Jordan Frisbee + Tatiana Mollmann: No Guts, No Story
How to Turn Your Passion Into Your Career
"It’s really about how to keep falling in love with this dance over and over again,
on our terms."
- Jordan Frisbee
It’s been a whirlwind week as I prep to head overseas for a few weeks. But this episode is finally ready to see the light of day! Thank you so much for joining me on episode number 20 with the world-renowned west coast swing champions, Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollmann!
Jordan and Tatiana have been partners since 2000, and are 11-Time US Open Classic Division Champions. And they both hold 20 US Open titles each. They also are multiple Grand National, NASDE and Classic Division Champions. Their TV and movie appearances include "30 Seconds to Fame", "Star Search", "Good Morning America", "The Polar Express", and "Love Ní Dancing". They have earned a great reputation teaching all over the world as Certified Teachers for the Golden State Dance Teachers Association.
What I love about this episode is that both Jordan and Tatiana shed light on some of the lesser talked about aspects of the dance and their careers. For example: how does one take a hobby they love and turn it into a career without burning out? As Jordan said, “It’s really about how to keep falling in love with this dance over and over again, on our terms.” Jordan and Tatiana are true pioneers and innovators and have carved a legacy all their own due to their bold choices along the way.
And one quick note, the wifi signal wasn’t ideal, so you’ll periodically hear some spotty audio. We did the best we could to smooth it out, but thank you for your patience with anything that we were unable to remove.
And now to the episode: I hope you get as much out of this episode with Jordan and Tatiana as I continue to.
In this episode we get to dive into…
The role patience has played in J&T’s journey to success (3:30)
How J&T built their successes on several “failures” (5:00)
J&T tell about their transition from hobby dancers to professional dancers (6:50)
How J&T pioneered a new way to be a “dance professional” within their dance community and with the help of the YouTube generation (8:40)
What are the beliefs that J&T hold that help them keep their work fresh? (11:00)
How they planned to prevent burn out (12:20)
How J&T pioneered their own version of being a “Professional,” and how they’re currently pioneering their own version of being “retired professionals” (13:20)
The difference between being a competitor and being an artist (13:50)
J&T’s biggest pet peeve within the dance, and how they turned it into their greatest source of freedom now (15:48)
How Jordan and Tatiana have both dealt with their biggest challenges along the way (17:00)
Where J&T each go for inspiration - hint: it’s not within the West Coast Swing world (22:35)
Jordan and Tat’s top tips for gathering inspiration on the go (24:00)
Jordan and Tatiana’s #1 rule for creativity (25:00)
How Jordan and Tatiana have found a loophole to clone themselves (27:40)
The role that dance has played in both Tatiana and Jordan’s lives (32:40)
Jordan’s big secret ;) (33:45)
Tatiana’s career revelation (35:20)
Referred to in the ‘cast…
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Where to find Jordan and Tatiana online:
If the above link doesn't work, you can also listen here: bit.ly/LiveYourDance-mk