Jana Castillo

0:00

- [Male Voice] Photos of a pale, dark-haired girl

0:02

are distorted in various ways.

0:03

The distortions fade to reveal the girl at different ages.

0:07

Grinning, she wears a pile of colorful hats.

0:11

- [Female Voice] I have really, really understood

0:13

the difference between acceptance and tolerance.

0:17

- [Narrator] Her hair drawn into a tight bun,

0:19

she stands smiling at a large group of trophies.

0:22

Wearing a simple tiara,

0:24

she holds a ballet pose.

0:26

- [Young Female Voice] So sick of justifying

0:28

why I deserve to be somewhere.

0:30

- [Narrator] Dark, concentric rings

0:31

divide a young woman's pale face.

0:33

The circles slide into place and close,

0:35

smoothing her freckled profile.

0:37

Blocks form into a photo of a girl

0:39

eating a sandwich using chopsticks.

0:42

- [Female Voice] How many people with disabilities

0:44

have been completely ignored?

0:47

- [Narrator] Title: "Perspective Shift."

0:48

A line expands under the name "Jana Castillo."

0:52

The tall, slender Jana dances in a studio.

0:55

Reflected in a wall mirror,

0:56

she swings a leg up, then sinks into a crouch,

0:59

her arms moving sinuously.

1:01

Spinning, she tosses her long dark wavy locks.

1:04

Her torso horizontal,

1:05

she twirls with one leg high.

1:08

- [Jana] When I dance, it feels

1:09

like I'm both nothing and everything.

1:13

And the way it comes together is sort of a real-life magic.

1:19

And it's just always been like that since I was tiny.

1:23

- [Narrator] Kneeling, Jana rotates her torso,

1:25

arching it back then sweeping it low across the floor.

1:27

She dances athletically throwing herself

1:29

into spins, lunges, and twists.

1:31

- So Jana I've known for quite a long time now,

1:35

since she was a student.

1:36

Her, as a dancer for me,

1:38

she's really exciting, she is fearless,

1:42

she is absolutely powerful,

1:44

yet she has this beautiful subtlety about her as well.

1:49

- [Narrator] Jana dances robotically but fluidly.

1:51

- She has an ability to be quite asynchronous,

1:56

which is sometimes really delightful

1:58

for a choreographer to be able to work with

2:00

someone that can naturally take their body

2:03

into a kind of an interesting dis-coordinated place.

2:07

- I believe Jana is probably one of Australia's best

2:10

or top female dancers at the moment,

2:13

- [Narrator] A man smiles from a sepia photo.

2:15

Dancing at home, Jana flicks her skirt.

2:17

- I grew up with Spanish heritage.

2:19

My jojo was in the Spanish civil war,

2:22

and he walked across the French Alps and escaped Spain.

2:27

I remember dancing around in the lounge room.

2:29

He was clapping as flamenco dancers do

2:32

and kind of cheering me on.

2:35

He had such a passion for life

2:37

and such a zest for emotion and movement.

2:41

- [Narrator] An elderly man sits by a piano.

2:44

- He was on his deathbed

2:45

when he held my little brother's hand, and he said,

2:48

"Now you make sure you look after your mom,

2:50

and you be a good boy,"

2:51

and held onto my sister's hand and said,

2:54

"You be a good girl.

2:56

Go to uni and get a good job."

2:58

And then he came to me and he said,

3:00

"Just put the Castillo name up in lights."

3:02

You know, do what you...

3:04

Do what you love, and share what you love."

3:06

And that was literally the last thing he ever said to me.

3:10

- [Narrator] Her parents, Voret and Janene Castillo

3:12

smile from old photos.

3:14

- [Jana] Mom and Dad actually grew up in the same town,

3:17

but they didn't actually meet until they moved to Melbourne.

3:20

- He rang me up and invited me out on a date,

3:23

and we went bowling.

3:25

- 10 pin bowling.

3:26

- We kissed goodnight,

3:28

and I just knew that he was the right person.

3:31

(laughter)

3:32

And we've been together ever since.

3:33

It's gonna be 40 years next month.

3:36

- [Narrator] Photos show their wedding and a date.

3:38

- Mum always knew that she wanted to be a mum,

3:41

and Dad knew then that he had a very low chance

3:44

of having kids.

