

5:39

this on to other people and

5:42

share the joys that it is

5:44

brought to my life as well as even

5:46

just in dance in general, like the

5:49

next generation of dancers, you know, Like

5:51

that's that's the thing that I'm the most excited about

5:53

in this phase of life.

5:54

Now. What is your relationship to fitness?

5:57

Ah, that is a very good question.

5:59

I mean, it's so funny the

6:01

word fitness feels

6:04

it feels like a thing.

6:07

I think.

6:07

For me, I'm just active.

6:10

I think when I move my body,

6:12

I feel better. When I am

6:14

dancing, I feel better. When I work out, I feel

6:17

better. But it doesn't matter what

6:19

it is. I'm going to go snowboarding this weekend or go surfing.

6:21

Like, just being connected to my

6:24

body is probably

6:26

the greatest gift that I

6:28

think I learned at such an early age, and

6:30

I always think of it it's like out of your head and into

6:32

your body because we can get so focused

6:35

on like all the things that

6:37

we have to do. My whole mantra is

6:39

like, get out of your head and into your body, because your body,

6:42

it actually is your

6:44

language, and if you allow your body

6:46

to speak for you, like it doesn't lie.

6:48

I don't know if you've ever felt this when you're

6:50

like on the train right in New York and you're like, I can feel

6:52

somebody looking at me, and you can feel it, you know, like

6:55

your body doesn't lie.

6:56

You feel things right.

6:57

And when I think a lot of the times when

6:59

you're not to your body, you're

7:02

not sensing the world around you. You can kind

7:04

of be locked into your head and

7:06

trying to just like willpower

7:09

things versus like really feel it.

7:11

I completely relate to that with running too. I

7:13

feel like so much of movement

7:15

for me, and what we talk about a lot on this show

7:17

is movement for me really is all about the

7:19

feel good nature of it. And I agree, it's

7:21

like I've been active since I was

7:24

so young that working out

7:26

in fitness is more about living

7:28

just an active lifestyle.

7:29

I think so too.

7:30

I think one of the things that it's interesting

7:33

I was listening to one

7:35

of my mentors talk and then just like

7:37

over the years, just like the research of like

7:39

the science and how it's connected, I geek out

7:41

on all of that. But like inflammation,

7:44

so like, it doesn't matter how

7:46

hard you work out to like lose

7:48

the inflammation and stuff like that. If you're not emotionally

7:51

connected or feeling like you're releasing that energy

7:54

or crying or get you know, working

7:56

on the other stuff, you're gonna be inflamed.

7:58

Doesn't matter how hard you work out, you

8:00

know.

8:01

And that's and that's sort of like I

8:03

think the testament to what you were just saying, which

8:05

is like just being active for how it feels

8:07

versus how it looks is all

8:09

the is totally what the kinergy

8:11

philosophy is.

8:12

It's like, it's about how you feel.

8:14

It's not about what you look like that's just

8:16

the result and the plus and the cherry on

8:18

top.

8:18

But it's all about the connection to feeling

8:21

first.

8:21

I agree. Okay, let's back up a little

8:23

bit, because you said a little bit about how

8:25

you've been active your whole life. Tell us

8:28

a little bit about your childhood. You grew

8:30

up in Utah. You're one of five, which is

8:33

wild. I mean, what is it like a

8:35

growing up in a household with five kids.

8:37

I was the observer. So you're

8:39

the youngest too, right, Yeah, I'm the baby of five.

8:42

And actually my mom had a miscarriage right

8:44

before me, so I just learned this. I was like the rainbow

8:46

baby. So I was like, oh,

8:48

I feel so special.

8:50

Also, your mom has to be a saint raising

8:52

five kids, right, I.

8:54

Mean, she's amazing. But yeah,

8:56

I was just the observer.

8:57

Like I watched my three older sisters

8:59

and then my older other and I

9:02

wanted to be just like them. I

9:04

wanted to be included in everything that they were doing.

9:06

And then I ended up moving out of

9:09

my house when I was like nine,

9:11

lived with Russian family first, and then at ten,

9:14

my brother and I moved to London and we

9:16

were there, so it was kind of an interesting

9:18

thing. It was like I was really close

9:20

with my family and then there was almost like

9:22

this separation and even with my older sisters,

9:25

like we kind of separated for a little while,

9:27

and now that I'm an adult, I mean

9:29

I've like reconnected with my sisters

9:32

in like such a fun way, whereas like my

9:34

brother and I have always been like this. But

9:37

again, as an adult, I like got to like reconnect

9:39

with my sisters. And they were quite a bit older

9:41

than me too, so I think now

9:43

at our age, it's like it's easier to connect

9:45

now to.

9:46

Yeah, there's nothing better than this sibling dynamic.

9:48

When did you start dancing? And was it your siblings

9:51

that were your early role models for dance, because

9:53

of course Derek is also a dancer, but were your

9:55

sister's dancers.

9:56

So my oldest sister, Shari, she was

9:58

she was a ballet dancer and was like so serious

10:01

about it, and then we all just like went

10:03

to her lessons because my mom would drive

10:05

the big red van that was like known as

10:07

big Red and we

10:10

would, you know, like have Wendy's in

10:12

the backseat, and like I was too

10:14

young to take any of the classes, but I was

10:16

watching and so I knew every

10:19

like lyric to every song that they were singing.

