Kristina Cross and Brie Peña took very different paths through the dance world before joining forces as co‑founders of Elevation On Tour. In this episode, we talk about how a chance neighborhood connection turned into a career, why the “safe” choice isn’t always what it looks like, and how both women built businesses that prove dance can be a serious career.
Check Out These Highlights:
Kristina shares how babysitting for her neighbor (who happened to be a drill team director) set her on a path from gymnast to dancer, eventually leading her into business ownership and expanding Crowd Pleasers into a premier Texas company.
Brie recalls growing up as an only child, quitting dance to try sports, then rediscovering her passion in high school and realizing dance was the place she belonged.
Together, they reflect on how dance teaches kids more than choreography — confidence, discipline, resilience, and life lessons that last far beyond the stage. They also talk about the stigma of the “starving artist” and why creative careers can be stable, lucrative, and deeply rewarding when paired with vision and business savvy.
Finally, Kristina and Brie share how Elevation On Tour grew out of decades of shared experience, and why they believe dance is about building people, not just performances.
About Kristina Cross and Brie Peña:
Kristina Cross and Brie Peña are co‑founders of Elevation On Tour and longtime leaders in the dance industry. Kristina is also the owner of Crowd Pleasers Dance, while Brie has built her career as a dancer, educator, and entrepreneur. Together, they create opportunities for dancers and staff to thrive in careers that combine artistry with business growth.
Connect with Kristina and Brie:
🌐 Website: https://elevationontour.com/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevationontour/
💬 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elevationontour
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Okay, you guys. This one's a little different, and I absolutely loved it. My guests today are Kristina Cross and Brie Peña, co-founders of Elevation On Tour, and this is actually the first time I've ever had two founders on the show together. Their stories start decades apart from each other in totally different corners of the dance world, but they eventually collide into one business they now run side by side. We talk about how a chance neighborhood connection turned into a career, why the safe choice isn't always what it looks like from the outside, and how both of them landed in business ownership. We also talk about what dance actually gives kids that has nothing to do with the dance itself. Things like confidence, discipline, resilience, and all the stuff that matters more than ever. Are you ready? Let's get into it
Toby Myles: Hey, Kristina and Brie. Welcome to the podcast.
Kristina Cross: Hey. Hi. Good to
Toby Myles: be here. Hi. I'm excited for this conversation. We were talking a little bit off-camera. This is the first episode where I've had two founders on the show at the same time, and so, uh, which I think is gonna be super fun. Um, and I know you both have different parts to your story, and then ultimately, your stories kind of merge, uh, into one business that you run together, and, um, I, I think this is gonna be super fun.
So let's... I wanna kick things off by giving you each the opportunity to kind of travel back in time to either, like, a moment, or maybe it's, like, more than one moment that you feel like really set you on the path that you're, are on right now. So Kristina, if you would, why don't you start?
Kristina Cross: Yeah. So, um, my story actually starts way back in fourth grade when my parents moved into a neighborhood across the street from a very special lady that actually founded the original company.
Her name is Kay Gabrish, and she was my neighbor, and I used to babysit her kids, and I used to clean her house, um, which is totally crazy that we go back that far. Mm-hmm. Um, but we just happened to move into this neighborhood. She, at the time, was a drill team director, um, which in Texas is basically the dance team, um, at a high school, my- the high school that I would go on to join.
Um, and at the time, I was a gymnast, which is kinda crazy 'cause I'm actually 5'9".
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: Which was a little weird. Mm-hmm. Um, and I had to break the news to my dad in about sixth grade that I wasn't going to the Olympics- ... because at that time was probably 5'7". Um, and I kinda pivoted at that time, um, really in eighth grade I pivoted to dance when I decided I really wanted to be a part of Kay's drill team.
Mm. So I tried out for the drill team in eighth grade, and I made it. And funny story, several things tried to derail me from doing that. I, I first sprained my ankle the weekend before tryouts.
Toby Myles: Oh, my gosh.
Kristina Cross: I decided I could wrap my ankle, get in tryouts, and do it, and then I got chicken pox-
Toby Myles: Oh,
Kristina Cross: no ... a few days later.
It was so crazy. Um, and my parents were like, "Are you sure you wanna try out for drill team? We're gonna be moving to South Bend, Indiana eventually." And I was like, "I don't know if that's gonna happen anyways. I'm still gonna try out for drill team." So anyway, long story short, I got a special tryout, I made the team, and my family never moved-
to South Bend, Indiana. Um, which is great because Kay eventually went on to retire from being my director, and she started Crowd Pleasers, which is the original company. Um, I, when I graduated high school, I started working for her through college getting my advertising degree, and I was gonna go on my merry way and go to New York and be an advertising agent.
And she happened to offer me a full-time job when I graduated, which I thought was super weird because I didn't know how this little drill team company could sustain a full-time employee.
Brie Peña: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: But I just took a chance, went to work for her full time. Um, we worked together, um, for a number of years, and then I moved to North Carolina, and I thought at that time, "I'm gonna quit.
I'm gonna go into something different." And she was like, "No, I want, I wanna pay you to commute from North Carolina 'cause I'll-" Oh, my
Toby Myles: goodness ...
Kristina Cross: Texas. Again, reeling me back in. Um, and I said, "Okay, I'll do that." Did that for a number of years, and finally, um, decided it was just too much, all the traveling, and she said, "Well, what if I make you my partner and you expand the business?"
Toby Myles: Wow.
Kristina Cross: And I was like, "Well, what does that look like?" She was like, "Well, I'll just give you half the company, and you can, you can run with it." And so that's what we did. She gave me half the company in 1999, and I went on to be very instrumental in expanding us into a bunch of different offerings that we had not been doing, and together, we expanded the company to be the premier provider in Texas over about 17 years-
Toby Myles: Wow
Kristina Cross: together. It was really cool. And then, um, during that time, during those 17 years, I had hired Bree off of her drill team. She was, she was dancing on one of the teams that I was teaching, and she was clearly a rock star and I was like, "I think you need to come join our team." And so she worked during college like I had done.
And, um, anyway, long story short, I bought Kay out in 2017, um, and K- and Bree at the time was still working for the company. She had eventually come on full time, which I'll let her tell you about that. But, um, and then in 2018, um, she and I decided to start Elevation, which is the business that we own together.
