Why Julianne Hough, Dancing With The Stars Host, Reclaimed Her Identity as a Dancer

Published Apr 16, 2025, 3:19 PM

Julianne Hough opens up about her journey of reconnecting with the part of herself she once tried to leave behind—dance. From growing up in a large family to training abroad at a young age, Julianne shares how those early experiences shaped her both personally and professionally. She reflects on the pressures of the entertainment industry, the hidden narrative that being “just a dancer” isn’t enough, and how she’s learned to fully own her identity in a way that feels more powerful than ever. From “Dancing with the Stars” to founding Kinrgy, Julianne reveals the pivotal moments that helped her start embracing her true self. With reflections on comparison, rejection, and advice from icons like Dolly Parton, this episode is a masterclass in redefining success as a creative.

Welcome back to post friend High. Today is a very exciting day because I am here with Julianne. Huh. Julianne is an award winning dancer, singer, actress, entrepreneur, author from Gracing Our Screens on Dancing with the Stars, starring in Footloose, Rock of Ages, Safe Haven, and so many more things. Wow, you have truly done it all and we are currently sitting here in Julianne's Kinergy studio. How are you? How is the run for you?

I mean it was great. I was with you, we were talking.

We were talking about our bob haircuts, so that's all I care about.

But we just thought Julian's bob haircut is literally perfect right now. And I love You've rocked every hairstyle, but I'm loving the short hair.

Thank you. Yeah.

You know what I always say that like hair is like my outward expression of what I'm going and like going through internally.

What are you going through internally right now?

Internally? Freedom?

That's why it's as short as possible and sassy and free like that is.

That's definitely that's the era.

I love it.

I love it too well.

Our run was a short burst today. We was we ran approximately two la blocks, but it was just enough to get our post frum high going. And then we hit a few dance mooths, which was really fun.

Yes, and I will tell you right now, I won't be able to sit still while we're sitting here. I will be in seven different positions by the time this podcast.

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

Full downward dogget.

No. I'm obsessed with Julian's energy. Like as soon as she got here, she was like doing this salsa move. It was amazing. It's like those guys that do jiu jitsu, where everywhere you go they're just like made a conversation.

Moving and yeah, that's me. I'm just fully just and every conversation that it's perfect.

Okay, talk to us about Kinergy. We're here in your studio. What is Kinergy? When did you start it? And how did this amazing studio come to be?

So the first thing is, first, anywhere I have ever gone for the last fifteen years or seventeen now that I've been on Dancing with the Stars that long, the number one question I get asked from anyone around the world is when are they going to do dancing with Stars for the regular people. And I'm like, well, first of all, nobody is regular. Everybody is special and amazing, But why do you want to do dancing with Stars? I was like, is it because you want to do apasitoblay or like They're like no, no, no, I just I want to learn how to dance, like I used to dance when I was a kid and I haven't since. Or I feel like when I watch the celebrities, I just feel confident again, and like I also want to lose weight and get into that dancer body. So I was like, how do I how do I transfer the like ten weeks of transformation because it's a dance show, but it's really a transformation show, And so I was like, how do I take ten weeks and put it in like a forty five minute class? And So through everything that I've done in my life, it's all been through dance. It's through the lens of dance, it's through the lens of transformation. And I realized, like dance is also so healing, and so I kind of just took everything that I had gathered throughout my whole life dance, healing, transformation, and all of a sudden, I just like was like ding. This modality came to fruition and that's what k energy is. So it's a forty five minute class that when you first come in, you don't have to dance at all. It's supposed to not be intimidating. It's our whole mantras. It's not about perfection, it's about expression. So when you come in, you know, people are a little like nervous to start, and by the end, I mean they're laughing and crying and hugging and connecting. And that's the experience that you get on Dancing with the Stars. It becomes a family. And I think that's the essence people feel when they're watching the show is I get to transform my body, I get to learn how to dance, I feel confident, and I have this new family. That's why Dancing with the Stars just lasts as long as it has is because of that like key formula.

So that's what kinergy is.

But for the average person who just wants to connect to themselves, relate to people around them, and then just experience the world.

