From Dancer to 7-Figure Global Dance Empire

Summary

Living The Red Life – Episode Summary

Episode: From Dancer to 7-Figure Global Dance Empire
Host: Rudy Mawer
Guest: Menina Fortunato
Date: May 26, 2026

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Overview

This episode features Menina Fortunato, a globally recognized entrepreneur, mentor, and former professional dancer, best known for building a global platform that empowers dancers to transform their passion into sustainable, thriving careers. The discussion centers on Menina’s journey from her dance roots and professional career to building a seven-figure dance business that breaks the myth of dance being a “short-lived career.” The conversation is rich with advice for dancers and entrepreneurs alike, covering the evolution of the dance industry, the critical importance of business skills, and Menina’s commitment to mentoring the next generation.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Early Influences and Dance Origins

• Family of Dancers:

  • Menina’s dance lineage runs deep—her father was her first teacher and owned studios; her mother was a Club Med choreographer.
    • “I grew up in a dance studio… so I guess you could say I was born into a dance family.” (02:29)
  • Menina started teaching dance at 12, and her first pro gig was at 16.

• Business from the Start:

  • Early exposure to dance competitions, business operations, and teaching formed a multidimensional dance foundation.

Los Angeles, the Dream, and Iconic Breaks

• The Big Move and Achievements:

  • Relocated from Vancouver to LA at age 20 to pursue the professional dream.
    • “I moved out to LA to pursue the dream… with my car, my clothes. Moved into an apartment in North Hollywood that I’d never seen until the day that I moved in.” (03:36)
  • Early, career-defining gigs included working with Paula Abdul and appearing in the iconic Britney Spears Pepsi Super Bowl commercials.

• Star-Powered Career:

  • Worked with Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Paula Abdul, MC Hammer, Earth Wind & Fire, and many more (04:33).
  • Appeared on TV/Film: Guest-starred on Star Trek Enterprise as a green alien, leading to a devoted sci-fi fan base.

The Changing Dance Industry

• From Headshots to Hashtags:

  • Menina reflects on how the business side has changed—from mailing DVDs and seeking physical auditions to today’s era of influencer auditions and social media gatekeeping.
    • “Now it’s… you can’t even get in the room… They look at your socials. And I mean that’s how it is.” (08:52)
    • Used to be “the audition starts when you walk into the room,” whereas now you need 10,000 followers just for a chance. (08:17)

• Talent vs. Branding:

  • Modern dancers need more than skill: “You have to know how to package, present, and sell it… Not every dancer understands that.” (16:23)
  • Discusses how self-taught dancers like Matt Steffanina excel through branding and digital platforms, not just technical ability.

Flow, Musicality, and the High of Performance

• Finding “The Pocket”:
  • Menina describes the elusive state dancers seek: “Being in ‘the pocket’ is really feeling the energy of the moment… It’s not just about steps, but the emotion, musicality, and connection.” (12:05)
    • "It's the connection you have with people on stage... being able to make someone feel something. Performing is the biggest high of all." (12:24)
  • Shares the exhilaration of performing for 60,000 fans in Seoul, Korea, and the emotional come-down after such events. (13:13–14:47)

From Performer to Mentor & Business Owner

• Mentorship as Legacy:

  • Now dedicates her time to guiding young dancers—not in technique, but in “how to create careers, package and market themselves,” focusing on longevity and sustainability. (14:56–16:23)
  • Covers vital non-dance topics: taxes, mental skills, financing, health, and more, preparing mentees for a holistic career.

• Breaking the Dance Career Myth:

  • Menina proves dancers can build viable, long-term careers, have families, and find fulfilment:
    • “I hope that I’m living proof that you can… build a seven-figure business… still be in the industry that you love… and feel fulfilled.” (16:23)

Advice for Aspiring Dancers and Parents

• Develop the Skill, Then the Business:
  • Emphasizes technical and artistic training before business education, then learning to create or discover opportunities.
  • “What is my unique superpower?… Just really lean into that superpower and that’s when you’ll really find where you belong.” (19:08–20:19)
• Parental Skepticism:
  • Aims to educate parents that dance can be a “real job”—not just a childhood hobby.