10:21

I knew every dance move, and I was just

10:23

again an observer and I would just watch

10:26

and so yeah, and then we would come home and they'd practice

10:28

and I'd be like, watch, I can do it.

10:29

Too, so cute.

10:31

And when did you first start start taking

10:34

dance classes? Like how was were you?

10:35

I mean it was like the first the first

10:37

class was like I ever took was in

10:40

my neighbor's basement and

10:42

like they had like a cute little ballet bar with like all

10:44

the little girls. I think it was probably three and

10:46

then I really started though, at like six seven

10:48

years old. And it's one of those studios

10:50

in Utah that's probably one of the most

10:53

iconic studios. It's called Center Stage, and

10:56

it's where probably eighty percent

10:58

of the dancers that you see on Dancing with a Stofe came

11:00

from.

11:00

I was gonna say so. I interviewed with a couple

11:03

people from Dancing with the Stars, Derek being

11:05

one of them, and then also Ezra, and

11:07

I did not know that so many of the

11:09

pros and people on Dancing with the Stars

11:11

come from Utah. And I'm like, what is

11:13

in the water in Utah that's making all these

11:15

incredible dancers.

11:16

It's literally there is something in the water.

11:19

I don't know, it's like the Mormon something.

11:21

I don't know, but it's kind of funny too.

11:23

My grandparents were ballroom dancers. My

11:26

parents also met in college

11:28

on the ballroom dance team, and then obviously

11:31

we danced. And in Utah, it's

11:33

weird. It's like ballroom dancing is like it's

11:35

like the center of the United States

11:38

to go and learn. I think BYU has a big

11:40

program, but I always find it so fascinating

11:42

that it's like the culture of like the Mormon

11:45

culture, the LDS culture, and then like ballroom

11:47

dancing feels like so wide,

11:50

but it's like for some

11:52

reason, it's like this big culture

11:54

in Utah. So I remember when I came back from

11:56

London, I was fifteen, and like, I

11:58

would, you know, go back to this studio and teach

12:01

and train some of the younger couples.

12:03

And that was like Whitney and Lindsay and

12:05

Jenna, and now they're like these beautiful

12:08

mothers like on the show and like

12:10

crushing life and it's just it's

12:13

pretty cool to see, like you

12:15

sometimes forget the life that you've

12:18

lived and I think back sometimes I'm

12:20

like wow, like I have been doing this since

12:22

I was like coming out of the womb, you know, like this

12:25

has been the through line of my

12:27

life.

12:27

No, you've been doing it for so long, and I

12:30

mean, it's so wild to think too that at ten years

12:32

old you were moving to London to really pursue

12:34

it to another degree. And

12:36

I'm curious, what is it about London and the school

12:38

that you went to that is

12:40

so good for dance.

12:42

So what's interesting is how

12:44

I said, like Utah was sort of the capital of the

12:46

United States for dancing, London is

12:48

sort of the capital of the world for ballroom

12:50

dancing. We had dance coaches that used to

12:52

come to our studio in Utah and at the

12:54

time, they were like, why don't you come and train

12:57

over here for a few months and do the biggest competition

12:59

in the world, which is Blackpool.

13:01

But in the center of it is this.

13:02

Like gold encrusted

13:04

ballroom and it is just like the

13:06

weirdest place to

13:08

like the seaside resort town with

13:11

like this beautiful ballroom, and like

13:13

people from all over the world come to

13:16

it. And it was just such a vivid

13:18

memory for me. But we were

13:20

supposed to stay for three months. I ended up saying

13:22

for five years. My brother stayed for almost

13:24

ten. And yeah,

13:27

it's I think maybe just because it's like centrally

13:29

located, like all the Europeans

13:31

would come in and fly in, and that competition

13:33

was there. But it wasn't actually

13:36

the school that I went to for ballroom

13:38

dancing. It was the coaches that I lived with. And then

13:40

of course we had to go to school, so we went to a

13:42

performing arts school there too. That's where we were

13:44

singing and acting and doing all other

13:46

styles of dance as well.

13:48

Did Derek go out before you?

13:49

He went out for like three months before me. I

13:51

was.

13:52

I was in Florida with a Russian family

13:54

dancing. I mean that's the part I didn't

13:56

know about what's happening. Okay,

14:00

go from Utah, so Florida to London.

14:02

Yeah, what is your family thinking? During this time?

14:04

They knew that there was a lot of talent there.

14:06

I think that like when you also

14:09

see other people, like our coaches,

14:11

being like, there's massive talent here. We know

14:13

how to nurture this and grow

14:15

it. I think they saw that as well as

14:17

you know, they were going through a divorce and

14:20

I think, I mean, I've been through

14:22

a divorce and I know that when you're in that

14:24

state, like you can barely take

14:26

care of yourself, let alone all these kids. And I'm not

14:28

saying that was the case for them, but like there

14:30

was an opportunity, there was an opening where

14:33

they could take care of what they needed to while

14:35

their kids were having this unbelievable,

14:37

once in a lifetime experience. And so

14:40

so yeah, so, but I know it was really

14:43

challenging for them. I mean, they missed

14:45

us so much, but then they saw what was

14:47

happening and we wanted to stay.