I can definitely see that the fandom of Dancing with the Stars runs so deep and I feel like I have connected with Dancing with Stars with the Stars in a whole new way literally through TikTok Oh my god, and just seeing them post their lives, all the celebrities and the pros that are partnered up together post their lives and then really like a reality show almost Oh you these social media platforms and it's wild.

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

That would be a true transformation after what we just witnessed on the running show. I love it. Yeah.

Hey, but that's the whole point, right, Like even the dancers that go on the show, or the celebrities that go on the show that aren't necessarily the best quote unquote best, it's about the energy and the commitment that they put into it and the vulnerability that they share.

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

It's amazing. I mean, you've been dancing your whole life, Like to now have a studio class that resembles the work that, of course you've been doing with Dancing with the Stars for the past seventeen years, but also the work that you've been doing your entire life training. It is so amazing, and I'm sure as an athlete it's cool to be able to express yourself and the workouts that you love to do and now be able to give them to a broader range of people.

That's the key, is like taking everything that I've learned in my life and being able to share that. I think I'm in that stage of my life now, which is like I definitely tried a bunch of different things, and it was about my own self expression, my own transformation. But now it's about how can I pass this on to other people and share the joys that it is brought to my life as well as even just in dance in general, like the next generation of dancers, you know, Like that's that's the thing that I'm the most excited about in this phase of life.

Now. What is your relationship to fitness?

Ah, that is a very good question.

I mean, it's so funny the word fitness feels it feels like a thing.

I think.

For me, I'm just active. I think when I move my body, I feel better. When I am dancing, I feel better. When I work out, I feel better. But it doesn't matter what it is. I'm going to go snowboarding this weekend or go surfing. Like, just being connected to my body is probably the greatest gift that I think I learned at such an early age, and I always think of it it's like out of your head and into your body because we can get so focused on like all the things that we have to do. My whole mantra is like, get out of your head and into your body, because your body, it actually is your language, and if you allow your body to speak for you, like it doesn't lie. I don't know if you've ever felt this when you're like on the train right in New York and you're like, I can feel somebody looking at me, and you can feel it, you know, like your body doesn't lie.

You feel things right.

And when I think a lot of the times when you're not to your body, you're not sensing the world around you. You can kind of be locked into your head and trying to just like willpower things versus like really feel it.

I completely relate to that with running too. I feel like so much of movement for me, and what we talk about a lot on this show is movement for me really is all about the feel good nature of it. And I agree, it's like I've been active since I was so young that working out in fitness is more about living just an active lifestyle.

I think so too.

I think one of the things that it's interesting I was listening to one of my mentors talk and then just like over the years, just like the research of like the science and how it's connected, I geek out on all of that. But like inflammation, so like, it doesn't matter how hard you work out to like lose the inflammation and stuff like that. If you're not emotionally connected or feeling like you're releasing that energy or crying or get you know, working on the other stuff, you're gonna be inflamed.

Doesn't matter how hard you work out, you know.

And that's and that's sort of like I think the testament to what you were just saying, which is like just being active for how it feels versus how it looks is all the is totally what the kinergy philosophy is.

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

It's not about what you look like that's just the result and the plus and the cherry on top.

But it's all about the connection to feeling first.

I agree. Okay, let's back up a little bit, because you said a little bit about how you've been active your whole life. Tell us a little bit about your childhood. You grew up in Utah. You're one of five, which is wild. I mean, what is it like a growing up in a household with five kids.

I was the observer. So you're the youngest too, right, Yeah, I'm the baby of five. And actually my mom had a miscarriage right before me, so I just learned this. I was like the rainbow baby. So I was like, oh, I feel so special.

Also, your mom has to be a saint raising five kids, right, I.

Mean, she's amazing. But yeah, I was just the observer.

Like I watched my three older sisters and then my older other and I wanted to be just like them. I wanted to be included in everything that they were doing. And then I ended up moving out of my house when I was like nine, lived with Russian family first, and then at ten, my brother and I moved to London and we were there, so it was kind of an interesting thing. It was like I was really close with my family and then there was almost like this separation and even with my older sisters, like we kind of separated for a little while, and now that I'm an adult, I mean I've like reconnected with my sisters in like such a fun way, whereas like my brother and I have always been like this. But again, as an adult, I like got to like reconnect with my sisters. And they were quite a bit older than me too, so I think now at our age, it's like it's easier to connect now to.

