Why We Dance copertina

Why We Dance

Why We Dance

Di: Mia Tate
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Join professional dancer and filmmaker, Mia Tate, as she dives into the heart, humor, and why behind movement. Each episode of Why We Dance pulls you into the intimate world of a guest—dancers, artists, everyday inspirations—who’ve loved, healed, survived, reimagined, and thrived through dance and movement. From backstage confessions to living room breakthroughs, Mia blends soulful chats, wild stories, and unfiltered truth with people from every walk of life. Bold, tender, and pulsing with the primal heartbeat we all share, this podcast is an open invitation to feel the stories behind what moves us.2025 Arte Scienze sociali
Episodi
  • Never Stop Dancing: Josef Kubota Wladyka on His Sundance Award-Winning Film, Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!

    Never Stop Dancing: Josef Kubota Wladyka on His Sundance Award-Winning Film, Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!
    Oct 8 2026

    In this episode of Why We Dance, host Mia Tate sits down with writer-director Josef Kubota Wladyka to celebrate the release of his Sundance award-winning film Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! — a love letter to his mother, a ballroom dancer who says dance saved her life. Josef reflects on his B-boy days, finding film through an independent-movie set, learning from Spike Lee, and the magic, grief, and presence at the heart of his new film. Through it all runs one message: no matter how messy life gets, never stop dancing.

    About Josef Kubota Wladyka

    Josef Kubota Wladyka is a writer and director whose films draw their spark from real people and the worlds they live in. Raised in Falls Church, Virginia, by a Japanese mother and Polish father, he fell in love with movies as a kid, sneaking into the local multiplex with his brothers, and spent his teens as a B-boy before discovering filmmaking on the set of a small independent film. He earned his MFA from NYU’s graduate film program, where he studied under and worked alongside Spike Lee.

    His debut feature, Manos Sucias, executive produced by Spike Lee, won Best New Narrative Director at the Tribeca Festival. His second, Catch the Fair One, starred world champion boxer Kali Reis in her screen debut. He has directed television around the world, including Tokyo Vice, Narcos, Fear the Walking Dead, and The Terror. His third feature, Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! — co-written with longtime collaborator Nicholas Huynh, starring Rinko Kikuchi, and inspired by his mother’s lifelong love of ballroom — won the Directing Award in the U.S. Dramatic competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and was released in theaters by Sony Pictures Classics on September 25, 2026. He lives in New York City.

    Episode Timestamps

    (01:08) Meet Josef Kubota Wladyka

    (02:11) What movement means to him

    (04:13) From ballroom to B-boy

    (07:34) Watching his mom transform

    (11:40) From B-boy to filmmaker

    (18:17) Learning from Spike Lee

    (20:47) Finding the worlds of his films

    (28:04) Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!

    (29:36) Magic, fantasy, and floating

    (33:06) Tokyo Vice and finding Japan

    (36:48) Grief and the thin veil

    (40:28) Putting your art into the world

    (44:08) Mom's standing ovations at 82

    (47:48) Writing Ha-Chan with Nicholas Huynh

    (52:31) What's next

    (58:09) Salsa and Orquesta de la Luz

    (1:03:48) Go see it in theaters

    Links & Resources

    • Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! — in theaters now (Sony Pictures Classics)
    • Josef Kubota Wladyka — IMDb
    • Manos Sucias (2014) and Catch the Fair One (2021)
    • Tokyo Vice — HBO / Max
    • Mia Tate — IMDb
    • Follow Why We Dance on YouTube and Instagram
    • Creator and Host: Mia Tate
    • Producer: Meredith Gooderham
    • Marketing Coordinator: Kyle Rusca
    • Video Editor: Feroz Hasan
    • Creative Director of Marketing: Sonja Uri
    • Studio: Caspian Studios
    • Production Support: Dark to Light Productions
    • Camera: Caleb Morgan and Kai Irvine
    • Assistant Camera: Ben Drummond
    • Sponsor: Davies Reid Rugs

    About Why We Dance

    Why We Dance is a podcast hosted by Mia Tate, exploring the heart, humor, and ‘why’ behind movement. In each episode, we talk about the histories we inherit, the emotions we move through, and the ways dance helps us make sense of ourselves and the world. We invite dancers, creators, and embodied storytellers to share how movement shaped their lives, healed their wounds, and connected them to something larger.


