Welcome to Danielle with the Stars. I am Danielle Fischel, a TV director, a podcaster, forever

Topanga, and a mom of two. But currently, as I speak, I am competing as a ballroom dancer on

the 34th season of Dancing with the Stars. And in the process of cutting rugs and tearing tendons,

I am recording a podcast, chronicling my

earnest and difficult journey to win a Len Goodman mirrorball trophy.

Each week on this podcast, I am soaking up every little thing I can about my new profession.

I'm taking in every tip, trick, and story the pros and past contestants are willing to share with me.

And today, I will be squeezing every last ounce of expertise out of my guest.

An absolute legend in the world of dance and choreography.

She made her mark on So You Think You Can Dance and a little network experiment you may have heard of called Dancing with the Stars.

She brought her vision to the Oscar-winning movie La La Land and even helped shape Taylor Swift's record-breaking era's tour.

Oh, no big deal.

She's created for the Oscars, the Golden Globes, the Grammys, the Emmys, which have nominated

her eight times and given her three. She is an undeniable force in the industry, and now she's a

guest on Danielle with the Stars. So please say hello to superstar choreographer Mandy Moore.

Woo, woo, woo! Like that was literally the best intro ever.

Thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you so much for being here. Of course. You are truly a legend. Oh, people say that. It's just so weird when people say that. I'm like, wait, I think I'm just doing the best I can. You know, white knuckling most of the time. You know how you know you're really special is when other very special people, like every single pro on Dancing with the Stars, says that is a person who knows what they're doing. That's a person we love to work with. Like, they work with a lot of different choreographers. No one has anything to say about you other than,

oh, she's the best. She's the best of the best. Love them. They're like my family. Yeah. It's weird. You know, I've been on the show a long time and I feel like I grew with them. And so they really truly, I consider most of them I'm family. Well, you can tell that amongst all of you, there's a trust. There's like a, you don't have to overproduce or over nitpick. You can give them guidance and then let them have creative freedom. And if something's not working, you collaborate together to fix it. Like you can, you can see that. And that's always the best kind of creative environment to be in. 1,000%. And, you know, I think, I'm sure we're probably going to get into it, but let's just get into it. You know, like I started on that show. I had never done a step of ballroom in my life. And it was a really weird, like, experiment for me. I mean, I've been, I worked on television, so I'd choreographed on television. But the actual art of ballroom dance and Latin

dance, like, it is not my thing. You know, I grew up tap dancing, jazz, ballet, million other styles, but hadn't done ballroom. And when I got on the show, I was like, I sure you want me to choreograph? Because I think in my mind, I thought, oh, well, if I don't know exactly all the steps, I can't make it.

But it was a really amazing process because that's where I started to learn how to collaborate. Like you were just saying with the pros, because they're choreographers and artists in their own rights. Totally. And so I just kind of became this conductor of movement for them. Right. And I would create with them and then basically tell them like, you guys look crazy. You need to be better. That's insane. Yes. And they would probably all tell you that. Like I used to do this thing where I would like screenshot their wides and I would say, you look nuts here, you look nuts here, you look nuts here. And they really started to, I think that's where I trust started to happen because it was like, I'm just here to make you look great. And then they'd be like, oh, we do look good on that part now. Yeah. I know. Thank you for tell. I know. I, as a director, I have had a couple opportunities where there will be a scene with a beautiful woman and she's supposed to be sick on the couch. And so she's relaxing on the couch and I'll just take a screenshot of the camera and I'll come in. I'll be like, you're going to want to lift your chin a little bit. I'm just going to show you right here. And then they'll be like, thanks, girl. Thanks, girl. Always. You got to have their backs. That's the thing. Now you know, we got each other's back. Who is the first professional dancer you remember seeing as a kid that made you go, oh, wow, I want to do that.

That's a good question.

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