Um, and she is still a vital part of Crowd Pleasers, but she is my business partner at Elevation, which has been a really awesome ride. It's been, um, we're going into our ninth season.
Toby Myles: Wow.
Kristina Cross: And we, at this time, have been working together 30 years, I think. Great. Or almost. Almost 30 years. Oh
Toby Myles: my gosh.
Kristina Cross: Um, which is crazy.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: So it's been- We're only
Brie Peña: 35.
Kristina Cross: Yeah. How does that work?
Toby Myles: Yeah. How does that work?
Kristina Cross: Yeah. Um, so anyway, it's just been a, just a really cool ride of, like, walking through doors that have opened or not walking through other doors that have closed, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Um, and just trusting- Kind of in the opportunities that were right in front of me.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm. You know? Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: Um, but it's just been really awesome and, and this chapter of my story has been probably the most rewarding. Um, I did ... I, I shared that I bought K out in 2017, so now I'm- Mm-hmm ... the sole owner of Crowd Pleasers, and Brie's partner at Elevation, and both companies are growing very rapidly and by leaps and bounds.
And all of the sacrifices, I had three children along the way, which that's a whole other story. Yes. And it's just been really ... It's something that I ... That was very, very hard to do, and very, very hard to stick with, but I'm so, so happy that I did now that I'm an empty nester and-
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm ...
Kristina Cross: you know, finding myself with just this, these two awesome businesses that-
Toby Myles: Yeah
Kristina Cross: that I get to be a part of still.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. We will definitely circle back to the conversation around entrepreneurship and how hard it can be, and what- Yeah ... what are the things that you do to get you through, because that is a universal ... That's universal. That comes- Yeah ... with the territory, and I definitely wanna touch on that.
Before we hear Brie's story, w- was there... did you ever look back on advertising, like that was what you went to school for? Did... Was there at any point where you said, "Oh, I really should do something with that," or were you just like gung ho, like, "I am all in on Crowd Pleasers," and, and then- I- ... your new bus- newer business?
Kristina Cross: I think that the advertising thing was ... I don't know. It was very lofty and to be honest, my ... I feel like my family didn't really, um, promote like that level of risk-taking.
Brie Peña: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: You know what I mean? To like- Mm-hmm ... pack up and move to New York, that was, that was not something that anybody in my sphere of influence was encouraging me to do.
It was something that I kind of had as a dream.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: But I don't know that it ever would've been reality.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: I think I would've always done the safer thing.
Toby Myles: Mm.
Kristina Cross: I don't know. It, this felt kind of safe and, and familiar, so it just seemed-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Kristina Cross: um, but, but honestly, like, I don't see myself as a super safe person now.
Toby Myles: Well, I was gonna say, like you say it was the safer choice, but really, like, owning your own business is like- No ... the less, farthest- Yeah ... from safe.
Kristina Cross: I never would've seen, I never would've thought that I would be making the kinds of decisions that I'm making right now. Mm-hmm. And, and honestly, like, I don't know, commanding a budget the size that we are commanding between these two companies, you know?
It, it is very risky and it's scary. Um- Yeah ... I've had to grow into that side of myself- Yeah. Yeah,
Toby Myles: for sure ...
Kristina Cross: that at 22 that I, I think I would've actually done.
Toby Myles: Yeah, yeah, too, and I do think that there's something to be said for that when we're young, maybe not really knowing all of the things that we might have to face one day, 'cause that might be so scary that you would just say, "Oh, no, I, I don't wanna do that."
But, but in your case, you just, like you said, you just did the next right thing. Yeah. You walked through the next right door.
Kristina Cross: Yeah, for sure. And I, and I realized a lot of things about myself along the way. Mm-hmm. That,
Toby Myles: that
Kristina Cross: I'm actually a lot braver than I gave myself credit for.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I love, love, love that.
Okay, we will, we're gonna come back to all of that. So enter Bree. Why- you take us back now to young Bree and how you kind of got on the path that you're on right now, and then you can kind of talk a little bit from your perspective of when you and Kristina first connected.
Brie Peña: Well, young e, um, is an only child, or was an only child.
I still am, I guess. Um- And I think that that was pretty formative because I spent so much of my life hanging out with adults.
Kristina Cross: Mm. Um,
Brie Peña: I do have a lo- a big extended family, and I had a lot of cousins and it was great to spend time with them, but I do think my entire life revolved around adults and a- and my parents.
Um, so I think that really influenced who I grew up to be because I had to act a lot older than I was always.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Brie Peña: Um, and also had to be pretty creative 'cause I got really bored
Toby Myles: as an only child. Mm-hmm.
Brie Peña: Um, I did a lot of interesting things to make myself entertained and laugh as a kid. We won't go into those, but they're-
Toby Myles: We might go into those.
Brie Peña: Um, w- well, one of my favorites was sitting on the bathroom counter and I would make faces at myself in the mirror and talk to myself in funny voices until I cracked up. And I, I really feel like I did this for hours. You know how when you're a kid time just has no bounds? So it probably was 15 minutes, but for me- Mm
it felt like hours and hours I was in there. And I'm sure my parents were like, "Oh, she's in the bathroom again making faces at herself." Um, but you know, what's a kid to do? I was bored.
Toby Myles: Right.
Brie Peña: Um, I also, my neighborhood was, um... I guess a- you would consider like an older neighborhood. Like, there were a lot of retirees that lived there, and so there weren't any kids.
Like, it wasn't the childhood where you get on your bike and you go ride down the street to your friend's house. That was not my life. Also- Yeah ... I was too much of a scaredy-cat to ride my bike around by myself. So I did, we had a small cul-de-sac and I literally rode the bike around the cul-de-sac which was, I don't know, maybe like 75-yard radius.
It was pretty embarrassing. But, um, uh, I also went to school 30 minutes away from where I lived. So none- Oh, wow ... of my friends from school were people that could come and hang at my house. So I really-
Kristina Cross: Mm-hmm ... was
Brie Peña: alone a lot. That sounds very depressing. But I promise I did have a joyful childhood. Um, I did start dancing at a young age in a studio.