Yeah, there's nothing better than this sibling dynamic. When did you start dancing? And was it your siblings that were your early role models for dance, because of course Derek is also a dancer, but were your sister's dancers.

So my oldest sister, Shari, she was she was a ballet dancer and was like so serious about it, and then we all just like went to her lessons because my mom would drive the big red van that was like known as big Red and we would, you know, like have Wendy's in the backseat, and like I was too young to take any of the classes, but I was watching and so I knew every like lyric to every song that they were singing. I knew every dance move, and I was just again an observer and I would just watch and so yeah, and then we would come home and they'd practice and I'd be like, watch, I can do it.

Too, so cute.

And when did you first start start taking dance classes? Like how was were you?

I mean it was like the first the first class was like I ever took was in my neighbor's basement and like they had like a cute little ballet bar with like all the little girls. I think it was probably three and then I really started though, at like six seven years old. And it's one of those studios in Utah that's probably one of the most iconic studios. It's called Center Stage, and it's where probably eighty percent of the dancers that you see on Dancing with a Stofe came from.

I was gonna say so. I interviewed with a couple people from Dancing with the Stars, Derek being one of them, and then also Ezra, and I did not know that so many of the pros and people on Dancing with the Stars come from Utah. And I'm like, what is in the water in Utah that's making all these incredible dancers.

It's literally there is something in the water. I don't know, it's like the Mormon something. I don't know, but it's kind of funny too. My grandparents were ballroom dancers. My parents also met in college on the ballroom dance team, and then obviously we danced. And in Utah, it's weird. It's like ballroom dancing is like it's like the center of the United States to go and learn. I think BYU has a big program, but I always find it so fascinating that it's like the culture of like the Mormon culture, the LDS culture, and then like ballroom dancing feels like so wide, but it's like for some reason, it's like this big culture in Utah. So I remember when I came back from London, I was fifteen, and like, I would, you know, go back to this studio and teach and train some of the younger couples. And that was like Whitney and Lindsay and Jenna, and now they're like these beautiful mothers like on the show and like crushing life and it's just it's pretty cool to see, like you sometimes forget the life that you've lived and I think back sometimes I'm like wow, like I have been doing this since I was like coming out of the womb, you know, like this has been the through line of my life.

No, you've been doing it for so long, and I mean, it's so wild to think too that at ten years old you were moving to London to really pursue it to another degree. And I'm curious, what is it about London and the school that you went to that is so good for dance.

So what's interesting is how I said, like Utah was sort of the capital of the United States for dancing, London is sort of the capital of the world for ballroom dancing. We had dance coaches that used to come to our studio in Utah and at the time, they were like, why don't you come and train over here for a few months and do the biggest competition in the world, which is Blackpool.

But in the center of it is this.

Like gold encrusted ballroom and it is just like the weirdest place to like the seaside resort town with like this beautiful ballroom, and like people from all over the world come to it. And it was just such a vivid memory for me. But we were supposed to stay for three months. I ended up saying for five years. My brother stayed for almost ten. And yeah, it's I think maybe just because it's like centrally located, like all the Europeans would come in and fly in, and that competition was there. But it wasn't actually the school that I went to for ballroom dancing. It was the coaches that I lived with. And then of course we had to go to school, so we went to a performing arts school there too. That's where we were singing and acting and doing all other styles of dance as well.

Did Derek go out before you?

He went out for like three months before me. I was.

I was in Florida with a Russian family dancing. I mean that's the part I didn't know about what's happening. Okay, go from Utah, so Florida to London. Yeah, what is your family thinking? During this time?

They knew that there was a lot of talent there.

I think that like when you also see other people, like our coaches, being like, there's massive talent here. We know how to nurture this and grow it. I think they saw that as well as you know, they were going through a divorce and I think, I mean, I've been through a divorce and I know that when you're in that state, like you can barely take care of yourself, let alone all these kids. And I'm not saying that was the case for them, but like there was an opportunity, there was an opening where they could take care of what they needed to while their kids were having this unbelievable, once in a lifetime experience. And so so yeah, so, but I know it was really challenging for them. I mean, they missed us so much, but then they saw what was happening and we wanted to stay.