3:46

Didn't phase Mum; she was like,

3:47

"Okay, well you're the fellow for me,

3:49

so we're gonna have kids."

3:52

- The doctors suggested we try IVF.

3:55

They did a blood test, and they said,

3:56

"Oh, you know, it was pretty high hormone levels."

3:59

They said, "Oh, let's go send you for an ultrasound,"

4:02

and they saw two little embryos, and we were really excited.

4:06

We thought, "Oh, we've waited all this time.

4:09

Now we've got two to make up for our wait."

4:11

(laughter)

4:14

- I don't know that I actually really did prepare for twins,

4:17

but I still remember sitting on the lounge room floor

4:19

one day and thinking to myself,

4:21

"Imagine how easy it would be with just one."

4:23

(laughter)

4:25

- [Narrator] Jana and a brown-haired woman

4:26

laugh in an outdoor cafe.

4:28

- [Jana] My relationship with Lauren

4:30

has always been quite special.

4:33

I don't think I would be who I am without her.

4:36

- [Narrator] Lauren Castillo, Jana's twin sister.

4:38

- Living with Jana, there was always

4:40

a spontaneous theater show.

4:42

Like, if we were walking down the street,

4:44

and there was a busker playing some music,

4:47

then Jana would often jump in

4:50

and start being part of the entertainment.

4:52

- She entertained us all the time.

4:53

(laughter)

4:55

- Right from when she was a baby,

4:56

the way that her face lit up

4:58

just captured people's attention.

5:00

And that is something that a performer does.

5:03

- [Narrator] Little Jana has curly blonde hair.

5:05

- I just remember holding her,

5:06

and she gave me this big grin, and I just...

5:09

I remember saying that,

5:10

"Oh, you're gonna be on stage one day, kiddo."

5:12

- Mum would always say that I never stopped moving.

5:16

I came feet first out into the world,

5:18

and I've been dancing ever since.

5:20

- [Narrator] In "Play School," Benita entwines her fingers.

5:24

- I first knew that I wanted to be on stage

5:27

when I was two and a half.

5:29

And we were at a live "Play School" show,

5:32

which is an iconic children's show in Australia.

5:36

- Hello, has anyone ever played this with you before?

5:40

- And Benita was up there on stage.

5:44

I was looking up, and I saw them performing,

5:47

and then I remember looking around the audience

5:51

and how engaged everyone was,

5:53

and how everyone was having such a good time.

5:55

You know, people were clapping and smiling,

5:58

and everyone was really involved.

6:01

And I just, from there on, I just went,

6:02

"I have to do that."

6:05

(shutter clicks)

6:06

I didn't fit the 90s school system at all.

6:10

Mom was amazing; she says,

6:11

"You have to make it work for you.

6:13

You have to understand it.

6:14

And if you have to do something differently

6:16

to get the same goal, that's okay."

6:19

And she was really supportive in that way.

6:21

- Because she just had all this energy all the time,

6:24

and she didn't know how to direct it.

6:26

And it wasn't 'til she started dancing

6:28

that she started really being able to direct that energy

6:31

in a positive way.

6:33

- My yaya, she would record all of these old ballets on VHS,

6:38

and when we went and stayed with her, she would play them.

6:41

So I followed along and copied every moment,

6:44

like spot on to my four year old brain

6:47

until we went up to this kind of penche moment,

6:50

which is where you stand on one leg,

6:51

and the other one's kind of in the splits.

6:54

So I went up and I went...

6:55

As I went to go down,

6:56

I fell over, and I just got up,

6:57

and I remember so clearly thinking,

6:59

"Oh, well I need to go to lessons."

7:01

- [Narrator] A pile of ballet shoes.

7:03

- So these are my just little ballet shoes.

7:05

So this would have been when I was about 11.

7:09

And I remember...

7:10

I remember my first point shoes and going up on point,

7:12

and I loved it.

7:14

That one's pretty gross.

7:15

I used to get a hole all the way through.

7:18

So it wears down because it's paper-mache.

7:20

- [Narrator] She sticks her finger through the toe.

7:22

- I remember the very first day of my ballet class.

7:25

I remember the exercises we did,

7:28

I remember the music,

7:29

I remember my teacher, and I just felt at home.

7:35

I loved ballet because I wanted to be a male ballet dancer,

7:39

and I wanted to fly like them.