Um, in fifth grade after my recital I told my mom that I was quitting dance to play sports because that is what all of my friends were doing. And I had not played sports before, and she was like, "Sure, sounds great. What do you wanna do?" So during middle school I played volleyball, basketball, and track.
Shocking that I made those teams because I was not very good. Um, I was a good teammate because I showed up to practice, and I worked hard, and I cheered my friends on, but I was definitely not, you know, the star athlete. Um, I also absolutely loathe running, hate it with a passion. So hilarious that I thought track was for me.
Kristina Cross: Mm-hmm.
Brie Peña: Um, in the summer between my eighth and ninth grade year, I was like, "Okay, basketball, here we go. I'm going to high school, like, so I think I need to go to this clinic that the high school was gonna put on." And after the very first day, probably within the first hour, I was like, basketball is not for me.
All of these girls are so much taller than I am. They're so much bigger than I am. They're more aggressive. They're more athletic. Mm-hmm. I'm gonna get steamrolled. Like, I gotta get out of here. So I don't even think I finished the rest of the clinic. I think I left after the first day and said, "Guess what, Mom?
We're going back to dance." So got back in dance as fast as I could, um, and was so grateful that I had experiences in my high school that freshman year to take dance one, which was just, you know, an elective that you could choose. Um, was able to try out for my high school team. I guess my dance background from elementary school served me well because I did make the team, and I truly think my life changed in a big way from being- Mm-hmm
part of my high school team. Um, there were just so many life lessons well beyond the dance floor that that experience taught me. I had some amazing coaches and directors. Um, also, that is where I met Kristina because every summer from my sophomore year to my senior year, Crowd Pleasers would come in to teach our camps, and Kristina was always the head instructor that came to do all of our football halftime choreography.
And I thought she was so cool, and, um, obviously it wasn't- She was pretty cool. She was definitely really cool. And we knew that she lived in North Carolina, and she flew in for these camps, and that just sounded, like, super jet set. Like, she is just flying in from North Carolina- Yeah ... to do just some football choreography.
And, um, part of that camp experience, my director said, "Hey, today you're gonna take Kristina to lunch." And I was like, "Excuse me?" Like- Oh ... what, what? And, and I, I had zero contacts. Like, nobody prepped me for what was going on. Mm-hmm. She just said, "You're going to take her to lunch today during the break." And I was like, "Okay, I'm 17.
That sounds very scary to take an adult-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Brie Peña: to lunch." Um, and little did I know that was my job interview. I just didn't know it.
Toby Myles: Ah. Okay.
Brie Peña: Um, to which she then offered me a position to join our summer, our summer staff for Crowd Pleasers the summer after I graduated from high school, and, um, loved being a part of teaching camps in the summer all my four years of college.
Um, college was a- another interesting part of the story because I fell in love with dance in such a big way that I just couldn't imagine my life without it.
Kristina Cross: Mm-hmm.
Brie Peña: And my parents were both like, "Well, that's all great, and we've, we're glad that you had fun, but it's time to move on, and it's time to choose a degree path that is gonna be more stable and more lucrative."
And, um, I really wanted to pursue dance, and so I said I wanted to go and get a dance degree. And my mom constantly was like, "Well, you can go to college, but we're not paying for a dance degree." And four years later, I walked across the stage with a dance degree. And dad. Um, so it's just so funny. I mean, I think obviously now my parents are so proud of my, my journey in dance and all that it's brought me, but I just, they would have never dreamed that all of the actual, um- N- not super risky, artsy, starving artist type re- type experiences have come out of Adrian Dance, because I think that's what a lot of people assume.
Toby Myles: Sure.
Brie Peña: If you're going to pursue something in the arts, it's gonna be, you know, paycheck to paycheck and very- Right ... unpredictable. Um, and I just think it doesn't have to be that way. And not just- Yeah ... with dance, with so many different types of-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Brie Peña: I think there can actually be amazing careers. Um, so after graduating from college, I moved back to Houston and got my very first job, um, teaching at a public high school as the dance director.
So I had a dance program, as well as directed a high school team, and that was super full circle because being on my high school team was so formative and such a special time that I just loved that now I was gonna be the coach on the other side of that experience. Loved it. It was really hard, but it was super fun.
Um, I think one of the hardest things is that those kids were only four years younger than I was when I took the job. Mm-hmm. Um, so just navigating the dynamics of that and being in a pretty affluent community with a lot of moms that had lots of opinions- ... and that really thought that they could do my job better than I could.
Mm-hmm. Um, and just, a- also just the dynamic of being so young and not having children at that point, and just all of the credibility that people give you once you become a parent. And now that I'm a parent, I totally get that, and I- Yeah,
Toby Myles: right ...
Brie Peña: see how I probably have done the same to people that are younger and, and haven't parented their own children.
But either way, it was such a great experience. Um, my fourth year of teaching in the fall, Kristina calls and she says, "Hey, what are you doing?" And I was like, "I know, I just left practice. What are you doing?" She's like, "Well, some things are changing here, and we have an opening. We have an unexpected opening."
Um, for a full-time position at Crowd Pleasers. And back then, the team was very small. There weren't... It's not like a, it's not like how it is now where we have 20 people with full-time positions. It was really just one person or two people were filling those seats, along with Kay and Kristina that were the owners.
Um, and so I was like, "Wow, this is so unexpected." I, you know, I was flattered of course that she thought of me, but I felt really stuck because I loved my job, um, directing my team at the high school that I was working at. But after some consideration, and obviously probably some persuasive conversation- ... on Kristina's part, she's pretty good at that, I did come to the realization that this was, Crowd Pleasers was always such an important part of my life, something that I never let go.
Even after returning from college, I still was teaching camps in the summer. So even though I had a full-time job, um, you know, directing at my high school, or the high school that I was working at, I was still teaching camps in the summer. I just couldn't let Crowd Pleasers leave my life. Mm-hmm. And I thought, "Well, this is great," like I'm getting offered this opportunity.
It'll be bittersweet to leave my current position, because I just thought that I had a little bit more time, a little bit more things that I wanted to accomplish as a dance team director, but The train was leaving the station, and you either get on the boat or the boat's leaving without you. Mm-hmm. So, um, after that May, I joined, um, Crowd Pleasers full time, and it was so much fun being a part of all the growth and all of the change and everything that was going on.