14:49

And you got to have this incredible experience

14:51

at such a young age. And I feel like it's also

14:54

your parents were, like, you know what, they're really

14:56

good at this. So if London's

14:58

the place, if Florida's the place, then they have to

15:00

go do their thing. And if you had stayed

15:02

in Utah, do you think you would have had the career

15:04

that you have had today.

15:06

It's hard to say, because I feel like, you

15:08

know, everything is designed, like

15:10

there's like the invisible thread, right, Like everything's

15:13

kind of like magically happening for you.

15:16

Not that I am like my life is predestined,

15:18

but I kind of feel that way a little bit,

15:21

like I know my energy and I

15:24

know whatever I would have done in my

15:26

career I would have

15:28

done it to like the highest standard, because

15:30

that's just innately who I am. I also

15:32

love like interior design, and you

15:35

can tell when you come to my house because I hold

15:38

everything that I do to a high

15:40

standard of like being fully

15:42

expressed, you know.

15:44

And I think that you're a performer.

15:46

I am a performer.

15:47

I'm an artist.

15:47

I'm like, I just want to like, I love

15:49

beautiful things and creating

15:53

beautiful experiences. And I

15:55

actually remember I did this like exercise

15:57

where I had to write a hundred things

15:59

that me happy. It's harder than you think, by

16:01

the way, but you kind of say the same

16:04

things and then you clump

16:06

them into groups and chunks and stuff, and then you

16:08

whittle it down. And then by the time you whittle it down, you

16:10

think, oh, there's like a theme

16:12

here, and it's creating beautiful experiences

16:15

for others is the thing that makes me the happiest.

16:17

And that can be in any form.

16:20

It can be a dinner party with people

16:22

coming over, or it could be teaching

16:24

somebody to dance. It could be having somebody here

16:26

in energy, or it could be you

16:28

know, I don't know, doing

16:30

a movie, and like creating beautiful experiences

16:33

for people, and I love that.

16:45

What I think is so cool about getting to know you is

16:49

you live maybe the busiest

16:51

life out of anybody that I've ever met.

16:53

And I even said this to before. I'm like, I've known

16:56

you as a dancer and an actress,

16:58

but you also are an entrepreneur, You're an

17:00

author, You've got all these other business she's

17:02

got a wine company. We're not going to talk about it. Like

17:05

you do so much. And you're

17:07

also so present

17:09

in your life, and I feel like you take so much

17:12

time to like self reflect and

17:14

do activities like that where you can kind of

17:16

work on yourself and get to know yourself. And

17:19

I think that's so amazing.

17:20

That's thank you.

17:21

I appreciate you saying that because

17:23

I think, at the end of the day, like don't we all

17:25

just want to be seen?

17:27

So thank you for seeing me. No.

17:29

Absolutely, have you always been like

17:31

that, like when you were in your early twenties, was it ever like,

17:33

oh my god, I'm doing so much.

17:35

A couple of things I remember, like when

17:37

I look back my childhood, I

17:39

remember being like twelve, and I

17:41

remember these like kids

17:44

in my school would like come up to me for

17:46

like relationship advice, I'm like, I don't

17:48

know, but for some reason

17:51

I was able to like have a conversation with

17:53

them and then they could share that. I was always

17:55

fascinated by human behavior

17:57

and psychology and like the

18:00

why behind everything. So

18:03

looking back and like, oh, there were signals

18:05

and signs.

18:06

I think you're empathetic and you like connecting with

18:08

people. Do yeah, you.

18:09

Really do, and like putting

18:11

yourself in somebody's shoes. Then you know

18:13

you're not projecting your own stuff onto them.

18:15

But anyway, in my twenties, I

18:18

think it was really interesting because

18:20

I also look back at my twenties and I'm like,

18:22

wow, the stars were aligned.

18:25

I don't take that for granted. I worked really

18:27

really hard as a kid and sacrificed a lot. But

18:30

from like eighteen, when I moved out to

18:32

LA with two thousand dollars, I

18:35

got a lucky break being on Dancing

18:37

with the Stars, and from that I won my first

18:39

two seasons. I released an album and

18:42

had a number one album and like got

18:44

to do movies, and like, I don't take for granted

18:46

the momentum that was happening, Like it

18:49

was kind of just going.

18:51

I never felt busy.

18:52

I never felt like overworked because

18:55

it was it was aligned, you know, like I

18:58

it was just it was energy creating more

19:00

energy. When I was twenty five, I kind

19:02

of went more into self reflection

19:04

and I realized that a lot of

19:07

what I was doing was isolated and

19:09

proving myself. That was like underneath

19:11

it. I didn't realize that a lot of

19:13

my dreams were being

19:15

manifested through being like watch me,

19:18

you know. And then once I kind of realized

19:20

that, I kind of like started going

19:22

inwards. So like twenty five was when I started

19:24

like my inward journey, and then

19:28

that was all cognitive like having

19:30

more awareness. And then probably around

19:32

like twenty nine thirty is

19:34

when I really started like a deep healing.