And you got to have this incredible experience at such a young age. And I feel like it's also your parents were, like, you know what, they're really good at this. So if London's the place, if Florida's the place, then they have to go do their thing. And if you had stayed in Utah, do you think you would have had the career that you have had today.

It's hard to say, because I feel like, you know, everything is designed, like there's like the invisible thread, right, Like everything's kind of like magically happening for you. Not that I am like my life is predestined, but I kind of feel that way a little bit, like I know my energy and I know whatever I would have done in my career I would have done it to like the highest standard, because that's just innately who I am. I also love like interior design, and you can tell when you come to my house because I hold everything that I do to a high standard of like being fully expressed, you know.

And I think that you're a performer.

I am a performer.

I'm an artist.

I'm like, I just want to like, I love beautiful things and creating beautiful experiences. And I actually remember I did this like exercise where I had to write a hundred things that me happy. It's harder than you think, by the way, but you kind of say the same things and then you clump them into groups and chunks and stuff, and then you whittle it down. And then by the time you whittle it down, you think, oh, there's like a theme here, and it's creating beautiful experiences for others is the thing that makes me the happiest.

And that can be in any form.

It can be a dinner party with people coming over, or it could be teaching somebody to dance. It could be having somebody here in energy, or it could be you know, I don't know, doing a movie, and like creating beautiful experiences for people, and I love that.

What I think is so cool about getting to know you is you live maybe the busiest life out of anybody that I've ever met. And I even said this to before. I'm like, I've known you as a dancer and an actress, but you also are an entrepreneur, You're an author, You've got all these other business she's got a wine company. We're not going to talk about it. Like you do so much. And you're also so present in your life, and I feel like you take so much time to like self reflect and do activities like that where you can kind of work on yourself and get to know yourself. And I think that's so amazing.

That's thank you.

I appreciate you saying that because I think, at the end of the day, like don't we all just want to be seen?

So thank you for seeing me. No. Absolutely, have you always been like that, like when you were in your early twenties, was it ever like, oh my god, I'm doing so much.

A couple of things I remember, like when I look back my childhood, I remember being like twelve, and I remember these like kids in my school would like come up to me for like relationship advice, I'm like, I don't know, but for some reason I was able to like have a conversation with them and then they could share that. I was always fascinated by human behavior and psychology and like the why behind everything. So looking back and like, oh, there were signals and signs.

I think you're empathetic and you like connecting with people. Do yeah, you.

Really do, and like putting yourself in somebody's shoes. Then you know you're not projecting your own stuff onto them. But anyway, in my twenties, I think it was really interesting because I also look back at my twenties and I'm like, wow, the stars were aligned. I don't take that for granted. I worked really really hard as a kid and sacrificed a lot. But from like eighteen, when I moved out to LA with two thousand dollars, I got a lucky break being on Dancing with the Stars, and from that I won my first two seasons. I released an album and had a number one album and like got to do movies, and like, I don't take for granted the momentum that was happening, Like it was kind of just going.

I never felt busy.

I never felt like overworked because it was it was aligned, you know, like I it was just it was energy creating more energy. When I was twenty five, I kind of went more into self reflection and I realized that a lot of what I was doing was isolated and proving myself. That was like underneath it. I didn't realize that a lot of my dreams were being manifested through being like watch me, you know. And then once I kind of realized that, I kind of like started going inwards. So like twenty five was when I started like my inward journey, and then that was all cognitive like having more awareness. And then probably around like twenty nine thirty is when I really started like a deep healing. And when that happened, it was like a whole unraveling of my life. But what I ended up finding was that again, everything that I've done that has led me here through my career, whether it be dancing, singing, acting, entrepreneurship, whatever it is, it's kind of planted seeds for me to be like, wow, like I have so much experience. I have life experience in all of these different industries and how to connect and what people in every one of these industries as well as like people who watch want to feel and so now because I've kind of done it for everyone else, I'm in this stage where I'm like, what is it that I want to create? And I'm realizing more and more it's less about me and it's more about like, how can I share what I've learned with others and amplify other.

People's stories and.

Also use it like through the body, because I believe so much in the body, like you do, you know, like when you can feel the effects of what like the body does, the freedom that you can feel, I mean, I guess maybe that's the whole thing.