Back then, you know, CP was, was such a force, but it was so small and mighty. And now to look back at this huge team and this huge machine, um, that we've all worked really hard to build has been really special. Um, then I got married, had three children in four years, which was really fun. A lot of that was a blur, but I survived.
It was great. Um, and then, like Kristina mentioned, in 2018, um, we decided to start Elevation together. Obviously, I was, again, honored one more time that she was choosing me to link arms with to start something new, um, forge a new path, you know, enter into an industry... or the side of the industry that we weren't, um, as familiar with.
And it's been amazing, because we've worked really, really hard. Um, but then also to think of all the opportunities to the staff that, that work alongside of us. I mean, all of these women are people that love dance just as much as we did- Mm-hmm ... and it played a huge part of their lives, and now they're, they're having a career that is lucrative and stable and exciting, um, and they're doing it in the dance field.
That they- Yeah ... probably also didn't think would happen to them when they were, you know, 16-year-olds dancing back at a studio or with their school teams.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And, um, I really want, um, touch on this because I think this is a belief that you have, and I also have this belief. I, I always say I was born an artist.
I was always that kid that was making things, drawing things, trying to sell my artwork. I went to art school, um, ended up majoring in graphic design because it seemed like the smart thing to do, and that has never left me. And I've had businesses on the side. I had a jewelry business for a number of years.
And so I have very often heard and been faced with the idea of the starving artist, and I think you, you touch on that a little bit just now when you were talking about that. But maybe you can go a little bit deeper, um, and just talk about, like, your, your values and your beliefs around the fact that as a creative person, you can be taken seriously, and you can have a career doing something that you love, which is still, to this day, the opposite of what a lot of people believe.
So if either one of you wants to go first, I would love to hear your thoughts on that.
Kristina Cross: I, I have some thoughts on that because I considered myself more of an artist. Like, I, I definitely had a bent towards that when I was in school. Like, I, I would win, like, the school art contests for, you know, whatev- whatever it was.
I, I was always ... That was a thing that I felt like I was really good at, and when I thought about going into advertising, it was because I was creative, and I thought that that was, that was gonna be my life.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: But what I realized along the way is that I'm actually better at running a business than I ever was at being any kind of an artist.
Brie Peña: Mm.
Kristina Cross: Um, and I think that that- That has been really awesome because I love being around artistry and creativity and creative people, but I've had to kind of realize that, that even though I thought I was this creative that was, like, creative genius, I'm actually not. I'm, I'm sort of creative, and I'm- Right
good at those things. I can, I can see when something's good better than I can actually bring it to life myself.
Brie Peña: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: But I'm really good at running a business.
Brie Peña: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: And that has been just really awesome to realize, you know? Yeah. I can, I can use the other half of my brain in a world that is, you know, a creative space where I get kind of the best of both worlds.
Yeah. And so for me, that was, that was enlightening- Yeah ... to come to that realization. Yeah. I mean, I was good at math, but math wasn't as fun as, like, art, you know?
Toby Myles: No.
Kristina Cross: But, but now I think the math is pretty fun. Mm-hmm. I enjoy that side of the business. Um-
Toby Myles: Yeah. I think that that's really, uh, an interesting distinction because I, when I had my jewelry business, I loved the marketing aspect of it.
I loved working behind my bench and melting silver and all the things that went along with that. But even more so, I loved the marketing. I loved writing product descriptions and blogs and marketing and all the things, and a lot of people that I knew in that space did not love those things. They just wanted to sit in their studio and make.
And so ironically, my first few clients when I became a copywriter and started my business were other jewelry designers who I knew did not want to do any of the marketing things. And so that really bode well for me when I first, you know, hung out my shutter and opened the doors to my copywriting business because I knew about jewelry and I knew the lingo, but I also knew and understood marketing.
And then, and I had a long career in marketing, so it wasn't like I just made things up on the fly. But I think it is very rare to have a person that kind of embodies both of those sides. Yeah,
Kristina Cross: it's so rare. Yeah. And I think you need both, 'cause you really do need those, like, uber creative people- Mm-hmm
that don't have a lot of the other side of the brain.
Toby Myles: Right. You
Kristina Cross: know?
Toby Myles: Exactly.
Kristina Cross: But, but whenever I identify somebody who is working for us that is- You know, like for, uh, at one time we had a creative director that was a math major and a dance major, and I was like, boom, that's like magic. Yeah, yeah. You know, you can do both, and that's kind of...
It's kind of been true that every time we're able to find somebody that is, that can use both sides of their brain-
Brie Peña: Mm-hmm ...
Kristina Cross: they are such a key employee, because it just kind of brings it all together, you know?
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: We also have those uber creative people that have a hard time, you know, remembering to dot their I's and cross their T's.
And that's okay too. Yes.
Toby Myles: You
Kristina Cross: need those people, you know?
Toby Myles: Exactly. Exactly. It takes all of the brains and all of the-
Kristina Cross: Yeah ...
Toby Myles: gifts to kind of come together and build something really amazing. So, so what are your thoughts, Bree, on the, the idea of, of building a career in, in a creative field, um, and maybe what is the stigma around that?
What do people still think to this day about somebody that goes into art or dance or music?
Brie Peña: Well, I think I received a lot of that, uh, pushback at home. Um, my parents are amazing and they've always supported me, but I think they just had a lot of fear that I was gonna choose something and, you know, I think they knew that I was not as brave to, you know, go get this dance degree and then try to become a professional performer, um, or move to New York and be a Rockette or do Broadway.
I, I think they knew that that was beyond my, um, bravery level- Mm-hmm ... that's all that I can say because I'm just... I, I think I can be brave about certain things, but there's a lot of things that I am a Safety Sally about. Mm-hmm. Um, so I just think putting myself in a situation like that would be too, um, too risky for me.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Brie Peña: And also, I just don't think I was... I was confident, but not that confident. Yeah. Not, not a little girl from Houston, Texas to go, you know, decide that I was gonna be the next Rockette.
Toby Myles: Right.
Brie Peña: But I think my passion for dance really scared them because they were like, "Oh my gosh," like, "We thought that, you know, she would do this.