19:36

And when that happened, it

19:39

was like a whole unraveling of my

19:41

life. But what I ended

19:43

up finding was that again,

19:46

everything that I've done that has led me

19:48

here through my career, whether it be dancing,

19:50

singing, acting, entrepreneurship,

19:52

whatever it is, it's kind of

19:55

planted seeds for me to be

19:57

like, wow, like I have so much experience.

20:00

I have life experience in all

20:02

of these different industries and

20:04

how to connect and

20:06

what people

20:08

in every one of these industries as well as

20:10

like people who watch want

20:13

to feel and so now

20:15

because I've kind of done it for everyone else, I'm

20:18

in this stage where I'm like, what is it that

20:20

I want to create? And

20:23

I'm realizing more and more it's less about

20:26

me and it's more about like, how can

20:28

I share what I've learned with others and

20:32

amplify other.

20:32

People's stories and.

20:35

Also use it like through the body, because

20:37

I believe so much in the body, like you do,

20:40

you know, like when you can feel the

20:43

effects of what like the body does,

20:46

the freedom that you can feel, I mean,

20:49

I guess maybe that's the whole thing.

20:50

I just want everybody to feel free. That's like my

20:53

mission in life.

20:53

Just I want to make you feel free and happy,

20:56

and however that is expressed, go

20:59

for it. I think the body is a huge way

21:01

to like access it. So yeah,

21:03

so I think the self reflection has kind

21:06

of come from It's

21:08

a journey. Like I don't know if I

21:10

was always like that, but I feel

21:12

like I'm right on time.

21:13

Yeah you are. And it's so cool knowing

21:15

too that when in your

21:18

late teens early twenties, when you were doing

21:20

all this amazing stuff winning the first two seasons

21:22

and Dancing with the Stars. Because I think the one

21:25

fascinating thing too that I saw is

21:27

that when you were first offered the role

21:29

as a pro on Dancing with the Stars, you turned

21:31

it down. What

21:34

was going through your mind when you turned down Dancing

21:36

with the Stars.

21:37

I think because I had spent my whole

21:39

you know, childhood and teens competing

21:41

in ballroom and Latin dancing. I was a little burnt

21:44

out because again it was like competitive,

21:46

and I think I lost a little bit of the like

21:48

reason I love to do it. And

21:51

when I moved to LA, I really wanted to

21:53

act and sing and I wanted to be taking

21:56

seriously and give the same amount

21:58

of time and effort that I put into my day dancing

22:00

into working on my craft to being an actor

22:02

and a singer. And so I was like, I don't

22:04

want to be on a reality show because I

22:06

feel like there's a connotation to that

22:08

that like, I mean, it's so different

22:11

now, but at the time, I was like, oh, reality

22:13

show. But it was a competition show.

22:16

So I was like, there is skill, there is talent

22:18

here. So I was like, you know what I'm

22:20

going to do. I'm going to sign this contract,

22:23

but I'm going to get out of my contract early.

22:26

That's how like headstrong I was.

22:29

And I did, and I ended up

22:31

doing the show for two and a half years, which

22:33

was five seasons, and then I left and did

22:35

music and films for

22:38

five years, and then I came back as a judge

22:40

for two and a half years, which was five seasons.

22:43

And then I left for five years and

22:45

started companies and got married and had like sort

22:47

of different priorities. And now I'm

22:49

back as a host, and I hope that I'm

22:52

not here for two and a half years. I hope I'm here for a lot

22:54

longer, because again, what I was saying

22:56

before, it was like I was trying so many

22:58

different things, trying to figure out

23:00

what life was, and now I'm

23:02

like this, this is the greatest

23:05

I don't even want to call it a job, like this is the greatest

23:08

opportunity to do what I love again,

23:10

amplify other dancers, share

23:13

people's stories, and like get to be

23:15

part of this family that has literally

23:18

given me so much. I'm so grateful

23:20

for the show.

23:21

One of the amazing things too about Dancing with the

23:23

Stars, based on what you just said, is they've given

23:25

you the freedom since you were young, Yeah,

23:27

to do things that you've always wanted to do,

23:30

like have these incredible roles in movies

23:33

like Footloose and starring

23:35

in Burdlesque with Christina Aguilera

23:37

and share. It's so cool that they let you

23:39

kind of have those moments, and then they've always been

23:41

like when you're ready, come back.

23:43

Totally totally.

23:44

I feel so so grateful because that's

23:46

not always the case. And there's been other projects

23:49

that I've done and things that have been good

23:51

experiences, but nothing like the

23:54

family that has been built

23:57

and created over the last almost twenty

23:59

years being on this show.

24:01

So it's it's been amazing.

24:03

But again, it kind of goes back,

24:05

and this is kind of the narrative that I'd love to

24:07

like share about dance in general, is

24:09

just that, you know, I think as

24:11

a young dancer, there's almost this

24:14

hidden narrative

24:16

that dance being a dancer is

24:18

not enough. It's almost

24:20

like it's the third tier supporting

24:23

act and dance.