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

Just I want to make you feel free and happy, and however that is expressed, go for it. I think the body is a huge way to like access it. So yeah, so I think the self reflection has kind of come from It's a journey. Like I don't know if I was always like that, but I feel like I'm right on time.

Yeah you are. And it's so cool knowing too that when in your late teens early twenties, when you were doing all this amazing stuff winning the first two seasons and Dancing with the Stars. Because I think the one fascinating thing too that I saw is that when you were first offered the role as a pro on Dancing with the Stars, you turned it down. What was going through your mind when you turned down Dancing with the Stars.

I think because I had spent my whole you know, childhood and teens competing in ballroom and Latin dancing. I was a little burnt out because again it was like competitive, and I think I lost a little bit of the like reason I love to do it. And when I moved to LA, I really wanted to act and sing and I wanted to be taking seriously and give the same amount of time and effort that I put into my day dancing into working on my craft to being an actor and a singer. And so I was like, I don't want to be on a reality show because I feel like there's a connotation to that that like, I mean, it's so different now, but at the time, I was like, oh, reality show. But it was a competition show. So I was like, there is skill, there is talent here. So I was like, you know what I'm going to do. I'm going to sign this contract, but I'm going to get out of my contract early.

That's how like headstrong I was.

And I did, and I ended up doing the show for two and a half years, which was five seasons, and then I left and did music and films for five years, and then I came back as a judge for two and a half years, which was five seasons. And then I left for five years and started companies and got married and had like sort of different priorities. And now I'm back as a host, and I hope that I'm not here for two and a half years. I hope I'm here for a lot longer, because again, what I was saying before, it was like I was trying so many different things, trying to figure out what life was, and now I'm like this, this is the greatest I don't even want to call it a job, like this is the greatest opportunity to do what I love again, amplify other dancers, share people's stories, and like get to be part of this family that has literally given me so much. I'm so grateful for the show.

One of the amazing things too about Dancing with the Stars, based on what you just said, is they've given you the freedom since you were young, Yeah, to do things that you've always wanted to do, like have these incredible roles in movies like Footloose and starring in Burdlesque with Christina Aguilera and share. It's so cool that they let you kind of have those moments, and then they've always been like when you're ready, come back.

Totally totally.

I feel so so grateful because that's not always the case. And there's been other projects that I've done and things that have been good experiences, but nothing like the family that has been built and created over the last almost twenty years being on this show.

So it's it's been amazing.

But again, it kind of goes back, and this is kind of the narrative that I'd love to like share about dance in general, is just that, you know, I think as a young dancer, there's almost this hidden narrative that dance being a dancer is not enough. It's almost like it's the third tier supporting act and dance. So I always felt like, oh, I needed to be an actor to have the level of respect or the level of like I've made it. Whereas now again, as I've gone through all of this exploration dance is the most beautiful thing and should absolutely be at the forefront and have And I think a lot of dancers feel this way because you know, it's so hard to earn a living as a dancer, and then if you are a dancer, there's a shelf life and you're usually supporting the artist. But I think what Dancing with the Stars has done, or my brother and I doing our tours, or we started ovation, which is about helping like the next generation of dancers grow into like a new pathway. But it's like this is hopefully to show that dancers are artistic athletes and deserve a seat at the table and you can have a real career. And I want to hopefully add more more opportunity, not me personally, but just amplify dance in a way to add more opportunity for dancers to be seen and to be at the forefront. And again, I have to give so much credit to Dancing with the Stars because they have been that platform for so many people. And now TikTok is happening and people are dancing, But like, what's the next thing that's going to allow dance to really be at the forefront like all these other beautiful sports and entertainment, and that's like my mission now.

Oh I love that. Do you think when you were in London and you were attending a performing art school and you were, you know, taking acting classes and singing classes, do you think it was in that school that you almost put dance in your mind as a third tier.

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

It is a thing in me.

I think it's a thing in the industry.

I think it was always sort of like that was like sort of we're in support of we are we are the background dancers, backing dancers, you know, like and I remember like we changed the word from background dancer to company dancer because it was and just the association, just the language that was used was very much like we're behind. And so I really try to be impeccable with like my language as well to like continue to elevate dance.

Because you've done so many things and were in so many different hats within the industry, and you've done it really.

To the top level.

Right, What when somebody would ask you, you know, what do you do for a living? What would you say? Would you say, I'm a dancer.