7:42

I wanted to jump and turn like them.

7:44

I wanted to do princely roles

7:47

and pick the ballet girls up above my head

7:51

and twirl them around.

7:54

- [Narrator] Jana rests one hand on a ballet barre

7:56

as she gracefully swings her leg.

7:59

- I remember we were at this wedding,

8:01

and we were on the dance floor,

8:02

and I was dancing with the flower girl.

8:05

And she was so pretty,

8:07

and I was twirling her all around,

8:09

and we were having such a great time.

8:13

And we were five,

8:15

so we were having a really good time,

8:17

but an adult came over and said,

8:19

"You two shouldn't be dancing like that together,"

8:21

and literally dragged this girl away.

8:24

And I remember going, "Oh, okay.

8:26

Oh, that's bad, all right."

8:29

And that...

8:30

Yeah, it was a really kind of bizarre experience.

8:34

- [Narrator] At her home, a table is covered

8:36

with a forest of trophies.

8:38

Jana looks through a pile of medals.

8:42

- We've got a couple of my medals and trophies here.

8:48

I think this is the first trophy I ever won.

8:52

That was lovely.

8:53

I then started like the Albury Eisteddfod

8:55

and things like that.

8:57

- [Narrator] Lauren.

8:58

- The local Albury Eisteddfod,

9:00

Jana had already reached the top of that competition.

9:03

- [Narrator] Home video shows Jana dancing.

9:05

- I ended up doing very well

9:07

in those regional kind of competitions.

9:11

- [Narrator] Janene.

9:12

- [Janene] And by the time she was 16,

9:13

she was in 30 items at the Eisteddfod.

9:17

- I remember when we were 17,

9:19

we did a tour around the country,

9:22

and we went to all of the different Eisteddfods,

9:25

- A lot of running around, trying to fit in.

9:27

Jana kept doing her private lessons

9:29

and her regular dance lessons.

9:30

- I was doing 500 kilometers a week

9:33

when the girls were near 11, driving kids around.

9:36

- And Wodonga's not that big.

9:37

- Yeah, it's certainly a small town.

9:39

(laughter)

9:40

- [Narrator] A colorful hooded jumpsuit.

9:42

- And I made this costume and painted it and everything.

9:46

And so Jana wore that and did her first part of the dance

9:50

as like a stick insect.

9:52

So then she crawled into here whilst doing choreography

9:55

while making it look super amazing.

9:57

- I had to undo myself, right.

10:01

And then hook my little finger into there...

10:04

- [Janene] Into here and blast apart.

10:06

So when she came out, she was a butterfly.

10:09

- [Narrator] The jumpsuit now has a purple bodice

10:11

and flowing wings.

10:13

- At 16, I auditioned for VICAS,

10:16

which is Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School.

10:18

So they both combine full time training

10:21

and your VCE, which is your high school certificate.

10:25

It meant that I was moving to Melbourne.

10:27

It meant that I could dance full time.

10:29

It meant that I could also do my studies.

10:32

It was really exciting.

10:33

I'd found these other people who love to dance

10:36

as much as I do.

10:38

Although I wanted to be a classical dancer at that time,

10:42

I also loved other styles.

10:44

VICAS really offered a huge variety

10:48

for such a young person.

10:50

- [Narrator] Jana, dynamically swings her torso, then leaps.

10:53

- At the end of year 12, I auditioned

10:55

for quite a number of different institutions

10:57

all over Australia and New Zealand,

10:59

and I ended up picking New Zealand School of Dance,

11:03

- [Narrator] Text: Craig Bary, dance choreographer.

11:06

- Yeah, New Zealand School of Dance is probably one of,

11:09

if not the best, dance schools in the Southern Hemisphere,

11:12

and I think most of the artists that come from there

11:16

are really prominent in the industry right now.

11:18

- It's a really exciting place to be, so...

11:24

I moved to New Zealand.

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- [Narrator] On a dark stage,

11:26

male dancers perform in gray dresses.

11:29

- Ultimately, what I wanted when I graduated

11:31

was full time work.

11:32

I always wanted to work with ADT.

11:35

You know, they're an internationally touring company,

11:38

and it's a full time gig.

11:39

You know, it's pretty special.

11:41

It was something that I really did aspire to.

