and life you love.

You know, if you've ever been in a position where people have told you that you don't

have what it takes to go for your dreams, this episode is a must-watch.

Amanda LaCount is a professional hip-hop dancer, choreographer, actress, singer, model, influencer

and body positivity advocate whose videos have received over 70 million views.

Amanda has her own movement #BreakingTheStereotype, which promotes body positivity and the belief

that any body can be a dancer.

She's been on The Ellen Show, Dancing with the Stars, The Voice, and alongside Meghan

Trainor on The Radio Disney Music Awards.

She has choreographed and danced for Ryan Blythe's “Raise a Glass” music video,

appeared in Katy Perry's “Swish Swish” music video and helmed her own national dance

tour Amanda LaCount Live.

Amanda, thank you so much for being here.

Yeah, of course.

I am very excited.

We are excited to have you.

Obviously, I stalked you for awhile on Instagram.

You are so inspiring.

I love your dancing and I loved our connection.

I'm thrilled that you're here.

I would love you to take us back to the beginning.

When did you start dancing?

I started dancing when I was two, so pretty much like my whole life I've been dancing.

Do you feel like...

When you look back, whether it's video or images, like did you just kind of pop out.

I remember when I was a kid I see old home videos of like spoons and like moving in my

diaper.

What that kind of like how you were?

I think, yes.

But, there's one picture I have, I think I was like a year and a half, like very little,

and I had big sunglasses on and I was like posing.

I look at that picture and I'm like, "Oh."

I didn't know I was going to be a dancer but I knew I was going to be a star, something

in the entertainment industry because I love being the center of attention, I guess, even

when I was a year old.

So, I read that part of what inspired you was seeing your sisters on stage?

Tell me about that.

So, I have six siblings, so big family.

My two older sisters they were into dancing.

I would always go to class with them but I wasn't dancing with them.

I'd be looking through the window and I would just be bouncing up and down.

My mom would see that.

I think she just realized that I really wanted to be in there with them.

She enrolled me in like the combo classes, the ballet, tap, jazz, and I've been taking

class ever since.

Yeah, so you knew it.

So you felt it.

Once you got in there it was like, "This is my life's passion."

Definitely.

So, I also read that one of your earliest teachers shared that you have this ability

to memorize choreography fast.

I'm so curious because, as I shared with you when we were DMing back and forth, I started

my dance journey...

I never took a class until I was 25 which, as you know, very, very late for the dance

world.

One of the things I used to beat myself up about was because I couldn't memorize choreography

fast.

I have a feeling it's very different for you.

Yeah.

It's not something you can kind of...

You can practice it but it's either like you have it or you really have to work on it.

Luckily for me I kind of have always just been really good at memorizing choreography.

One year, actually, I was maybe like 10 or 11, or maybe even younger, I had 17 numbers

in one show.

I memorized them so easily and that's when people were like, "Okay, that's like not normal.

I don't know how you're memorizing that much," because my sister who was in the same recital

was freaking out over having five routines.

I was like, "That's nothing.

That's nothing.”

She was like freaking out.

I've kind of always just always had that ability to memorize really quickly.

That's so cool.

So, when you're in a class is it almost like you see the teacher do the moves and it just

feels like it downloads like it's so...

Not quite like that.

I think what happens is...

I mean, after I do it like two or three times I have it, but really helps is when they play

the music, because then when I hear the music with the steps it just like connects and matches,

and now every time I hear the music I think of those steps.

Interesting.

So, it's not like I can forget the step if the song's playing.

It's weird.

Yeah.

Once I hear the steps with the music it like clicks.

Interesting.

Okay, so something happened quite significant when you were about 10.

Tell us what you experienced.

When I was about 10 years old this certain studio director in Colorado where I'm from

he begged me to come to his studio, like begged me because he had seen me perform at competitions

and stuff like that.

The dance world in Colorado is pretty small, so everyone knows each other.

We see each other all the time.

He begged me to come to his studio.

My mom and I were like, "Okay, we'll give him a chance."

Like why not.

I had an amazing year.

I won this, this, this, whatever.

It doesn't matter about that but I did really good that year.

He asked to have a meeting with my mom and I. I don't know about my mom, but personally

I thought it was going to be a check in type of meeting.

"Oh, you did this this year and this is where I see you going next year, and things like

that."

But, that was not the case, and he sat down with my mom and I and he goes, "Hey, I'm sorry

but Amanda's body type just doesn't fit my vision for my team," and kicked me off my

team.

Oh, off my team, and kicked me off his team.

I was...

People always ask me like how I felt in the moment and, yes, I was sad but I was more

like shocked that he even said that, that came out of his mouth.

I was like, "I did nothing to deserve this.

I worked so hard.

I did so good and he's kicking me off just because I don't have the right look, I guess,

to be a member of his team."

It was very hard to hear that, obviously, because that was kind of my first experience

of someone telling me that like my body isn't right for dance, like face-to-face.

It was really hard to hear that from someone that I kind of looked up to.

I was training with him for a whole year.

I mean we got pretty close, and to hear that from almost a friend was like, "Whoa."

Really devastating?