She got back into it again, and she would do this for high school, and then she would let it go," and I just couldn't let it go. Um, so I think that they were just fearful that I would, um, set myself up for a really hard life, you know, set myself up for not a lot of financial stability, um, not, you know, no 401, no retirement plan.
You know, all of those things, and I think they really wanted that for me. They wanted stability and a safety net. Um, so I think whenever I s- I... We kind of met in the middle 'cause I was like, "Okay, I really want this dance degree," and th- and my mom was like, "Okay, but then what? What is your minor gonna be?"
Like, "You need a backup plan."
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Brie Peña: Well, great, my, my minor will be education so that I can at least teach, and, and my mom was a teacher and had been a teacher for, you know, decades and decades. So that was something that she considered safe and reliable. So that's, that's how we arrived at my parents actually paying for the dance degree.
I did also add the education component on so that I knew that I was hireable when I came home, and I wasn't just gonna, you know, try to see where the wind blew me when it came to dance. Um, and but I think the- More long-term career opportunities are because the world has changed so much, and there's so many more opportunities for creative people- Mm-hmm
than I think, you know, back in the '80s and '90s. I just think things were so much more structured and, um, I don't know, just the world has evolved so much that now I think there's a greater respect for people that have a lot of crea- creativity and bring a lot of, um, innovation-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Brie Peña: to, you know, things that used to be really, you know, stuffy or boring.
Mm-hmm. Um, and so I think that it is really unique the ways that I have learned to use both sides, my creativity and learning a lot about business that I did not go to school for. Yeah. And I would not think that I would be able to learn, but I think watching Kristina and Kay and the way that Crowd Pleasers grew and being a part of that, I was able to learn more about the business side and actually was like, "Wait, I, I understand these things," and I think- Mm-hmm
there's a part that I can play here as well. Um- And those were just, you know, I didn't ever sit in school as a kid being like, "I'd love to be a business major."
Toby Myles: Right.
Brie Peña: That just wasn't something that I thought about.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Brie Peña: My dad owned a construction business, and so, yes, I guess he was this business person in my life, but I watched him struggle a lot.
Yeah. I watched, you know, a lot about the market and just everything that was going on in my childhood, and he was breaking his back all the time. Mm-hmm. And I also saw my mom probably feeling frustrated that, you know, his side of the contribution to the family was so volatile. When it was great, it was-
Kristina Cross: Mm
Brie Peña: and when it was bad, it was pretty bad. And so she- Yeah ... she had to be the steady. She was the one with the reliable paycheck coming from a school district. She was the one that carried the health insurance, like, all of those things. So I think even my mom today probably has a little bit of hesitation for me on the business side just from, you know, those experiences with my dad's business going up and down, you know, as the market changed and the climate changed.
So, but I think that there's just a lot of, um, excitement in things not being the same.
Kristina Cross: Mm-hmm.
Brie Peña: And kind of, you know, you gotta put one foot in front of the other and figure it out as you go along. Um, and I think that's been really great 'cause Kristina is always interested and ready to figure it out as you go along.
We call her The Jumper around here. There's sometimes some really, like, big ideas, and she's like, "Let's do it." Yeah. Um, but I feel like she's rubbed off on me, and I- Yeah ... am a jumper now too.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Oh, that's so good. So that's so interesting that you kind of talk about that whole... Well, first, going back to, like, you know, back in our parents' day, you know, people just had kinda ordinary jobs, and it was not as acceptable to take a creative path.
But I feel like now, especially with so many people using AI, I feel like the people who are innovative and creative are going to just skyrocket, because people are craving uniqueness and stories and things that are not just cookie cutter like everybody else. And I just think, like, creative fields are just gonna continue to just explode.
I mean, I'm not... You know, I can't foresee the future, but, but that's just my gut feeling. I mean, I know in the work that I do with my clients, I'm a storytelling coach, and it is every day I'm talking about you need to be telling your own stories, right? You can't rely on AI to know your stories. Like, yes, use AI as a tool, but i- it has to start with your own voice and your own stories.
And I just think, uh, being in a creative field, I think there's gonna be even more of that, and I think people are gonna be wanting more of that in where they spend their money, you know, who they hire for things, things they buy, handmade goods, like, all those things. Yeah. So, um, I- Um, before we get too far down the road, I just, I would love for you to, to,
um, explain the distinction between the two companies, 'cause I wanna make sure that our listeners understand what Crowd Pleasers is as a business, what you do, and then Elevation On Tour, and how they are maybe similar and how they're different.
Kristina Cross: Yeah. So Crowd Pleasers is almost exclusively s- serving scholastic teams, meaning, like, pom squads, dance teams in schools.
Toby Myles: Okay.
Kristina Cross: And, and Crowd Pleasers actually has a couple of sister companies that are under it, but, but all of those brands are really centered around, uh, s- mostly scholastic dance. And then there's another component called All Star Dance, which is a, is a type of studio that kind of, uh, is an on-ramp to, like, college dance, which has- Okay
become so popular. I mean- Yeah ... I don't know if you're, if you're, if that ever crosses your path, but college dance has really taken on a life of its own and, and has had a huge influence over kind of how we're doing business on the scholastic side.
Brie Peña: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: Um, so that's Crowd Pleasers, but then there's this whole other side of the business that are private dance studios.
Um- Okay ... it's kinda like club sports, you know? Okay. A lot of kids will dance for their high school team, but then also they're dancing at a private studio where they're doing a whole other competitive circuit and- Okay ... and other types of events that are, um, specifically designed to serve them, and that's what Elevation is.
Toby Myles: Okay.
Kristina Cross: So it's really, the events are not completely, you know- completely distinctive. They do have some similarities- Mm-hmm ... but there are nuances that are designed to serve each of those lanes of dance in different ways.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Perfect.
Kristina Cross: Yeah. So- And I wanna say real quick on the other topic- Mm-hmm
that I think one of the things that has made our journey just so much more than we ever expected is, is the fact that, that dance specifically as an art has seen a huge increase in the amount of money that is circulating- Mm ... in specific realm- Mm-hmm ... as it pertains to youth participation.
Toby Myles: Okay.