24:26

So I always felt like, oh, I needed to be

24:29

an actor to have the level

24:31

of respect or the level of like

24:34

I've made it. Whereas now

24:37

again, as I've gone through all of this exploration

24:41

dance is the most beautiful thing and

24:43

should absolutely be at the forefront

24:45

and have And I think a lot of

24:47

dancers feel this way because you

24:50

know, it's so hard to earn a

24:52

living as a dancer, and then if

24:54

you are a dancer, there's a shelf life

24:56

and you're usually supporting the artist.

24:58

But I think what Dancing with the Stars has done,

25:01

or my brother and I doing our tours, or

25:04

we started ovation, which is about helping

25:06

like the next generation of dancers grow

25:09

into like a new pathway. But it's like

25:12

this is hopefully to show that dancers

25:15

are artistic athletes and deserve a seat

25:17

at the table and you can have a

25:19

real career. And I

25:22

want to hopefully add more more

25:24

opportunity, not me personally, but just amplify

25:27

dance in a way to add more

25:29

opportunity for dancers to be seen

25:31

and to be at the forefront. And again, I have to

25:33

give so much credit to Dancing with the Stars because

25:35

they have been that platform for

25:38

so many people. And now TikTok is happening

25:40

and people are dancing, But like, what's

25:42

the next thing that's going to allow dance to really

25:45

be at the forefront like all these other

25:47

beautiful sports and entertainment,

25:50

and that's like my mission now.

25:52

Oh I love that. Do you think

25:54

when you were in London and you were attending a performing

25:57

art school and you were, you know, taking acting

25:59

classes and singing classes, do you

26:01

think it was in that school

26:04

that you almost put dance in

26:06

your mind as a third tier.

26:08

I don't know. I think I think it was culturally.

26:10

It is a thing in me.

26:11

I think it's a thing in the industry.

26:13

I think it was always sort of like that

26:15

was like sort of we're in support

26:17

of we are we are the background dancers,

26:20

backing dancers, you know, like and

26:22

I remember like we changed the word from

26:24

background dancer to company dancer

26:27

because it was and just the association,

26:29

just the language that was used was

26:32

very much like we're behind.

26:35

And so I really try

26:37

to be impeccable with

26:39

like my language as well to like continue

26:41

to elevate dance.

26:43

Because you've done so many things and were in so many different

26:45

hats within the industry, and you've done it really.

26:48

To the top level.

26:49

Right, What when somebody would

26:51

ask you, you know, what do you do for a living? What would you say?

26:53

Would you say, I'm a dancer.

26:55

I love that you're asking me

26:57

this question, like I need to know, because

27:00

similarly, this was a whole psychological

27:02

break for me which I finally had this massive

27:05

breakthrough. It was like I would

27:07

try to say, well, I do this, and

27:09

I do that, and I do this. I think I even said it to you on the

27:11

run. I was like, yeah, I do this and I do that.

27:13

What do I do?

27:14

But owning the fact that I'm a dancer

27:18

like that was a big deal for me, and

27:21

that that is enough. Being

27:23

a dancer is enough, and in fact, it's

27:25

even more than enough. In fact,

27:28

dancing is healing, Dancing is medicine.

27:30

Dance gives joy to others. Dance

27:33

is a universal language. Dance connects

27:35

people. Dance allows you to like

27:38

celebrate life. It allows you to express

27:41

yourself. I mean, dances dances

27:43

life. I mean, it doesn't

27:46

matter how well you do it. It's not about

27:48

right or wrong. Dance is just moving your body

27:50

and feeling free. And so, yeah,

27:54

I'm a dancer.

27:55

She is a dancer. Guys. No, it's

27:57

amazing and it's also so cool too, Like you've

27:59

been to do so many incredible acting roles

28:02

where I feel like you've been able to combine all

28:04

the things that you love. What was it like starring

28:07

in burlesque? And what was it like starring

28:09

in footloose? Like was that a dream come true for you?

28:11

Because you're able to combine all of these

28:13

things?

28:13

Yeah, I think like again those

28:16

like early films that I did, And

28:18

again that's why, like I had to change

28:20

my relationship with dance because dance gave

28:22

me everything. And I see other dancers

28:25

today that are like, I'm so much

28:27

more look at what else I can do, And I'm like,

28:29

oh, man, if they only just like owned being

28:32

a dancer the way that I didn't

28:34

just fully grasp it when I was younger,

28:36

Like, they could actually do everything

28:39

that they want to do. They can act, sing, they can

28:41

do all these things. But they're going to own

28:43

it and more

28:45

opportunities going to come. And I

28:47

think that's the biggest thing that I've learned is

28:50

I tried so many things, but I always

28:52

came back to dance.

28:53

But I was resisting just owning it.

28:55

Building a personal brand is the hardest thing you

28:57

can possibly do. You don't want a pigeonhole

28:59

your and you don't want the world to

29:01

be like, oh, this is what you are when it's like, well,

29:04

I can actually do all of these other things

29:06

as well, you know, And it's cool knowing that

29:08

you love interior design and you love hosting

29:10

dinner parties, and like, there's so many more things that you

29:12

love to do. But sometimes within

29:15

a career it's okay to just be niche

29:17

and do this thing that you love, you know what I mean?

29:20

Oh No, I was having at this conversation with

29:22

one of my actor friends. He's him

29:24

and his wife are like my best friends, and he

29:27

is a massive actor. He

29:30

is an incredible entrepreneur

29:32

and he's been a producer as well, and

29:36

he was just like, I need to get rid of my

29:38

production company because I'm so busy.