Reinvention and Adversity

• Coping with Setbacks:

  • Lost her business in 2020, faced significant struggles, but reinvented herself to find greater success.
    • “Having two years of really a lot of struggle but then reinventing myself and… created what I feel like is my dream business model.” (22:01)

• Major Milestones:

  • 100 episodes of her Business of Dance podcast
  • 20 years of the Hollywood Summer Tour in 2026 (23:18–23:35)

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Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “There’s this myth that dance is somehow the short-lived career… but I hope that I’m living proof that you can have family, be married, have three kids, build a seven-figure business, still be in the industry that you love.” — Menina (00:00; 16:23)
• “Because at the end of the day, there’s no other you on the planet… Lean into that superpower and that’s when you really will find where you belong.” — Menina (00:35; 19:08)
• “Dance is not just a bunch of steps… It’s the emotion you bring, the connection you have… Our job is to give people an experience.” — Menina (12:05)
• “My career has evolved through the different seasons of life… I also want to be an example for other young dancers—and their parents.” — Menina (17:51)
• “Life is a dance. When you hit a roadblock, just learn to kickball, change, and pivot.” — Menina (17:25)
• “Now anybody with a phone can become a… celebrity, get brand deals, and recognition worldwide. The game has changed.” — Rudy (07:13)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Myth of the Short Dance Career: (00:00–00:23; 16:23)
• Family and Early Training: (02:29–03:48)
• Move to LA & Landing First Big Gigs: (03:36–04:46)
• Dancer Life vs. Now (Social Media Era): (07:11–08:52)
• Flow State/'The Pocket' in Dance: (11:35–13:06)
• Mentoring Young Dancers/Packaging Talent: (14:56–16:23)
• Advice to Aspiring Dancers: (19:08–20:19)
• Dealing with Setbacks and Reinvention: (22:01–22:48)
• Celebrating Podcast & Program Milestones: (23:18–23:35)

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Memorable Moments

• Green Alien on Star Trek:

  • Menina’s guest role led to comic strips, video games, and a lifelong place in the Trek fandom (04:46–05:55).

• Adapting as a Mother and Entrepreneur:

  • “I was just in six countries with my kids this summer.” (17:23)
  • On business and parenthood: Menina demonstrates flexibility and perseverance—not letting societal expectations limit career possibilities.

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How to Connect with Menina

• Instagram: @meninafortunato
• Website: meninafortunato.com
• Business of Dance Platform: bizofdance.com

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Closing Thoughts

This episode is an inspiring roadmap for anyone—dancers or entrepreneurs—looking to fuse passion with business acumen and create a lasting, adaptive career. Menina’s story is both motivational and packed with practical advice, proving that with the right mindset, reinvention, and willingness to embrace change, extraordinary success is within reach.

Transcript

[A]

There's this myth that dance is somehow the short lived career. It's only going to last you a few years and then you're done and the industry spits you out. Yeah. But I hope that I'm living proof that you can, you can have family, you can be married, you can have three kids, you can build a seven figure business. You can still be in the, in the industry that you love. For me, which is dance. Make a good living doing it and feeling fulfilled and traveling the world.

[B]

Menina Fortunato is a dynamic, accomplished, and globally recognized entrepreneur, former professional dancer and mentor, best known for building a global platform, empowering dancers to turn their passion into thriving careers.

[A]

Because at the end of the day, there's no other you on the planet. And I would tell my younger self that you are unique, you are special. There is no other you out there. Just really lean into that superpower and that's when you really will find where you belong. I find that talent, yes, is important, but it's only a part of the equation. There's other aspects that they need in order to be successful. My name's Rudy Moore, host of Living the Red Life Podcast, and I'm here

[B]

to change the way you see your

[A]

life in your earpiece every single week.

[B]

If you're ready to start living the red life, ditch the blue pill, Take the red pill. Join me in Wonderland and change your life. Welcome back to another episode of the Living youg Legacy podcast, the Red Life Edition. Moments away from filming another Legacy Makers episode. And this one's special to my heart. Cause every time a dancer or a dance instructor is in our presence, I always freak out. And if fanboy out. Menina, how are you today?

[A]

I'm great. I'm excited to be here. The set is wild. I love the theme and Rudy's mind. I guess this is an extension of him. And yeah, we got comic strips and all kinds of shoes.