I love that you're asking me this question, like I need to know, because similarly, this was a whole psychological break for me which I finally had this massive breakthrough. It was like I would try to say, well, I do this, and I do that, and I do this. I think I even said it to you on the run. I was like, yeah, I do this and I do that.

What do I do?

But owning the fact that I'm a dancer like that was a big deal for me, and that that is enough. Being a dancer is enough, and in fact, it's even more than enough. In fact, dancing is healing, Dancing is medicine. Dance gives joy to others. Dance is a universal language. Dance connects people. Dance allows you to like celebrate life. It allows you to express yourself. I mean, dances dances life. I mean, it doesn't matter how well you do it. It's not about right or wrong. Dance is just moving your body and feeling free. And so, yeah, I'm a dancer.

She is a dancer. Guys. No, it's amazing and it's also so cool too, Like you've been to do so many incredible acting roles where I feel like you've been able to combine all the things that you love. What was it like starring in burlesque? And what was it like starring in footloose? Like was that a dream come true for you? Because you're able to combine all of these things?

Yeah, I think like again those like early films that I did, And again that's why, like I had to change my relationship with dance because dance gave me everything. And I see other dancers today that are like, I'm so much more look at what else I can do, And I'm like, oh, man, if they only just like owned being a dancer the way that I didn't just fully grasp it when I was younger, Like, they could actually do everything that they want to do. They can act, sing, they can do all these things. But they're going to own it and more opportunities going to come. And I think that's the biggest thing that I've learned is I tried so many things, but I always came back to dance.

But I was resisting just owning it.

Building a personal brand is the hardest thing you can possibly do. You don't want a pigeonhole your and you don't want the world to be like, oh, this is what you are when it's like, well, I can actually do all of these other things as well, you know, And it's cool knowing that you love interior design and you love hosting dinner parties, and like, there's so many more things that you love to do. But sometimes within a career it's okay to just be niche and do this thing that you love, you know what I mean?

Oh No, I was having at this conversation with one of my actor friends. He's him and his wife are like my best friends, and he is a massive actor. He is an incredible entrepreneur and he's been a producer as well, and he was just like, I need to get rid of my production company because I'm so busy. But the feeling of that I need to be having seventeen jobs is so real in life right now because we're all like, we're all entrepreneurs and it's amazing and we can create our own life and careers. But it's like, if you only do one thing, why does that not feel like it's enough? And it's like, I mean, I'm preaching to the l No, I feel this all the time, you know, But it's like and then it's the comparison thing, Oh, well, this person's doing this and this and this and this, but like, oh, just being a dancer or you know, is enough.

How do you deal with comparison and say, okay, like I don't need to be looking at this right now. I'm comfortable as I am.

I mean, first of all, I'm gonna botch this saying, but comparison is the thief of joy, you know, And I think that, like when I continue to remind myself that easy phrase, then it reminds me that, like I want joy in my life, I don't need to.

I've competed my whole life.

I mean that was literally my entire life was to compete and to win, even in performing and being an artist, Like you're still competing to get the job, to be the actor that gets you know, chosen, or that's the other thing, Like I want to be chosen. And I kind of rephrase, I'm like, wait, wait, wait, I get to choose. I get to choose, I get to choose how I show up. I get to choose if I'm comparing myself or not, or I get to choose what I put my energy towards. And actually this person over here that did beautiful work that actually inspired me versus makes me fearful that I can't do it.

Was there ever a role and maybe you'd be comfortable sharing what it is that you auditioned for that you were like, I'm dead right for this role, and then maybe you didn't get it, and what was your kind of mindset around that? How do you deal with rejection?

It was It was very heartbreaking because and it was probably the first time I felt like true failure from something that I didn't self sabotage, like I've trust me, I've had a lot of failures, but but that was on me because I pivoted, you know, this one. I felt like I did everything that I could. I knew I was right for this part. I had, you know, even the creative team that were around this project really believed in me and wanted this for me as well, and the studio just they were like, we won't hire her and so, and like everybody fought for me to have this role, and I fought really hard. I worked on it so hard with an acting coach, and I knew I crushed it, and to not be chosen for something that I knew it was.

That was really devastating.