29:41

But the feeling of that I

29:43

need to be having seventeen

29:45

jobs is so real in

29:48

life right now because we're all

29:50

like, we're all entrepreneurs and it's amazing and we can

29:52

create our own life and careers. But

29:55

it's like, if you only do one thing,

29:57

why does that not feel like it's enough? And

30:01

it's like, I mean, I'm preaching

30:03

to the l No, I feel this all the time,

30:05

you know, But it's like and then it's the comparison

30:08

thing, Oh, well, this person's doing this and this and

30:10

this and this, but like, oh,

30:12

just being a dancer or you

30:15

know, is enough.

30:16

How do you deal with comparison and say,

30:18

okay, like I don't need to be looking at this right

30:20

now. I'm comfortable as I am.

30:22

I mean, first of all, I'm gonna botch this

30:24

saying, but comparison is the thief of joy,

30:26

you know, And I think that, like when

30:29

I continue to remind myself that

30:31

easy phrase, then

30:34

it reminds me that,

30:37

like I want joy in my life, I

30:39

don't need to.

30:40

I've competed my whole life.

30:41

I mean that was literally my entire

30:43

life was to compete and

30:45

to win, even in performing

30:48

and being an artist, Like you're still competing

30:50

to get the job, to be the actor that

30:52

gets you know, chosen, or that's

30:55

the other thing, Like I want

30:57

to be chosen. And I kind of rephrase,

30:59

I'm like, wait, wait, wait, I get to choose.

31:02

I get to choose, I get to choose

31:04

how I show up. I get to choose if I'm comparing myself

31:07

or not, or I get to choose what I put my

31:09

energy towards. And actually

31:11

this person over here that did beautiful

31:14

work that actually inspired me versus

31:17

makes me fearful that I can't do

31:19

it.

31:30

Was there ever a role and maybe you'd be comfortable

31:32

sharing what it is that you auditioned

31:35

for that you were like, I'm dead right for this

31:37

role, and then maybe you didn't get it, and

31:39

what was your kind of mindset around that? How

31:41

do you deal with rejection?

31:42

It was It was very heartbreaking

31:45

because and it was probably the first time I

31:47

felt like true failure from

31:49

something that I didn't self sabotage,

31:52

like I've trust me, I've

31:55

had a lot of failures, but but that was

31:57

on me because I pivoted, you know, this

32:00

one. I felt like I

32:02

did everything that I could. I

32:04

knew I was right for this part. I had,

32:07

you know, even the creative team that were around

32:09

this project really believed in me and wanted

32:11

this for me as well, and the

32:14

studio just they were like, we won't

32:16

hire her and so, and

32:18

like everybody fought for me to have this role,

32:21

and I fought really hard. I worked on it so hard

32:23

with an acting coach, and I knew

32:25

I crushed it, and to not

32:28

be chosen for something that I knew it

32:30

was.

32:31

That was really devastating.

32:32

But at the same time, I

32:34

think failure is a big part

32:37

of And I don't mean to

32:39

say this in like the cliche thing like

32:41

failure is good, but I mean

32:43

it like I had had

32:45

so many wins and

32:49

and I had had so much like goodness

32:52

that it felt like a big

32:54

blow that like I didn't win this,

32:56

Like it's like Glinda and Wicked.

32:59

She's like, I didn't get my way. Something's

33:01

really wrong.

33:03

By the way, you are so glod enough, like

33:06

I am so alpha Barrat now she is so glined.

33:08

I love it, but it was very that but

33:10

it was so important for me. It's so

33:13

important to learn how to fail and

33:15

to still have like belief

33:18

in yourself and to not be

33:22

not be a victim in the moment and to

33:24

like take it and be like, you know what, I'm

33:27

not going to take this personally. I

33:29

am going to just say whatever

33:32

was in the cards was not for me. And

33:35

and in fact, the person that did get it I

33:37

am a huge fan of and

33:39

like she crushed it and deserved

33:42

to have that role. And it was

33:44

interesting because they found her after I had

33:46

auditioned, so it wasn't like we

33:48

were even competing. But I'm a huge

33:50

fan of her. And what happened

33:53

from it and I heard this like I

33:55

don't know where I heard it from, but like if you

33:57

believe in God or universe, whatever you believe in, but

34:00

like rejection as God's protection. So it's

34:02

like I would listen

34:04

to that also and be like, you know what, who

34:07

knows what would have happened if

34:09

that were on the case, And I will never know, but

34:12

I have faith that it was putting me

34:14

in the right position. I have faith that

34:16

maybe even feeling that rejection and feeling

34:19

that failure was what I needed

34:22

in order to show my resilience,

34:24

to show that I am capable

34:27

of failing. But let me fail fast and

34:29

get back on track.

34:30

Was there another opportunity that kind of

34:32

came up in synergy that you then got

34:34

and you were like, Oh, this is what I was supposed to be

34:36

doing or was it a growth period for you?

34:39

I don't know. I'm not sure exactly.

34:41

I mean, I don't have one of those like cool stories

34:43

that's like I was about to quit the industry and

34:45

then you know, I got the cause.