Kristina Cross: So I think that, you know, whatever our dreams were back in 1988 when I graduated high school, very different from what has actually transpired- Yeah
because of the amount of resources that are being poured into dance specifically. I don't know if it's that way in the world of, of other arts- Mm-hmm ... but as it pertains to dance, it has kind of, uh, just... I mean, there's a lot of private equity interest-
Brie Peña: Mm ...
Kristina Cross: which is good and bad, you know. Um- Yeah ... I mean, there's not a day that goes by that I don't have investors trying to invest in our business.
That is- Yeah ... literally every day of my life.
Toby Myles: Wow.
Kristina Cross: Um, which wasn't that way 10 years ago.
Toby Myles: Right.
Kristina Cross: But, and certainly not 30 years ago.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: Um, so that I think has changed the trajectory of the opportunities that are-
Toby Myles: Mm ...
Kristina Cross: for, for artists, all artists in this realm, and I don't think many of them are starving anymore.
Toby Myles: Yeah. That's good news.
Kristina Cross: If, if any.
Toby Myles: That is good news. There's more than enough opportunity for the dancers in the world. That is good news. So,
Kristina Cross: which is awesome.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: It's exciting to be a part of. Yeah.
Toby Myles: And, and I don't know, like I'm not the expert, but I don't know that there is that same level of, um, investment going on in other arts, especially at the school level.
Like, in fact, I think in some areas it can be quite the opposite. Like, those are the first things that get cut any time, you know, a school district is struggling for fun- funding, right? Yeah. For sure. It's, it's the music classes and the art classes, which just, it s- it just crushes me because, like, I was that kid that needed that, you know?
I, I, and luckily we had it in my school, but, and my kids did too, you know? So to imagine kids now, you know, maybe getting an art class once a month, like it just- Yeah ... it, it hurts my heart because not every kid is gonna, you know, be a doctor or a lawyer or whatever, right? So we have to, we have to help them experience all kinds of things so that they can find their path in life.
Yeah.
Kristina Cross: Interestingly, I, I think it's in large part due to social media.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: You know, because so much of dance can be- seen on social m- media, you know? Right It makes the kids wanna, wanna be a part of it.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: So I don't know. It ju- I mean, again, it's one of those things that's good and bad.
Toby Myles: Sure. Yeah.
Kristina Cross: But, but certainly for our industry it's been good.
Toby Myles: Yeah. So I wanna talk a little bit about, um, uh, like things outside of the obvious things that you get with dance. You know, it's a, a physical thing. You're y- you know, you can, you can, um, get strong, be fit, you know, express yourself. But there's other things that are maybe not outwardly measurable about, like m- you know, maybe discipline and building self-esteem and trust in your teammates.
Those are all things, and confidence, they're all things I think that are, that are kind of behind the scene, maybe a little bit buried. Um, and I'm, I mean, I'm thinking specifically because both my kids did karate. My son was so shy, and so we put him in karate at a very young age, very young age, I think he was in first grade, because we thought he needs to know how to, like, look somebody in the eye and shake somebody's hand and introduce himself, right?
And so he got all of those things in karate, and he did go on, he did stick with it, and he got a junior black belt. But that wasn't the goal. What, the goal was not for my son to become a black belt, it was for him to get all of these other life skills. And so I would imagine that it's similar in your, um, in dance and in your work.
So could you talk about that a little bit?
Brie Peña: I think that is the whole point of dance. Um, I think obviously the artistry and, like you said, all the physicality is fantastic, but I think all of the soft skills that dance teaches you are the most important. Um, because 99.9% of kids that get involved in dance will stop probably before they leave high school.
Kristina Cross: Mm-hmm. Um,
Brie Peña: and then what happens with all of that time that they spent? And I do think parents seek out dance specifically for the confidence building and the discipline. Um, obviously some of the teamwork elements can vary based off of what type of program they're joining, especially if you're a part of a high school team or, or a school team in general.
You're getting a lot of team building and a lot of culture building. But I think that, um, parents sh- I think parents of today look back at the, the years and the time and the money that they invested in dance, and they see what their child has taken from it that have nothing to do with dance steps, they have nothing to do with choreography, they have nothing to do with costumes, they have nothing to do with troph- with trophies, but they have everything to do with how much it's built that person as an individual that is confident and, um, can really show up in other areas of their life in a successful way- Mm-hmm
because of all of that practice that they had on those soft skills in dance.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: Yeah, and back to your point about AI, I mean, I, I feel like we're keenly aware in our space that all of those things that they're learning through our events and through whatever offerings we have to give, those are the things that will separate them in- Yeah
in the future AI world, you know? Yeah. And like you said, people, I do feel like that is going to become such a priority for people, is to- Mm-hmm ... that human connection and that ability to communicate, and the ability to show up, like Bree said, in a successful way in a, in a job where AI is doing all the hard skills.
Toby Myles: Sure.
Kristina Cross: You know? You're, you're gonna have to develop those soft skills or you're gonna become irrelevant.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. It's funny, um, uh, Bree, when you were talking about your childhood, you know, growing up as an only child, my very, very best friend, childhood friend, was an only child, and I saw a lot of, like, the things you were talking about.
The way she would just create things and create these dream worlds and, you know, back then we were into Barbies, and she would build these huge mansions with, out of, like, tissue boxes and just things she would find around the house, right? And I'd come over to play, and she just had these... She used, you know, we listened to albums back then, back in our day , and she'd take the album cover and there were, like, walls and floors and ce- and all the things, right?
And there's s- some part of me that says, like- Maybe every kid should, like, have to, you know, just spend some amount of time just learning to create with just what they have around them, not a phone and not a computer, you know, but just things around their house. A, a mirror, like you said, and books, and blocks and, and whatever.
Um, and, and I worry, you know, about future generations. How are they going to develop those kind of creative skills where they come up with original ideas, right? Like, that seems like it will be more and more of a challenge unless we lead by example and show them how to do those things.
Brie Peña: Well, and even just kind of knowing how to emotionally regulate by yourself.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Brie Peña: And, and entertain yourself and have fun, and I say this as a mom of three kids that have not had enough of those experiences of-
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm ...