But at the same time, I think failure is a big part of And I don't mean to say this in like the cliche thing like failure is good, but I mean it like I had had so many wins and and I had had so much like goodness that it felt like a big blow that like I didn't win this, Like it's like Glinda and Wicked.

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

By the way, you are so glod enough, like I am so alpha Barrat now she is so glined.

I love it, but it was very that but it was so important for me. It's so important to learn how to fail and to still have like belief in yourself and to not be not be a victim in the moment and to like take it and be like, you know what, I'm not going to take this personally. I am going to just say whatever was in the cards was not for me. And and in fact, the person that did get it I am a huge fan of and like she crushed it and deserved to have that role. And it was interesting because they found her after I had auditioned, so it wasn't like we were even competing. But I'm a huge fan of her. And what happened from it and I heard this like I don't know where I heard it from, but like if you believe in God or universe, whatever you believe in, but like rejection as God's protection. So it's like I would listen to that also and be like, you know what, who knows what would have happened if that were on the case, And I will never know, but I have faith that it was putting me in the right position. I have faith that maybe even feeling that rejection and feeling that failure was what I needed in order to show my resilience, to show that I am capable of failing. But let me fail fast and get back on track.

Was there another opportunity that kind of came up in synergy that you then got and you were like, Oh, this is what I was supposed to be doing or was it a growth period for you?

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

I mean, I don't have one of those like cool stories that's like I was about to quit the industry and then you know, I got the cause.

I got situations where like I'm supposed to do an interview and then like you know, something falls through and then it's like, oh, I'm so upset, Like I was so excited, but then an hour later, something else.

Pops up totally and and you know what, maybe at the time I was so far in it that I couldn't really see what that thing was. But I will say that after that, I ended up doing a project with Dolly Parton, and as I'm sitting here thinking about that, I'm like, you know, I am such a relationship person and to have had that experience connecting with an icon and a legend that has not only created incredible art, but her just who she is as a human being. And I got to spend time with her and she got to give me beautiful advice that I'll never forget.

Wait, what advice did Dolly Parton give you? I need to know. I'm obsessed with her. And what was the project you guys worked on? Yeah, we can just everybody of her is like laughing.

But but you know what, maybe that's what it was, and like and I will I will hold on to that experience with Dolly Parton forever. And I'm a relationship person, So maybe that was the reason. But I remember telling her all of the things that I love to do, and I was like, I want to do this, and I want to do that and all these different things, and she goes, you know, Julian, you sound a lot like me, and I see a lot of similarities. And she goes, just remember to stay the artist, and she goes, I wanted a theme park. Do you think I knew how to build a theme park? No, but I hired people who did and they were smarter than me. But in turn, I'm smarter than them because I hired them. And so what I took from that was I didn't have to do everything. If I'm an artist, Let me be an artist. I'm not trying to do operations in this and marketing and like it's so overwhelming. Like, let me do the thing that I am gifted at and hire the people that are gifted at their job and as they become you know, your team and your family, like you're creating magic together and anything is possible when you're trying to do it all by yourself. I mean, that just is suffering right there. And yet like she is, she has been able to stay Dolly part in the Dreamer and look at everything that she's done and like and her heart and her light and all of that, like she she knows what she will and will not compromise, and what she will and won't tolerate, and yet she is who she is. And so I just remember thinking that because I felt very much like, ah, I'm doing all these things and I'm just like grinding.

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

No, It's so true, And oh my gosh, getting like work ethic advice from somebody like Dolly Parton is so iconic. And yeah, it is so important to make sure, especially when you're building a team and building your business and your empire and you know you're trying to be a leader and do all these things, like you have to bring team members in because it is way too much, especially when you're doing.

So hard, boring and isolating to do it by yourself. Like there are so many talented, beautiful people that I want to create and collaborate with, and like there's I mean, I'm a true believer were in Like collaboration is key and like you get the most magic out of that.

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

On the topic of collaboration. When you're a pro on Dancing with the Stars, you are collaborating with a celebrity. Who is a celebrity that has surprised you the most that's been on the show. Maybe that was your partner or as you were hosting or judging you witnessed.

I mean, I'm just maybe just because it's so fresh in my mind, but I was really excited about Joey.

I was about to make you do a three to two to one and say at the same time, honestly three Joey truly.