11:44

- [Narrator] Text: Gary Stewart, artistic director.

11:46

Australian Dance Theater.

11:48

- Australian Dance Theater's

11:49

a very significant Australian company.

11:50

It has a 54 year history.

11:52

It's contributed a lot to Australian culture

11:55

and how we understand Australian dance,

11:58

both nationally and also internationally.

12:01

Many young dancers, it remains their hope

12:03

to be a member of Australian Dance Theater

12:06

and their aspirations,

12:07

so we attract dancers auditioning from all around the world.

12:11

- [Narrator] Dancers rehearse in a studio.

12:14

- A lot of dancers do things called "secondments,"

12:16

and they can do that throughout their training,

12:17

and that can also do that after they've graduated.

12:20

So it's really just a time...

12:21

It's kind of like an internship,

12:23

and I seconded with ADT,

12:25

and, you know, I really loved the movement.

12:27

It was really athletic; it was really exciting.

12:29

And I guess I had secretly hoped,

12:30

"Oh, maybe if I do those secondments,

12:32

I'll be seen," and...

12:33

- Well, it's very difficult for dancers

12:35

to get a position in any full time company.

12:37

It's a highly, highly competitive industry.

12:40

And, you know, often we go to see a show,

12:41

and there's someone we can't take our eyes off.

12:44

Well, I want a whole company of those kinds of people,

12:46

soloists, you know, entities within their own right,

12:49

that have their own agency and power and personality

12:52

and bring that to bear in the work.

12:54

- Although I loved seconding with ADT, you know,

12:57

at the time, there was no placements available,

13:00

or there was no interest.

13:02

- I really believed that that would be a perfect place

13:05

for her to go at that time.

13:06

When she called me and said that nothing really had come up,

13:09

that I was really surprised.

13:12

- [Narrator] In front of the wall mirror,

13:14

Jana crouches and lunges fluidly,

13:16

her arms snaking gracefully.

13:18

- I was working in the industry,

13:19

and I'd been out a few years by then.

13:22

I was freelancing, so I was, you know,

13:25

going from job to job,

13:27

doing all sorts of things.

13:29

I went back home straight after

13:31

I'd finished this show in Fiji,

13:35

and, usually, it takes about a week

13:39

to kind of recover from a show.

13:41

You know, you can feel a bit a bit down,

13:44

and it's just after-show blues; it's not a big deal.

13:47

I just felt like...

13:49

You know, something wasn't right,

13:51

and I was losing my balance.

13:52

And this is when I lost control of my body

13:54

for the first time.

13:56

You know, so I was taken to hospital, and they said,

13:58

"Right, we'll run a bunch of tests."

14:01

It then went under the umbrella

14:02

of a functional movement disorder,

14:04

or a functional neurological disorder.

14:06

So I'd started ticking, you know...

14:09

I'd started, you know, making sounds

14:11

and, you know, noticing my hands were coiling up.

14:14

And, you know, I was having problems walking around and...

14:18

- [Narrator] Text: Jana's video diaries.

14:21

- This is the difference between walking and dancing.

14:25

- [Narrator] Shoulders hunched, Jana walks carefully.

14:27

She then dances, swooping and spinning dynamically.

14:31

(whooshing noises)

14:35

- I feel a disconnect.

14:37

I feel like I'm in my body,

14:39

but I feel like my nerves get strangled.

14:44

When I do that, take some focus.

14:47

So it builds up more.

14:50

I don't know why,

14:51

but we'll try again.

14:53

- [Narrator] She leaps and spins, kicking her legs high.

14:57

- I even feel like it weird that I can dancing some times.

15:04

And...

15:07

Then I slow down.

15:11

- I had 12 weeks at home with Mum and Dad.

15:15

And I remember the producer of "Happy as Larry"

15:20

called me up and said, "Oh, you know,

15:21

are you able to do this big Australian tour?"

15:24

So I said, "You know, I have had some health issues,

15:27

but, you know, there's no reason why I can't dance."

15:32

So one of the reasons I did feel safe enough to do the

15:34

"Happy as Larry" Australian tour is because Craig,

15:38

who I had known for many years by then,

15:42

he was on as rehearsal director.