Brie Peña: without, you know, the fancy toys or the fancy electronics. Um, this inspires me. That's it. I should take all of their electronics away and- ... give, give them shoe boxes instead- Yeah
for a week and see what happens. Um, but yeah, I mean, I think that I, I was happy. I was alone, and I was- Mm-hmm ... kind of bored, but as soon as I got bored, I figured out a way to make myself entertained.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Brie Peña: And I think my kids would... If, if we ran this experiment on my own children, I think they would probably fail.
And, um, I, I hope they would figure it out after a time, but I do think that they, they're just so reliant on what, what their surrounding is giving them versus what they're figuring out and creating on their own.
Toby Myles: Yeah. It makes me think about, um, babies. I have two grandkids now, so I've been able to experience that baby phase all over again, but through a new lens.
And I'm sure you had this experience too with your little ones. Like, lots of times it wasn't even the toys that they were playing with, it was, like, the box that the toy came in or, you know, the coasters. Rattlers. Like, let's spin the coasters on the floor or bang on pots and pans, right? And they just had fun with, like, the most random things.
Um, and I just, I think, like, they do that naturally as, like, babies 'cause they're curious, but then somewhere along the way that kind of, like, dissipates and they get more interested in more commercially available devices and toys and things like that. Um, so I wanna sort of take a pivot into, um, just talking a little bit about, we touched on it a little bit, but on business ownership.
Um, and I know you have very strong belief in, like, how you serve people, not just, not just your clients, but also the people that you work with, people on your team. Um, and I- that's such a, a huge part of being successful in business is, you know, that customer service piece, and how do you treat people, and how you make people feel like their ideas are valid, um, and they're not, you know, beneath you in some way.
And so I just would love for each of you to just talk a little bit about, um, your philosophy around that on how you've built your business, and then maybe touch a little bit on, um, what keeps you going when it- things get hard.
Kristina Cross: Yeah. Um, so I think for me, the people part... I, I will say that Kay, the original founder, she was a drill team director in- when she was in her 20s, and she had to, you know, raise her kids, going to daycare, and going in to be a schoolteacher, which is very hard work and kind of thankless- Mm-hmm
and certainly not the most lucrative, you know, career that you could have.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: Um, and so she made a lot of sacrifices, and when she started her business, it was really priority to her that we kind of spoil the teachers, because she had been a teacher and she knew what it was like, and-
Brie Peña: Mm-hmm ...
Kristina Cross: she felt like she was never spoiled.
So, so for her, that was at the top of our list. You know, every single event that we had, we were, we were spending a lot of time and money trying to spoil our customers. And so I learned that right out of the gate how important that was. Yeah That is, to this day, such a priority in everything that we do, and I think that dynamic has never changed, honestly.
Um, I will say that the, the dance teachers and the school teachers, they, they are not the ones in this industry that are being the most rewarded.
Toby Myles: Mm. Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: They are, in fact, the ones that are making the greatest sacrifice, you know? Yeah. We are a private company, and we are putting on events that are fairly expensive to attend, and, and our businesses are successful.
Um, but those, those school teachers and those studio owners, they, they are making a lot of sacrifices, and oftentimes scholarshipping kids or volunteering f- hours outside of what they're- Mm ... paid for.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: Um, and, and it's just they're the low man on the totem pole.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: Um, and so I don't know. We've just never lost sight of that as far as our, um, commitment to serving them really, really well.
Brie Peña: Mm-hmm. Um,
Kristina Cross: but also, we- there's another stakeholder that is forgotten a lot, and that's the parents that also are making a lot of sacrifices for their kids to be able to do these things. I mean, we have, being in business for 30 years, this is a largely recession-proof business.
Brie Peña: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: Um, rarely do we ever see a huge dip of any kind regardless of what's happening in the economy, and that's because the parents are so willing and committed to making sure that their kids' live- lives stay stable, and they- Right
get to do all the things that they ever wanted to do even if they're eating peanut butter and jelly at home.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: You know?
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: And so again, we, we don't lose sight of that either because I was a dance parent. I raised three daughters that danced. Bree is currently a dance parent, and she understands the sacrifices that they have made.
So-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Kristina Cross: um, those, obviously we wanna serve the kids well because they're kids and we're in the care- Right ... business, and that's really important to us. But we just, we really do try to keep all of the stakeholders in mind. Mm-hmm. Um, and so everything that we do, all of our core values, all of the priorities that we have are really geared towards serving each of those groups really well.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: Um, and then, and then along the way because I have, I, when I t- became an owner of Crowd Pleasers, I was 29 years old.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: Um, so from a fairly young age, I knew that I had to be serving my employees well or I had to have a commitment level that was really strong to, to providing a good place to work for them.
Mm-hmm,
Toby Myles: mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: Um, I don't know. I just, I knew I couldn't do it on my own, and I was just one, you know, one person trying to do big things, and I knew that if I didn't have other really talented people alongside of me, I wasn't gonna get very far.
Toby Myles: Hmm.
Kristina Cross: So that just, I don't know, that was just always a priority and, and just, I don't know.
K- Kay was also the same. I mean, obviously she gave me half her company.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: Knowing that we were gonna build something great together. Mm-hmm. And I just, I feel like I've kind of carried on that.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah, I love that. I think unfortunately it takes some, um, business owners, and often, like, solo business owners, a while to realize that, um, not only can't you build something amazing alone, but you also shouldn't.
Like, you don't have to be the person that has to be the expert about everything. It's actually better if-
Kristina Cross: Yes ...
Toby Myles: if you're not. Like, y- you know, you get to focus on the things that you are exceptionally good at, and so does somebody else, and they get to feel equally part of the team and valued for their ideas and, and their expertise.
Kristina Cross: Yeah. And I think the, the really cool thing that, you know, having been here since the beginning, seeing that, like, there was a time when it was like... Like when, when we hired Bree full time, I had to do some fancy footwork.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: And then sort of leave the, you know, the comfort of the teaching job, and the benefits, and all of those things.
And at that time we didn't have a lot to offer. I mean, it wasn't a glamorous job.
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: Um, but I, I don't know, very early I realized that if I wanted people to want to work here, I had to build something that was worth wanting to be a part of.
Toby Myles: Sure.
Kristina Cross: Um, and, you know, when Bree got hired, she was driving a box truck around-
and lots of really unglamorous things. It's a lot more glamorous to work here today than it was when Bree got hired, I will say that.