[B]

I like how two visual artists are

[A]

all like, oh, no, I'm just like eye candy. Like, where do I look? What am I supposed to focus on?

[B]

So Menina Fortunado.

[A]

Yes. Well, my full name, if you really want to go there, is Menina Damul.

[B]

Damul.

[A]

Fortunato.

[B]

Fortunato.

[A]

So it's. Well, menina means little girl in Portuguese. Damul means of love in French. Fortunato means lucky or fortunate in Italian.

[B]

There you go. And the podcast scene and scene. So platform owner. And when you think of platforms, a lot of people don't think about dance platforms. They probably think of like, you know, Just dance. They think of music videos, but you've obviously taken it to a whole new level where it should be. Talk about that journey.

[A]

So I started off as a dancer. My father was my first dance teacher.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So he owned two dance studios. So I grew up in a dance studio. Well, backtrack. My mother was a choreographer at Club Med. That's where she met my father. She needed a dance partner. He was not a dancer. She thought he was cute and he accepted the offer. She taught him how to dance. So I guess you could say I was born into a dance family.

[B]

What a love story.

[A]

Wow. So, grew up in my dad's dance studio. Did the whole competition dance thing growing up. My mother as a dance mom, decided that she wanted to start a dance competition when I was 13.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So I had a very early education when it comes to the dance business. And while I was helping my dad with his studio, helping my mom with her competition, I was competing in dance. I was teaching when I was 12 at my father's dance studio. And then my first professional gig was when I was 16. Fast forward. I moved to LA. I'm from Vancouver. I moved to LA when I was 20. A long time ago.

[B]

Oh, don't do that. That was like last Thursday.

[A]

Yeah, totally, right?

[B]

We compress time here.

[A]

And I moved out to LA to pursue the dream with my car, my clothes. Moved into an apartment in North Hollywood that I'd never seen until the day that I moved in with a roommate that I never met until the day I moved in.

[B]

Right on.

[A]

I had an agent already. I had a work visa because I'm Canadian. Very similar to Rud Story. I had to get the whole 01 visa thing. If anybody understands that, there's some Rudy lore.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

And within the first month I was working with Paula Abdul, who was my like teen idol. She was my first concert as a kid. So that was an amazing start. A month later, I did the Pepsi commercials with Britney Spears for the Super Bowl. That was what we did in 2001 and then 2002 it aired on Super Bowl. That was my first commercial ever. Great first commercial. And then I had a good 10 year run as a professional dancer. So I've worked with Britney Spears, Beyonce, Earth Woman Fire, Paula Abdul, Carmen Electra, ZZ Top, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, MC Hammer, William Hung, if anybody remembers him,

[B]

of course he's still, he's still huge. He is banking American Idol. He's still huge.

[A]

And then I did some TV and film. I did, I guess starred on Star Trek Enterprise. I played Maraza, a green alien.

[B]

Oh, not a Klingon. You definitely look. That's a compliment, by the way. You look like a Klingon. That's a compliment.

[A]

I was a green alien and that was a whole episode of my journey as well, because that show led to trading cards, comic strips, video games, sci fi appearances. So now I'm part of the Long Live and prosper Trek family.

[B]

You're all about science and going and exploring. I'm all about magic and wizards. I'm all about Jedis. Well, Trekkies and Star wars fans don't get along by nature really.

[A]

Are they. Are they rivals?

[B]

Absolutely. That's. These. All these noises that I'm making are all negatives. This is me praising Star Trek even though there's a place for Star Trek. But you're among Star wars fans here, Klingong.

[A]

I was never a Trek fan, but I became a part of the Trek family and. And they are the most loyal fans that you could ever ask for. I still get fan mail to this day. And that was 20 years ago. And all I did was guest star in one episode, but it was a very iconic episode. Anyways, I had a great.

[B]

And we would show you the B roll, but we can't because of licensing reasons.

[A]

So look it up. I'm green alien mini and a Fortunato. You'll see all kinds of green.

[B]

Nice thought, thought, thought.

[A]

I worked on MADtv for six seasons as a dancer as well.

[B]

What?

[A]

So that was fun.