15:44

- So there was a lot of negotiating with the other dancers,

15:48

with her, making sure that everybody was comfortable

15:51

just getting out on that stage and performing,

15:53

- They didn't make me feel like I was different

15:55

or weird or odd.

15:57

And they would even do things...

16:00

You know, particularly Craig would do things,

16:02

like if I...

16:03

One of my ticks is "Seven," so I'd yell out, "Seven!"

16:05

- And in dancing, that's a really frustrating thing

16:08

because we're always counting to eight, so yeah...

16:10

So she would scream out "Seven,"

16:12

and I would have to scream out, "Eight,"

16:13

just to finish it off, round it off.

16:15

And I think making light of it with her kind of...

16:20

Well, I hope, made her and other dancers

16:24

feel a bit more comfortable.

16:25

- Certain work environments will say

16:27

that they are all-inclusive,

16:30

but they tolerate you; they don't accept you,

16:34

and that's huge.

16:35

That's huge because you can tell the difference.

16:39

I felt like if I was a bit tick-y or a bit dystonic,

16:46

I had to apologize, you know.

16:48

I had to remove myself from situations.

16:51

- [Narrator] In the cafe, Jana and Lauren

16:53

paint elaborate designs.

16:55

- Lauren has some little portable paints

16:58

and some little paintbrushes.

17:00

One of the things that we really love to do

17:02

is just go to a cafe and just sit there

17:04

and paint and drink coffee and...

17:07

Particularly, when I'm dystonic and things like that,

17:11

we'll have the waitress come up

17:14

and just talk with Lauren, say,

17:16

"What would you ladies like,"

17:19

and completely ignore that I'm even there.

17:23

I understand that people are uncomfortable,

17:26

and I can tell when people are scared,

17:30

and sometimes the way people deal with being scared

17:35

is they ignore you.

17:37

And that...

17:38

(music box music)

17:40

Sucks.

17:42

- [Narrator] Cut to black.

17:43

Craig Bary sits on a wooden veranda.

17:46

- So I was commissioned to create a show in New Zealand,

17:49

and I absolutely wanted Jana to be a part of that process.

17:54

I chose her and seven other artists to create a show,

17:57

which I called "Straight-Laced."

18:00

And the real context of the show

18:02

was I wanted to work with people

18:04

of different sexual orientation.

18:06

- I then found myself in a love story with another woman,

18:12

and that was really confronting

18:13

because I went, "Oh my gosh,

18:14

people in the audience might think that I'm a lesbian."

18:19

Kind of had all these connotations

18:20

that I didn't wanna be attached to,

18:22

and I just wanted to live my life and keep dancing.

18:27

It wasn't a big part of my identity.

18:29

It was just something that...

18:30

I just happened to like women.

18:31

- I think, for Jana, coming on board for "Straight-Laced..."

18:35

I think she was at a point in her life

18:37

where maybe she was ready to start discussing

18:40

or acknowledging her own sexual identity.

18:44

- We were chatting about the show one night,

18:46

and I just got really frustrated,

18:49

and I said, you know...

18:51

I was like, "Craig, I just don't wanna be gay.

18:54

I just don't want to be gay."

18:56

- And I can be quite blunt.

18:58

And I'm pretty sure I told her that she is who she is

19:01

and just get over it, move forward.

19:04

In some direct term.

19:06

(laughter)

19:09

- I was on tour in New Zealand with Okareka,

19:12

which is a wonderful dance company over there.

19:14

- [Narrator] On her hands and feet,

19:16

Jana hovers over a dancer.

19:17

- My friend called me up and she said,

19:20

"Oh, ADT's, having an audition, will you be coming?"

19:24

And I just thought if I was going to be working at ADT,

19:27

it would have happened by now, so...

19:29

And I went to the audition, and I had a ball.

19:33

- In the audition,

19:34

I asked her to do a particular sequence

19:38

from this work, "Be Yourself,"

19:40

and what she made out of that was really really something.

19:43

And then really drew my attention.

19:46

- [Narrator] Jana walks robotically

19:47

in a complex series of tiny motions.

19:49

- And then the other thing was her charisma,

19:52

and particularly her dramatic and emotional range.

19:57

- And then, I think, a few weeks later,

19:58

Gary called me up and he said,

19:59

"Oh, hi, Jana.

20:01

Just wondering if you'd like a year contract

20:03

with the company."