Yeah, definitely.

But, I left, obviously, and my mom encouraged me to keep going.

It was hard.

I wanted to stop at some point, stop dancing.

Close in, like was it close to that experience?

Do you feel like if you wanted to stop dancing it was because of that comment?

Yeah.

It was like if he thinks this then is everyone going to think this?

Is it even worth me investing my time and effort and all this if no one's going to give

me a chance?

It was like, "Do I try or should I try to find something else?"

Tell me about that exploration in yourself at 10 or 10-1/2.

How did you...

Because anyone of us, anyone watching, if someone said that, or something similar, to

you at that tender age about your dream, or even as an adult.

If you're in your 30s or your 40s or your 50s, and someone who you trust, who you've

worked with, comes in and has a comment like that, any one of us would understandably pull

back.

Yeah.

What turned it for you where you were like, "mm-mm"?

I think it turned from me being like devastated and feeling so down and bad and all that to

me feeling like confident.

I think it was just I realized...

There was like a switch in my brain that went from like, "Oh, my god, I'm terrible.

I should stop dancing," to "Oh wait, no he said that but I want to show him that I can

do it."

So I don't know what happened like in my head but just one day I think it just like clicked

for me and I realized, "Wait, I can't let him just like make me stop dancing.

This is what I love to do.

It's the only passion I've ever had."

So, it's like, "I can't just stop because one person that doesn't even matter said that."

Yes.

So you kept going.

You've also shared this.

You've said, "The media tells us that if you aren't skinny you aren't beautiful.

This is especially true in dance where the underlying stereotype that is to be a dancer

you must be tall and skinny and Caucasian."

You were told by many people, peers, parents of peers, dance teachers, studio owners, strangers,

even Richard Simmons, that you were too fat to be a dancer.

"But I am here and I've proved them wrong."

You're so dedicated.

You work so hard.

I think for any of us, no matter how much we believe in ourselves to consistently hear

hurtful words, it's tough.

How, at this stage you're at now, where you've had success, you're building your success,

you are such a role model.

How do you respond, whether it's in person or even on social media when people have hurtful

comments, or do you just move past them at this point?

Most of the time I don't answer, just because the reason they're doing that is for the attention,

so I try really hard no matter how bad it is not to answer.

But, every once in a while if I see something I'll comment back but not as like an attack

to them.

I'm never like mean and like, "Oh, my gosh, how dare you."

I never go that route.

If I do comment it's always a witty comment or like a funny comment.

So, for example, someone put, "Oh we all all no one's ever going to book her."

I was like, "You're right, only Katy Perry, Meghan Trainer and Ellen."

That's what I said.

I love comments like that because it's not like I'm attacking them or their character

or anything like it.

It's just like, "Well, you're kind of wrong."

It's just like, "Um, well..."

Factual, and you're responding through your own heart and through the hard work and the

success you're creating.

Yeah, so make sure you know your facts before you try to come for someone.

This is why I love you so much.

So, following your dreams no matter who you are takes tremendous dedication.

Tell me about when you guys were still living in Colorado and you and your mom would take

these 16 hour round trips to L.A. every weekend.

What were you doing and what was that for?

So, when I was about 12-13, I want to say, so two years after the incident with the one

guy happened, there was a dance crew called Latin Flava, and my mom was going through

Instagram and saw that.

She was like, "Oh, Amanda would be perfect for this."

I don't think she realized that...

Like this is weird but she sent the producer my videos and my resume that had nothing on

it, like nothing.

It was recital 2010.

I was like, "Oh my god."

That is not a resume.

I don't know how she had so much confidence but she sent in my stuff and was like, "Hey,

my daughter would be a great asset to your crew," or whatever.

This crew had some of the best kid dancers.

They had Kaycee Rice and Jordyn Jones and Lexee Smith.

These were all big kid dancers at the time.

Then she's sending me, like this nobody from a small town in Colorado.

I was like, "Okay, Mom, sure send it in.

Whatever."

But, the producer actually came back to us, and she messaged us and said, "Hey, I love

your daughter.

I would love for you guys to come out and rehearse and perform with us."

I was like, "Oh, my god."

Me and my mom I actually have a memory.

We were in the kitchen and we played “Celebrate” and we were dancing and we were like, "Whoo,"

because we were just so excited that I get like an opportunity in L.A., because that's

a big deal.

But, the rehearsals were every weekend, and sometimes we had performances, too, every

weekend.

We would drive 16 hours each way, so 16 hours to California and then 16 hours back.

And, I was not home-schooled.

Many people think I was home-schooled.

I've never been home-schooled in my entire life, and I just graduated last year.

Wow.

I've always been in...

Well, I was in private school til sixth grade, but after that I was in public school the

rest of the way.

It was very hard trying to manage homework, and then dancer teams, and then practicing,

and then a social life...

A 16-hour each way commute.

It just speaks to your dedication, and it speaks to your passion, and also your beautiful

mom.

Yes, oh my god, she is so supportive.

She would like do anything just to get me on a stage for one performance.

She would do anything.

Well, she loves you so much and it's clear because you're so talented at what you do.