[B]

You out J Lo'd jlo.

[A]

Is that a thing?

[B]

Wasn't jlo on? On? No, she wasn't in Living Color.

[A]

Living Color.

[B]

Ah, so you were rivals with JLo.

[A]

But I don't know about rivals, but she. Yeah, I guess. I mean, and Living Color was the comedy show of. Of that era.

[B]

Agreed. Yes.

[A]

TV and SNL were kind of rival shows.

[B]

The SNL was the we're in New York and then Mad TV and then In Living Color were more like grimy, like real F you this and like dog's Dancing was dope. And then SNL was more like New York, which is great, but not as cool and grimy.

[A]

Well, for the time that TV was fun are hilarious. And we did all kinds of spoofs. I did a spoof for Britney Spears, Madonna, Jessica Simpson, Bobby Brown, Snoop Dogg, you know, so I got to.

[B]

I love how you name all these artists and me as an 80s 90s kid, I'm like, I. I can see eras, what it felt, music, poetry. Don't you feel like that's sort of missing today. Like everyone's an influencer.

[A]

Well, the game has changed.

[B]

The game's absolutely changed.

[A]

Now anybody with a phone can become a, well, influencer slash celebrity, get brand deals and get recognition worldwide and make a ton of money, you know.

[B]

So everyone now is Lady Gaga. Everyone is all this. So within that noise, dude, how, how does a dancer stay unique?

[A]

Well, the landscape of dancers has changed because I didn't grow up with social media. So when I had this fan base, they actually had to find my website to buy your DVD and they couldn't see me until I actually went to an event. So there wasn't the ability to connect with your audience.

[B]

There was a demand.

[A]

And so when you did connect, it was a real novelty. Whereas now people can just do a live and they're literally talking to their fans in real time. I didn't have access to that. And I also right around things when really things started to pick up, especially with Instagram, like 2010, I had my first baby, so I was busy being a mom.

[B]

Yeah, good for you.

[A]

And I missed the boat. I felt like when it came to

[B]

social media, you did it the right way, trust me.

[A]

Because literally I looked up a couple years later and I'm like, what do you mean? I couldn't get an audition for a commercial unless I had 10,000 followers. That was the first time I ever

[B]

heard that back then. Really?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's a little advanced to be honest. Cuz now it's just like the law.

[A]

Well, yeah, because in my generation you had a headshot, you had a resume, you had to get in the room and you're.

[B]

The audition starts when you walk into

[A]

the room and you had to audition the human contact.

[B]

How are you, sir?

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

And profile. Then do it and leave. That's it. Not anymore.

[A]

Now it's. You can't even get in the room. And then sometimes there's no even castings either anymore. It's literally like just direct booking. They look at your socials and I mean that's. That's how it is.

[B]

How cool would it be to be around this person? Oh God. It's completely just. There's a reason why Michael Jackson doesn't exist anymore. There's a reason why all these iconic artists of purity that understands the 1, 2, 3, the count no longer in this reality because now we're in the digital AI artist era. And it's awesome for folks like myself, but it's also sad for folks myself that recognize the frequency shift. So I'm excited to speak to someone like you. We've had Matt Stefania here. We actually launched. We launched his. Lauren and I helped him launch his new clothing brand. So he's part.

[A]

Oh, you're a part of that. Because I totally saw him just announced that, like recently, a few weeks ago,

[B]

those photos were shot in that studio. Those were my photos, homie. Hello.

[A]

Small world. Yeah.

[B]

And Lauren here.

[A]

My event in 2016.

[B]

Yeah. Lauren is. Was in those photos. Yeah. Actually Lauren is a trained dancer. We were actually wanting to surprise you. Be like, I come from the music video world. I've had like five to 10 music videos on MTV when MTV was a thing.

[A]

Well, that's what I grew up watching is watching MTV music videos imitating and recording on VHS. And you're like. And record.