20:05

I accepted the job and packed up everything

20:07

and moved over to Adelaide.

20:09

- [Narrator] Rehearsal and performance are intercut.

20:12

- [Jana] It's a funny thing to actually look at the fact

20:15

that I'm living the dream that I had when I was seven.

20:19

- [Narrator] Jana dances in a trio.

20:21

- [Jana] There's no denying that

20:23

when I first joined the company, it was really hard.

20:26

It's an intense company, no matter what.

20:29

- [Narrator] Jana dodges a dancer's questing hands.

20:31

- At the time, I was hell-bent

20:33

on hiding my movement disorder.

20:36

I didn't want anyone to know.

20:37

- Not many people in the dance industry knew at the time

20:42

the extent of what she was going through.

20:44

- Performing "Off the Record" was the first time

20:47

that I allowed anyone outside my friends and family

20:51

to see that I had a movement disorder.

20:54

The character is me; it's my life out there.

20:57

I told some pretty personal stories.

21:00

- And it was a really amazing production

21:02

to tell Jana's story in a way that was very cathartic

21:07

for her and the rest of the family.

21:10

- People don't know a lot about different types

21:13

of movement disorders because there are so many.

21:16

It's usually I get all my ticking done off side-stage,

21:19

and I ended up being on stage the whole time,

21:21

so I couldn't...

21:22

I couldn't get rid of my ticks; I just had to do them.

21:25

So that was a very different kind of experience for me.

21:29

- [Narrator] At rehearsals,

21:30

Jana rolls her back against a foam cylinder.

21:33

- [Jana] I think one of the greatest things

21:35

that ADT has done with me

21:39

is actually sit down and write a management plan.

21:43

- [Narrator] Gary Stewart sits on a stage.

21:45

- So it was actually our executive director

21:48

that suggested we need a management plan,

21:52

rather than just kind of pretending

21:54

as though nothing's happening.

21:56

It's sort of better just to have an open discourse

21:58

and open dialogue about that.

22:00

I think that's...

22:01

That's a much healthier approach.

22:02

- My friends with ADT have named certain types of ticking.

22:07

They call her "Mary Lou" 'cause she loves ballet.

22:09

"Yeah," and "Yeah, wow!"

22:12

(laughter)

22:13

So they all know when she's coming on

22:15

because I started getting really excited about something.

22:18

And then there's Creepy Kevin, and he whispers, and...

22:21

(stammers)

22:23

Kind of says, "Seven."

22:25

- [Narrator] A dancer aims a drill at Jana.

22:27

She reacts to its movements like a puppet.

22:30

Jana and two others dance with planks.

22:32

They perform a stylized beating.

22:34

- "Construct" is a piece that was created

22:37

by Tanya Lakey, and, tragically,

22:40

she passed away when she was 29.

22:44

The 10th anniversary of her passing,

22:47

Australian Dance Theater put on the piece "Construct."

22:52

- "Construct" is still a very timely work.

22:55

Even after 10 years,

22:56

it's still set inside social political climates.

23:02

Jana was probably cast in Christina's role

23:05

because of the extreme physicality that it requires

23:09

for you to be able to do that role.

23:12

- [Narrator] Jana performs acrobatically.

23:14

- Christina Chan is a phenomenal

23:16

performer and artist.

23:18

I would hate, personally, to try and stand in her shoes,

23:21

but, gosh, if anybody can, Jana really could;

23:25

she really stepped into that role

23:29

- [Narrator] Jana and a man dance near a fence

23:30

and a saw horse.

23:32

- You know, I think the thing that we really saw

23:34

on stage with Jana with that work

23:37

was just this kind of really supreme ability

23:40

to express these ideas through the constraints

23:46

and strictures of the choreographic narrative.

23:49

- [Narrator] They roll and spin across the stage.

23:51

Her parents are interviewed.

23:53

- I did feel like it was really special.

23:55

I really felt like she was at the top of her game.

23:59

And I remember thinking, "She's done it, she's done it.

24:02

She's doing what she loves."

24:04

It's her career; it's her life.

24:07

And she still enjoys doing what she does.

24:11

- [Narrator] The tree dancers bow.

24:14

- And I found out that I was long-listed

24:15

for the Australian Dance Awards for my role in "Construct."