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 ora e 4 min
  • What the Body Hears: Antoine Hunter on Movement, Culture & Truth

    What the Body Hears: Antoine Hunter on Movement, Culture & Truth
    Mar 18 2026
    In this intimate episode of Why We Dance, Mia Tate welcomes Mx. Antoine Hunter—an award‑winning Deaf dancer, choreographer, teacher, advocate, and the founder of the Urban Jazz Dance Company and the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival. Antoine describes movement as breath, meditation, and survival. They share memories of growing up Deaf in a hearing world, facing bullying and isolation, and discovering that dance was the first place they were truly seen. A high‑school solo to “I Will Always Love You” became the moment movement turned into a language—where they could finally be heard beyond sound. Mia and Antoine explore the difference between hearing and listening, the role of Deaf instinct in their teaching, and how choreography emerges from lived experience, including stories of injustice faced by Deaf community members in the prison system. Antoine also talks about their two‑spirit identity, the strength of family and community, and how vibration, drums, and embodied rhythm guide their art. They share what’s ahead: an art gallery, open‑stage events, and a Deaf and disabled dance film festival focused on access and visibility. The episode closes with a powerful poem—an offering of beauty, worth, and the truth the body carries. A poetic, grounding conversation on identity, resilience, and listening beyond sound. About the Guest: Antoine Hunter Antoine Hunter (Purple Fire Crow) is an award‑winning Deaf dancer, choreographer, teacher, advocate, and cultural organizer based in Oakland, California. They are the founder and artistic director of the Urban Jazz Dance Company and the creator of the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival, an internationally recognized platform for Deaf and hard‑of‑hearing artists. Their work blends jazz, modern, African, and urban styles with storytelling rooted in Deaf culture, embodied experience, and ancestral knowledge. Antoine performs and teaches internationally, speaks on arts equity and Deaf access, and is a leading voice in disability justice and inclusive dance. Episode Timestamps (00:00) “You Are Beautiful” — Opening Poem (00:57) Meet Antoine Hunter (02:02) Movement as Breath and Survival (04:19) Childhood, Identity, and Belonging (06:15) How Dance Saved Their Life (09:18) Being Seen, Felt, and Heard (11:59) Hearing vs. True Listening (15:55) Family, Community, and Superpower (18:59) Moving Community Through Lockdown (20:32) Urban Jazz Dance Company Origin Story (23:57) Deaf Prison Stories (29:26) Intersectional Identity and Trauma (32:08) How Antoine Creates Choreography (34:51) Feeling Music Through Vibration (36:45) Teaching with Drums and Sensation (37:24) Deaf Vibration Senses Explained (40:01) Leading from Within (42:31) Intuition, Instinct, and Survival (45:09) Two‑Spirit Identity and Expression (51:40) Barriers, Perception, and Seeing Vibration (54:17) Deaf Dance Festival Impact (57:11) Workshops, Teaching, and Access (01:01:33) New Projects and What’s Ahead (01:04:50) A Universal Truth: Listening with the Body (01:06:34) Sponsor Message (01:07:32) “Why I Dance” — Closing Poem Links & Resources • Antoine Hunter • Mia Tate — IMDb • Follow Why We Dance on YouTube and Instagram • Producer: S.J. Nichols (Seannon Gonzalez) • Executive Producer: Meredith Gooderham • Studio: Caspian Studios • Production Support: Dark to Light Productions • Sponsor: Davies Reid Rugs Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 ora e 10 min
  • The Weight We Carry, The Moves We Make: Montana Tucker on Why We Dance