34:48

I got situations where like I'm supposed

34:50

to do an interview and then like you know, something

34:52

falls through and then it's like, oh,

34:54

I'm so upset, Like I was so excited, but

34:56

then an hour later, something

34:59

else.

34:59

Pops up totally and and you know

35:01

what, maybe at the time I was so far in it that

35:03

I couldn't really see what that thing

35:06

was. But I will say that after

35:09

that, I ended up doing

35:11

a project with Dolly Parton, and

35:14

as I'm sitting here thinking about that, I'm

35:16

like, you know, I am such a relationship

35:19

person and to have had

35:21

that experience connecting with an icon

35:23

and a legend that has not only created

35:26

incredible art, but her just

35:28

who she is as a human being. And

35:31

I got to spend time with her and she got to give

35:33

me beautiful advice that I'll never

35:35

forget.

35:36

Wait, what advice did Dolly Parton give you? I

35:38

need to know. I'm obsessed with her. And what was

35:40

the project you guys worked on? Yeah,

35:43

we can just everybody

35:45

of her is like laughing.

35:47

But but you know what, maybe that's what it was, and

35:49

like and I will I will hold on to

35:51

that experience with Dolly Parton forever.

35:55

And I'm a relationship person, So maybe that was

35:57

the reason. But I remember telling

35:59

her all of the things that I love to

36:01

do, and I was like, I want to do this, and I want to do that and

36:04

all these different things, and she goes, you

36:06

know, Julian, you sound a lot like me, and

36:08

I see a lot of similarities. And she goes, just

36:10

remember to stay the artist, and

36:14

she goes, I wanted

36:16

a theme park. Do you think I knew how to build

36:18

a theme park? No, but I

36:21

hired people who did and they

36:23

were smarter than me. But in turn, I'm smarter

36:25

than them because I hired them. And so what

36:28

I took from that was I

36:30

didn't have to do everything. If

36:32

I'm an artist, Let me be an artist. I'm not

36:34

trying to do operations in this and marketing and

36:37

like it's so overwhelming. Like,

36:39

let me do the thing that I am gifted

36:42

at and hire the people that are

36:44

gifted at their job and

36:47

as they become you know, your

36:49

team and your family, like you're

36:51

creating magic together and anything

36:53

is possible when you're trying to do it

36:56

all by yourself. I mean, that just

36:58

is suffering right there. And

37:00

yet like she is, she

37:02

has been able to stay Dolly

37:05

part in the Dreamer and look

37:07

at everything that she's done and like and

37:09

her heart and her light and all of that,

37:12

like she she knows what she will and

37:14

will not compromise, and what she will

37:16

and won't tolerate, and yet she

37:19

is who she is. And so I just remember thinking

37:21

that because I felt very much like, ah,

37:23

I'm doing all these things and I'm just like grinding.

37:27

She's like, stay the artist. You are an artist.

37:30

No, It's so true, And oh my gosh, getting like work

37:32

ethic advice from somebody like Dolly Parton is

37:34

so iconic. And yeah, it is so

37:37

important to make sure, especially when

37:39

you're building a team and building your business and your

37:41

empire and you know you're trying to be a leader

37:43

and do all these things, like you have to bring team

37:45

members in because it is way too much,

37:47

especially when you're doing.

37:48

So hard, boring and isolating to do it

37:51

by yourself. Like there are so many talented,

37:53

beautiful people that I want to create

37:55

and collaborate with, and like there's

37:58

I mean, I'm a true believer were in Like

38:01

collaboration is key and like you get the

38:03

most magic out of that.

38:04

I mean, like my ideas are not the best ideas.

38:07

On the topic of collaboration. When you're a

38:09

pro on Dancing with the Stars, you are collaborating

38:11

with a celebrity. Who is a celebrity

38:13

that has surprised you the most that's

38:15

been on the show. Maybe that was your partner or

38:18

as you were hosting or judging you witnessed.

38:21

I mean, I'm just maybe just because

38:23

it's so fresh in my mind,

38:26

but I was really excited about

38:28

Joey.

38:29

I was about to make you do a three to two to one and say at

38:31

the same time, honestly three

38:34

Joey truly.

38:37

I mean, what I loved so much

38:39

about him is that he is a

38:42

normal guy who like yet

38:46

like you can try anything and is good

38:48

at kind of anything.

38:49

I'm guys, I'm not like this was okay?

38:52

Were you in context here? Really quickly, when

38:54

we were filming the running interview, Jeremy, my

38:57

fiance, was we were doing the dance part

38:59

and he was like, hat is like good

39:01

at at anything except not dance?

39:03

And I'm like, Okay. The reason he was saying

39:05

this is because and golfers are going to love

39:07

this right now. I was telling Julianne before we started

39:09

filming, I don't want to sidetrack you. I

39:11

was playing with one of the really the

39:13

best golfers in the world. Crazy to say,

39:16

John raw the other day. It was my first time

39:18

ever holding a golf club. I called it a golf

39:20

poll when I grabbed it, and he was like, it's

39:22

a club and anyways,

39:24

then he was like this is going to be a disaster. And

39:26

then he was like, I'm really not a good teacher. It's

39:29

just it's all about the interview. I'll fake

39:31

it. We don't really have to play. I

39:34

hit every single ball, which if you

39:36

know golf, it's actually really hard to hit the

39:38

ball. And it was every

39:41

it was like, we're going to make the funniest cut out of it because

39:44

I did so well. I

39:46

made it in in seven hits, whatever that means,

39:48

and he made it in five and every single

39:50

shot. He was like what is going on?