[B]

Yeah. Carson Daly, 10th sp spot after 10. The. The mood and the darkness got. You know, that's where Deftones was born. That's where Britney Spears was born. And it's ironic. I discovered Britney Spears watching much music, a Canadian mtv, but sitting in Miami. And I remember sitting there going, who is this girl? What's this? This is dope. I'm like, someone figured it out. Like Britney Spears. Yeah. It feels like it's time. Like when labels were a thing and you had an AR team and you had all these people that knew what it was to discover an artist and plan them and give them the. And develop them and teach them. You're going to fail, but we're going to make you fail on purpose because these numbers are actually going to ascend you for next season. We have to build. Now all of that knowledge is gatekept by philosophers of whatever they want to call it, and they charge these ridiculous amounts of dollars and tell the youth, I'm a coach. Really, folks like you are the real thing. Because when it comes to music, when it comes to dance, dance and music is everywhere. Like, music is the international language. You can see it in the stars. You can see it in a microscope. And when you add the body movement to dance, that's where folks like you find that space. And what is it called? The it. That moment when you fall into the sound.

[A]

Get into the pocket.

[B]

Bingo. That's it. When you land into the pocket. Most human beings don't understand what that even means. It's called flow. Talk about that. Expand the stars there. Because when Matt Stefania is here and you're here, I really enjoy the topic of just music and dance.

[A]

What does it mean to be in the pocket? Is that what you're asking?

[B]

Yeah. What does it Mean to be in the flow. What does it mean to be in the energy? Like, there's dancers.

[A]

Ever asked me that?

[B]

Yeah, because most people don't understand what the hell I'm talking about.

[A]

Well, when it comes to dance and movement, getting into the pocket is really. Get into your musicality, like really feeling the energy of the moment in the music. And it's not. Dance is not just a bunch of steps. No, you have to add some. Some flavor to it. You know, there's.

[B]

You got the Madonna, the goddamn.

[A]

You gotta have the.

[B]

The Jackson.

[A]

The way I guess compare it to like food. Like, you can't just have a bland piece of chicken. Like, you have to season it. You have to, you know, it's got to be nice and golden and cooked like it. So with dance, it's the same thing. It's not just about the movement. It's the emotion that you bring to the table. It's the musicality that you have with. It's the connection you have with the people, either on the stage or in the room or in the audience and being able to make somebody feel something. Because, I mean, I think the job of any performer, singer, dancer, actor, doesn't matter. Comedian, is people are looking to feel something. They want to have an experience. And I think that's our job as dancers, is to give people an experience. And it's an experience for us as well. I mean, performing is the biggest high of all.

[B]

Highs. Oh, my God, you're speaking to a dj. Just being behind the booth is like, wow. Like, when that is what can wow. It's amazing.

[A]

Like, just imagine this for a moment. Close your eyes. Seoul, Korea Olympic Stadium. I was a huge K Pop star. His name is Rain. This was before.

[B]

What?

[A]

You know who Rain is?

[B]

Yeah, I do.

[A]

What you know? Hell yeah, I know Rain because I know K Pop is so popular.

[B]

No, I know Rain Race at the. Like, it was the beginning.

[A]

Yeah, he was the OG before people knew what K Pop was. I was. I was the token white girl on tour.

[B]

Nice. Good for you, man.

[A]

The Jamie King. The director made me go blonde.

[B]

Jamie fucking King. If you know, dropping names like, we don't know who Jamie fucking fiend is, you know, I know who he is.

[A]

He's not on social media, so most people don't know who he is.

[B]

I don't know. I know who he is. I'm not friends with him, but I know who fucking Jamie Keane is.

[A]

He's directed all the Madonna's tours. He's done Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Ricky Martin. But yeah, he's not on social media so most people don't know who he is. So that industry people do, but the average person doesn't. Anyways, neither am I. So we're at. Where am I? At Seoul, Korea Olympic Stadium, 60,000 people screaming, audience. You go on stage, pyro flying. You got, we had a helicopter. There was all the screens. The adrenaline of the music, like feeling underneath your feet, the roaring of the crowd. Like when you get off stage after a night like that, it's like there's a high but then there's a low.

[B]

Oh, the lowest.

[A]

Terrible. You come off of that and you're like, it's. And it happens so fast. Like you practice and you know, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse for that like very short moment. It feels like a short moment at least. And then afterwards it's, you know, back to your hotel and put on your pajamas.

[B]

Then you sit there and go, what the hell just happened?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then you watch yourself and learn. Like, how have you transposed all those energies, all those stories into what you do today?