I mean, what I loved so much about him is that he is a normal guy who like yet like you can try anything and is good at kind of anything.

I'm guys, I'm not like this was okay? Were you in context here? Really quickly, when we were filming the running interview, Jeremy, my fiance, was we were doing the dance part and he was like, hat is like good at at anything except not dance? And I'm like, Okay. The reason he was saying this is because and golfers are going to love this right now. I was telling Julianne before we started filming, I don't want to sidetrack you. I was playing with one of the really the best golfers in the world. Crazy to say, John raw the other day. It was my first time ever holding a golf club. I called it a golf poll when I grabbed it, and he was like, it's a club and anyways, then he was like this is going to be a disaster. And then he was like, I'm really not a good teacher. It's just it's all about the interview. I'll fake it. We don't really have to play. I hit every single ball, which if you know golf, it's actually really hard to hit the ball. And it was every it was like, we're going to make the funniest cut out of it because I did so well. I made it in in seven hits, whatever that means, and he made it in five and every single shot. He was like what is going on?

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

Yeah, you're pro. We had so many people watching us. I was sweating so much on Oh anyways, but and then I got to the second hole and it was such beginner's luck because then I started indenting the course. I don't know if I'll put that into the video. I kind of want to make myself look like a rock star because why not. But anyways, I'm not good at everything. Okay, I love it.

Yeah, well I relate a little bit because like it's so funny. My brother too, like he'll try anything.

I at everything.

He's pretty good at everything except for surfing, and I love that. And I and I'm good at surfing and snowboarding, and he's like he's like he's great at wake surfing, like wake surfing, but like in the natural elements.

He's like, huh.

We also call him Grandpa Huff because he's scared of everything.

And so that.

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

I love those again. Body yeah, and like anything I can do with my body I'm good at. And why company, Well that's true. So so snow League. I actually they did like a whole new snow league or it's a brand new league that he created. And I was like, you know what, I should do a series kind of like what you just did with the golfer. But I was like I was talking to some people on the chairlift and it was like I get deep very fast, clearly hello everyone, and.

My god, not the chairlift.

And I was like, oh my god, chairlift therapy, like we need to have like like is the Top Show, dancing with the Show on the chairlift, like it was amazing, so anyway, but I was like, but it's great because you're in your body, you're doing something athletic. You're putting yourself in a position to fail, but you try it anyway. And I think when people are in vulnerable moments, you get out of your head into your body, like so much as possible.

It's like five minute countdown, how much Caul Julian get out of this person on me on the anyways?

Okay, I gotta like I was gonna like change position.

We have talked about so much. So much is going on right now we are in this room. Okay, as we wrapped it up, knowing what you know, now, what would you say to your younger self?

Oh, first of all, I would just I'd grabber and I just like make her hug me.

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

I would grab her and I would just like hold her and just say.

See, I know Radcliffe will not be your boyfriend, but maybe someday.

Exactly how did you know that? That was in my mind?

That was exactly what.

I was gonna say.

Sorry, continue, but I did see him recently while he was on Broadway, and he knew the story because.

I've told it a hundred times. He's like, I'm so sorry.

I never got the Beanie baby sidebars.

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

Okay, Younger, I'd hugger and I would just say that obviously you are enough. Being a dancer is enough, but also you're going to create so much in your life.

Enjoy the ride.

Yeah, all right, well, Julianne, thank you so much for being on the show with us today.

Thank you.

Final shout outs. What do you have coming up? What's next for you? And what should we be on the lookout for.

I don't know, just follow along, I mean all on the social media and all that, you know, but obviously coming back to Dancing with the Stars and hosting this next season, but lots lots of things that kind of to wrap up what we've been talking about, which is like owning more of like being a dancer, and you know, just anything kind of through the lens of dance. Just look out anything dance related. I'll be sneaking up and popping up everywhere.

If you want to have a potential bump in with Julia. Yeah, kind of.

Come to Kindred to k Energy, come take a class.

Also, DM me if you want to dance ants, let's like do some collaborations because I love collaborations.

So yeah, all right, thanks.

Well that's a rap and you're the best. Thank you so much, Chank you

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Post Run High with Kate Mackz

The perfect companion to Kate Mackz's popular online series The Running Interview Show, Post Run Hig 
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