39:53

He's like, you're just joking with me this whole

39:55

time.

39:56

Yeah, you're pro. We had so many people watching

39:58

us. I was sweating so much on Oh anyways,

40:01

but and then I got to the second hole

40:03

and it was such beginner's luck because

40:05

then I started indenting the course. I

40:07

don't know if I'll put that into the video. I

40:09

kind of want to make myself look like a rock star because

40:12

why not. But anyways,

40:14

I'm not good at everything. Okay, I love it.

40:16

Yeah, well I relate

40:18

a little bit because like it's

40:21

so funny. My brother too, like he'll try

40:23

anything.

40:24

I at everything.

40:25

He's pretty good at everything except for surfing, and

40:27

I love that. And I and

40:30

I'm good at surfing and snowboarding,

40:32

and he's like he's like he's great

40:34

at wake surfing, like wake surfing,

40:37

but like in the natural elements.

40:39

He's like, huh.

40:40

We also call him Grandpa Huff because he's scared

40:42

of everything.

40:44

And so that.

40:45

Is so bad asking you that you're a good surfer and

40:47

snowboarder.

40:48

I love those again. Body yeah,

40:50

and like anything I can do with my body I'm good at.

40:52

And why company,

40:54

Well that's true.

40:56

So so snow

40:58

League. I actually they did like a

41:00

whole new snow league or it's a brand

41:02

new league that he created. And I was

41:04

like, you know what, I should do a

41:07

series kind of like what you just

41:09

did with the golfer. But I was like I

41:11

was talking to some people on the chairlift and

41:14

it was like I get deep very fast, clearly

41:16

hello everyone, and.

41:19

My god, not the chairlift.

41:20

And I was like, oh my god, chairlift

41:22

therapy, like we need to have like like is

41:25

the Top Show, dancing with the Show on the

41:27

chairlift, like it

41:29

was amazing, so anyway, but I was like, but it's

41:31

great because you're in your body, you're doing something

41:34

athletic. You're putting yourself in a position

41:36

to fail, but you try it

41:38

anyway. And I think when people

41:40

are in vulnerable moments, you get

41:42

out of your head into your body, like so much

41:44

as possible.

41:46

It's like five minute countdown, how much Caul

41:48

Julian get out of this person on me on

41:50

the anyways?

41:51

Okay, I gotta like I

41:54

was gonna like change position.

41:56

We have talked about so much. So

41:59

much is going on right now we are in this room.

42:01

Okay, as

42:05

we wrapped it up, knowing what you know, now,

42:08

what would you say to your younger self?

42:10

Oh, first

42:13

of all, I would just I'd grabber

42:15

and I just like make her hug me.

42:19

Forceful parent. Okay, we're just kidding. No,

42:23

I would.

42:23

I would grab her and I would just like

42:26

hold her and just say.

42:29

See, I know Radcliffe will not be your boyfriend, but

42:31

maybe someday.

42:32

Exactly how did you know that?

42:34

That was in my mind?

42:35

That was exactly what.

42:36

I was gonna say.

42:38

Sorry, continue, but

42:40

I did see him recently while

42:43

he was on Broadway, and

42:45

he knew the story because.

42:47

I've told it a hundred times. He's

42:50

like, I'm so sorry.

42:50

I never got the Beanie baby

42:53

sidebars.

42:54

So you guys don't know what we're talking about, just like look

42:56

it up, just google it.

42:58

Okay, Younger, I'd

43:00

hugger and I would just say that

43:03

obviously you are enough. Being

43:05

a dancer is enough, but

43:08

also you're going to create so

43:10

much in your life.

43:12

Enjoy the ride.

43:13

Yeah, all right, well, Julianne, thank

43:15

you so much for being on the show

43:17

with us today.

43:18

Thank you.

43:19

Final shout outs. What do you have coming up? What's

43:21

next for you? And what should we be on the lookout

43:23

for.

43:24

I don't know, just follow along, I

43:26

mean all on the social media and all

43:28

that, you know, but obviously coming back

43:30

to Dancing with the Stars and hosting this next

43:33

season, but lots lots

43:35

of things that kind of to wrap up

43:37

what we've been talking about, which is like owning

43:40

more of like being a dancer, and you

43:43

know, just anything kind of through the lens

43:45

of dance. Just look out anything

43:48

dance related. I'll be sneaking up and

43:50

popping up everywhere.

43:52

If you want to have a potential bump in with Julia.

43:54

Yeah, kind of.

43:55

Come to Kindred to k Energy, come take

43:57

a class.

43:58

Also, DM me if you want to dance ants, let's

44:00

like do some collaborations because I love collaborations.

44:03

So yeah, all right, thanks.

44:04

Well that's a rap and you're the best. Thank

44:06

you so much, Chank you