[A]

Well, now I'm in the phase of mentoring dancers. So I'm now preparing other young dancers for their careers. So I've basically taken everything that I've learned, both good and bad, learn from my mistakes and learn from my achievements and basically I show them the ropes, I help them with the business side of the entertainment business because I work with kids and teens and adults that have the talent. So I don't actually teach them dance, although I've been teaching dance for 30 plus years. But I teach them how to create careers, how to actually package and market themselves because they are a product at the end of the day. And I like to say that we're going to spend the next six months packaging your products, headshots, resumes, demo reels, websites, casting profiles, and then we also include life lessons, anything from taxes and nutrition and financing and mental skills because I find that talent, yes, is important, but it's only a part of the equation and it's really important for these young dancers coming up that they understand there's other aspects that they need in order to be successful. You know, Matt Siffanian is a great example of that perfect example where he, he didn't even grow up as a dancer. Growing up he is very much self taught. And yes, he may have taken some classes but I'm sure there's other dancers that are light years more trained, more talented. But he really understood branding and marketing and sales and the ability he was giving us tips.

[B]

Oh, you gotta do this, you gotta do that. Oh yeah, you're absolutely right, bro.

[A]

So he's a beautiful example of someone that has really capitalized on that. And you take what you have, your talent and you know how to be able to package it, present it and sell it and be able to make a career out of it. And not every dancer understands that. So that's my goal with these younger dancers, is to show them how to become viable, marketable assets for their careers and to have sustainability for life. You know, because there's this myth that dance is somehow the short lived career. It's only gonna last you a few years and then you're done and the industry spits you out. But I hope that I'm living proof that you can have a family, you can be married, you can have three kids, you can build a seven figure business, you can still be in the industry that you love. For me, which is dance. Make a good living doing it and feeling fulfilled and traveling the world. You know, people said that, oh once because I used to tour a lot and once I got pregnant, they're like, oh, your travel life is gonna stop. I was just in six countries with my kids this summer.

[B]

That's amazing. Good for you, man.

[A]

So that didn't exactly stop. I just had to, I like to say that life is a dance. When you hit a roadblock, just learn to kickball, change and pivot.

[B]

Hell yeah.

[A]

So I just had to adjust, you know, with kids I was like, okay, how are we gonna make this work? So my kids are travelers. They, you know, and my second is a performer and my third is maybe a performer in training. My first is, she's volleyball. She does it. She's like, mom, I don't want to be a dancer, so it's fine.

[B]

Right on.

[A]

So, yeah, it's just my career has evolved through the different seasons of life and I also want to be an example for other young dancers to show them and their parents, because that is important too. Because there's a lot of parents that said, oh yeah, dance is fun and cute for you when you're a kid, when you graduate high school, go get a real job, you know, and I want to be able to show them that this can be absolutely the real job if you want it to be.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

You just really have to understand the business.

[B]

The business. It's very important because, you know, I, I've heard Lauren and I have a share, same friend, a mentor. He's worked with Michael Jackson, the Lewis and his Favorite moments is the training sessions. The moments of being in the energy with these, these artists. Back when artists meant something because they would change the frequency of the room, the energy would lift and, and apparently you would get into hymns and prayer and then magic would start manifesting. And before BTS cameras were around, think these magic scenes would happen? I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. How does one begin their journey of taking that literally, that first step before their first four count back when? I guess that essentially what I'm asking is if you're, if you are watching this mini version of you, what would you tell yourself and what else would you tell folks that want to jump into this world? Where do they start?

[A]

Well, I mean, you didn't just start in dance class. I mean, I think you need to develop your skill. So for some people there are self taught dancers and Matt's an example of that. But I do think that training is the first step. You do need to work on your craft. You do need to have some talent. So that's first thing. But once you have the talent, the next step is really educating yourself on the business side. If you do want to pursue this as a career, you really have to understand how the business works. You need to understand what, what is an agent, what do they do, what is a casting, how does that work? How do you look? How do you get a job? Where do you look for it to get a job, you know, and understanding or even not even just waiting for the job. But how do you create opportunities for yourself? How do you look at the marketplace and say, where do I fit in? What is my unique superpower? What can I bring to the industry? Because at the end of the day, there's no other you on the planet. And I would tell my younger self that you are unique, you are special. There is no other you out there. Just really lean into that superpower and that's when you really will find where you belong. And funny story, my very first solo was Prince Baby I'm a star.