    The Weight We Carry, The Moves We Make: Montana Tucker on Why We Dance
    Feb 25 2026
    In this episode of Why We Dance, Montana Tucker joins host Mia Tate for a conversation that lives in the body: a conversation about lineage, loss, visibility, and the deep human need to move when standing still is too heavy. Montana has been dancing since childhood — inspired by Britney Spears VHS tapes, trained at her mother’s Pop Stars dance company, and performing behind artists like Ashanti and Remy Ma before most people her age could drive. She talks about the safety she finds onstage, the unexpected rise of her 14‑million‑strong following, and the quiet discipline behind staying authentic in a world built on performance. But this episode reaches deeper. Montana opens up about her grandparents, both Holocaust survivors, whose resilience shaped her refusal to shrink even when she was bullied for a childhood lisp, her body, or her ambition. She speaks about learning to take up space — not out of ego, but out of inheritance. Out of survival. The conversation moves into October 7 and the seismic shift that followed. Montana shares what compelled her to document stories in Israel; what it feels like to meet survivors, families of hostages, and those living through grief that rewrites the body; and the cost of speaking publicly in a world divided by fear and misinformation. She talks about losing brand partnerships, facing death threats, and continuing anyway — guided by a commitment to humanity over politics. Montana also describes creating “We Can Dance Again,” a dance tribute with Nova Music Festival survivors. She recounts the moment survivors returned to the site and chose to dance again — not to forget, but to release what could no longer be held alone. The episode closes with Montana’s “Why I Dance” monologue: a meditation on movement as therapy, connection, and a way to remember who we are when life tries to take it from us. This is an episode about the weight the body holds — and the moves we make to carry it. Episode Timestamps (00:00) Dancing after October 7 (00:59) Meet Montana Tucker (02:46) What movement means to her (04:28) Britney Spears VHS beginnings (06:08) The Pop Stars training era (07:50) From backup dancer to artist (09:09) Big stages, small nerves (12:50) Building a massive platform (17:19) Authenticity and finding it (18:35) Holocaust legacy and inherited strength (21:03) Hardships and never giving up (22:57) Learning to face the hard things (25:02) A preview of bullying (25:16) Growing up bullied (26:06) Body image & being herself (27:05) When school pushes back (28:45) Empathy as her mission (29:41) Life after October 7 (31:48) Truth telling and backlash (35:05) Why she won’t stay silent (38:11) What Israel felt like (42:25) Giving voice to hostage families (45:13) “We Can Dance Again” (46:49) Dance as communal healing (48:37) What followers don’t see (50:44) Sponsor break — Davies Reed (51:38) “Why I Dance” monologue (54:09) Final thanks + close Links & Resources • Montana Tucker — Instagram / TikTok / YouTube • How To: Never Forget — Montana’s Holocaust education docuseries • “We Can Dance Again” project • Mia Tate — IMDb • Follow Why We Dance on YouTube and Instagram • Producer: S.J. Nichols (Seannon Gonzalez) • Executive Producer: Meredith Gooderham • Studio: Caspian Studios • Production Support: Dark to Light Productions • Sponsor: Davies Reid Rugs Bio: Montana Tucker Montana Tucker is a dancer, actress, singer‑songwriter, creator, and activist whose work blends performance, purpose, and deep emotional truth. With an audience of over 14 million, she is known for her viral dance collaborations, her powerful storytelling, and her commitment to showing up as her full, unfiltered self. A World Hip Hop Champion by 11 and a professional performer by her early teens, Montana has spent her life expressing what words struggle to contain. As the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, she carries a legacy of resilience that shapes her humanitarian advocacy — from her documentary series How To: Never Give Up to her post‑October 7 storytelling, documenting survivors and hostage families in Israel. Through dance, activism, and her “We Can Dance Again” movement, Montana uses her visibility to fight hate, elevate unheard voices, and remind us that movement is a language for healing when speech fails. About Why We Dance Why We Dance is a podcast hosted by Mia Tate, exploring the stories our bodies hold — the histories we inherit, the emotions we move through, and the ways dance helps us make sense of ourselves and the world. Each episode invites dancers, creators, and embodied storytellers to share how movement shaped their lives, healed their wounds, and connected them to something larger. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    55 min
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