24:21

You know, you do put blood, sweat, and tears

24:24

into your work,

24:25

so it is nice to be recognized by your peers.

24:28

- I think we all look to the Australian Dance Awards

24:32

for a little bit of a, you know...

24:36

a bit of an indication of where you sit

24:38

within the community.

24:39

- And then I received an email

24:43

that I had been short-listed,

24:46

and that was actually really quite amazing,

24:51

that I just felt like,

24:52

"I am doing it; I'm doing this job."

24:56

- We were just really excited and said,

24:58

"Well, we're definitely going to the awards night,"

25:01

and Jana said, "Oh, but I probably won't win."

25:03

And we said, "It doesn't matter.

25:04

We're just really proud of you for getting

25:06

to the top four, you know.

25:08

That's an achievement in itself, you know.

25:10

That's really special.

25:11

And we wanna be there."

25:14

- "Most Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer"

25:16

came up, and they went through the different nominees,

25:19

and I was getting ready to do like a big clap.

25:22

And then they said my name and I was like, "What?"

25:26

And I looked at Lauren and she's like, "Get up, get up."

25:28

- So exciting; I think I just went into shock.

25:32

I looked over, and Voret's got tears

25:33

running out of his face,

25:34

and the guy next to him said, "Is that your daughter,"

25:36

and he says, "Yes."

25:37

(laughter)

25:39

- I was a little bit emotional at the time, but...

25:44

(shutter clicks)

25:45

- I went up there and I kind of said, like,

25:47

"Oh, I'm stoked.

25:48

And I've been blessed with this opportunity

25:51

to be performing this amazing role,"

25:53

and I thanked my family who were right in the front row.

25:56

It was a really special moment for the family.

25:58

- [Narrator] in a photo, the smiling Castillos

26:00

pose with Jana's trophy.

26:01

Fade to black.

26:02

In the studio, Jana dances,

26:04

leaping and swinging her legs and torso.

26:08

- [Jana] I don't necessarily have to be

26:09

a professional dancer all my life,

26:11

but I know that it's never gonna leave me,

26:13

and I think I'll always be an entertainer.

26:15

- [Narrator] Jana jumps, throwing her legs out.

26:17

She spins, then ungulates her hips and torso.

26:20

- I love performing in massive opera houses,

26:23

and I love performing in intimate little spaces.

26:26

And I like just dancing with Lauren,

26:29

just the two of us.

26:31

- [Narrator] The twins dance in a lounge room.

26:33

- It's infectious.

26:34

Like when you watch her dance,

26:36

can't help, but, like,

26:37

make you smile because you can see

26:39

how much she loves it in every cell.

26:41

(inspiring music)

26:45

- [Narrator] Dark hair flying,

26:46

Jana dips and twists her torso,

26:48

twirls on one leg, then rolls across the floor.

26:51

(inspiring music)

26:55

- You know, like, way back when I was two and a half,

26:58

in a way I always just wanted to be like Benita

27:01

and influencing people in a positive way.

27:03

And I guess I have that in the back of my mind

27:05

every time I go onto a show.

27:08

- [Narrator] Jana rehearses.

27:08

Her head down, she wipes her brow and exhales.

27:12

- It doesn't matter if I'm tired.

27:13

It's not about me; it's about the audience,

27:15

and it's about the gift of sharing something

27:19

that's really special.

27:21

And in that moment, you know...

27:25

And then I love it.

27:28

- [Narrator] Jana smiles.

27:29

Cut to black.

27:31

Credits: Attitude Foundation

27:33

presents a "Taste Creative" production.

27:35

Producers: Leah James, Briana Miller.

27:37

Executive producers: Sally Browning, SPA,

27:40

Henry Smith.

27:40

Series writer and director, Genevieve Clay-Smith.

27:43

Editor, Josh Searle.

27:45

Directed by Genevieve Clay-Smith.

27:47

Audio description by the Sub Station.

27:50

Filmed on location in Victoria, South Australia,

27:53

and New South Wales on the traditional lands

27:55

of the Wirandiri, Wiradjuri, Waveroo,

27:57

Duduroa, Ghana and Kareingi people.

28:01

The logos for Victoria Australia,

28:03

ANZ, Inclusively Made, Taste Creative Attitude Foundation.

28:06

Copyright 2019, Taste Creative Proprietary Limited.