[B]

Oh my God.

[A]

So if that wasn't a like foreshadow

[B]

of my future, gosh, I gotta ask, what was it like being around that Prince energy?

[A]

No, no, I wasn't. No, I wasn't dancing for Prince. Music choice for my first solo was Prince's Baby I'm a Star.

[B]

Gotcha.

[A]

I did not have the pleasure of working with.

[B]

I was gonna say, so what was playing out in your head as you performed to the song?

[A]

I don't think I was thinking too much. Of it. I was nine years old. Like, wow.

[B]

I was a very advanced nine year old.

[A]

What do I know about, you know, I, at the time, I just loved dance. And there was a show that's actually coming back. I don't know if you remember Star Search.

[B]

Really? They're bringing it back.

[A]

They're bringing it back. Friends is working on the creative team.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

But that show really changed my life because I was a little kid used to watch that show because we didn't have Internet, we didn't have social media. That was my only access to what else was out there outside of my community. So I was. That was, I mean, that was the era of Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears.

[B]

They were on the show first rivalries.

[A]

Right as little kids. And I remember seeing those kids on stage and going, wow, I want to do that. And there was a group personality plus that did a dance to Baby I'm a star.

[B]

Right on.

[A]

And that was. After seeing that performance, I was like, I want that song.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

And I even got a similar costume.

[B]

That's great though. You were manifesting. You were already like you, but in a nine year old little body. You were just like, I'm already running a platform, already doing this. You just don't know it yet because I'm this big. So how do folks learn more about you? Actually, let's rewind. You're moments away from filming your episode for Legacy Makers. What are we going to learn about you? Give us a preview.

[A]

You're going to learn about my journey started off as a young dancer and how I essentially followed my dreams and pursued it on a grand level that I never saw possible. But you're also going to hear about the adversity and the challenges that I faced at every juncture and every phase of life. Starting a family, having kids, losing my business in 2020. That's a whole chapter right there. And then having two years of really a lot of struggle, but then reinventing myself and my business and in the end created what I feel like is my dream business model. Being able to do what I love. Serving dancers from the comfort of my own home or while traveling, while still being a wife and mom and building a seven figure empire that I never thought was possible.

[B]

Seven figure empire. I've got some show notes here. The Business of dance and the Business of Dance podcast.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Are those the two main things you'd like to be talking about today?

[A]

So the business of dance started as an online mentorship program. That's my core offer.

[B]

Right on.

[A]

And then it evolved into a podcast, which there's a whole story behind that that I will go into of how that even evolved. I didn't even know a thing about podcasting three years ago in two. And actually I'm celebrating my 100th episode this Sunday.

[B]

Right on.

[A]

So that's a huge milestone. So going from I didn't know what a podcast was to how do I do a podcast to hitting the hundredth milestone.

[B]

Right on. Congratulations.

[A]

Thank you. So that's evolved. But prior to that, I had the Hollywood Summer tour, which is also celebrating its 20th year in 2026.

[B]

Right on.

[A]

So that's another. So a lot of big milestones.

[B]

I was just gonna say a lot of big things on the way. I feel like you're just getting started to this legacy makers thing.

[A]

I feel like. I feel like my entire career has led me to this stage. That is not the stage that I ever envisioned for myself, but it's actually better than I thought. So that has really been a cool epiphany that being a young dancer would lead to where I am today.

[B]

Cool. Any closing comments? And how can folks find you on the Internet?

[A]

Well, I'm the only Menina Fortunato out there, so I think that's easy enough. Instagram is probably the best. Manina Fortunato is my handle and I have maninafortuneo.com I have bizofdance.com and yeah, any, any of the socials, but Instagram is probably the easiest to. To find me.

[B]

Well, Nina, thank you so much for your time and energy. That was quite an exciting, exciting podcast. I hope that was a good warm up. Warm up. See what it did there to your episode. Manina Fortunato, it's such a pleasure. I am Ray Gutierrez and we are both inside success.

[A]

Sam.