Toby Myles: Oh, it's okay. I love those behind-the-scenes story, 'cause that's, like, the real stuff, right? Like, it is not always... I mean, there's so many benefits to building your own thing, right?
I, I could not do anything else. I have worked for people. I've had multiple different businesses. There is no putting the genie back in the bottle. I, I will never go back and have a- another boss, unless, I always joke, I can go work at Tractor Supply, but only during chick season, because when they have the little baby chicks, like, that would be super fun.
But aside from that, there is no, you know, putting this genie back in the bottle. But, you know, you do build up a certain, um, tolerance for just some of the challenges along the way, and yet you still decide every day it's worth it. So what are, um, what are some of the things that kind of keep you focused and keep you going forward when things are tough, or when things have been tough in the past?
Brie Peña: For me, I think it's the people part. I love the people part. I think we work really hard to serve people well, but I think all the different dynamics of the people part are why we're doing what we're doing. Um, I think- Especially being in the kid business and the kids are the core, but just knowing that we're playing a very small part into what those kids are gonna grow up to be-
Kristina Cross: Mm-hmm
Brie Peña: adults. And that's really cool, 'cause I think there's a lot of different types of businesses out there that your reach feels so specific and, you know, limited to this one widget that we're building. It might be the best widget in the world, but that's really what it is. And I think- Mm-hmm ... in our industry, it's, our, our reach is so broad and can ha- can go so many different ways and can impact people in ways that we don't even understand now.
And- Yeah ... that's a really fun and exciting place to be in. And I also think, obviously, dance being the vehicle, we have a special love and affinity for dance, so that that- Mm ... that also can just kind of bring some energy when you're feeling like the tank is exceptionally low. Um, because you're surrounded by something that you naturally love and, and have grown up doing.
Um, and then I think just the innovation, um, it's hard to feel drained when there's just so many different opportunities and, um, we're in such a creative space. And I just, again, I think it is such a unique niche business. Um, but it has, it has a lot of things that fuel, that fuel it, um, organically, that I think- Mm-hmm
maybe in other businesses you have to work really hard to find those. Yeah. I think in ours, um, there's just so many different ways that as things evolve and change, it, y- your energy level increases and you don't even have to try that hard.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Yeah.
Kristina Cross: I, I wanna add that, um, I don't know if your exposure to the dance world that you would even know this, but there are a lot of offerings for children in the dance world that I, as a mother of three dancers, do not think are good for children.
Toby Myles: Okay.
Kristina Cross: Um, if I'm being honest.
Toby Myles: That's fine. I don't, my kids are grown. I have a son and a daughter. My daughter did ballet for maybe half a year, um, until some girls made fun of her and she decided she didn't wanna go back. So that is... And, and I did ballet when I was a kid, so that is, like, my extent of knowledge- Yeah
around dance.
Kristina Cross: I, it, it can be and has a tendency, I think, to be a little bit of a dark, uh, to have a dark bent, you know?
Toby Myles: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: Um, they really, a lot, a lot of the offerings will tend to feed into this, like, teenage angst-
Toby Myles: Mm ...
Kristina Cross: situation that we're seeing. And-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Kristina Cross: and maybe just, I don't know, emotionally feed sides of children that we would not want to emotionally, um- feed.
Toby Myles: Yeah, yeah.
Kristina Cross: Um, and we're the opposite of that. Mm-hmm. We, we want our e- events and everything that we do to be a place of joy and a place that, that, I don't know, enhances the best part of humanity, not the worst-
Brie Peña: Mm-hmm ...
Kristina Cross: parts, not, not the parts that are over-sexualized or tend, just tend to be dark. And that's- Yeah
like, that's just the opposite of what we're trying to do.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: And I think the thing that energizes me the most is when people recognize that.
Brie Peña: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Cross: And they, and they see that. Because we're not, we're not super overt about our desires to be a place of joy and, and uplifting people. Um, but it, it just really comes through, and that's by design, you know?
Mm-hmm. We spend a lot of time talking to the people that work here and all of our faculty, and we're very particular about music choices and all of those things. And so it's, it's really awesome to see that we are actually bringing to life this brand that is kind of different than-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Kristina Cross: other offerings out there, and, and that people are seeing that come to life-
Toby Myles: Yeah
Kristina Cross: and appreciating it in the way that we hoped that they would.
Toby Myles: Yeah.
Kristina Cross: And so that just really fuels us- Yeah ... to keep moving and keep growing. Because if we're not there doing... If we're not in a certain state or a certain region yet, then a lot of the other offerings that are out there are, are the opposite.
Mm. And so it fuels us to want to grow and do more and bigger and better and-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Kristina Cross: things.
Toby Myles: Yeah. I think that's one of those things that, you know, you can talk about and you can put it on a website, but people really... The proof is in what they see and what they feel- Yeah ... you know, when they experience y- you know, your programs and your team, right?
Like, there's no replacement for that. You can have all the great marketing lingo that you want, but it doesn't mean anything if what is actually put out into the world doesn't exude joy and, you know. Right. Yeah, yeah. Thank you for adding that. I appreciate you adding that because I do think that, um, again, I'm not the expert by any means, but I would have a hunch that people maybe have a negative, um, idea about it just because of things they've seen, like, on television, like reality TV and, you know, showing, like, the worst side of just humanity, which is just...
Well- And people think that's it. Like, people think that's the
Kristina Cross: whole- People have times and-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Kristina Cross: like the award shows and, and all of that. Like, as a, as a parent, if, if my kid was saying, "I wanna be a dancer," and that's what I'm seeing, I would- Yeah ... I would be concerned, you know? Yeah. There is a fair amount of concern when you see...
I mean- I mean, obviously we should be concerned.
Toby Myles: We should be concerned, yes.
Kristina Cross: Um, but I just, I don't know. I feel like we have a responsibility to-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Kristina Cross: to continue to touch as many kids as we can, and to give them a place to dance that is gonna make them a better person-
Toby Myles: Yeah ...
Kristina Cross: not a worse person.
Toby Myles: Yeah. Love that.
That's so good. So before we close things out, I would love for you to share, um, where people can find you online, follow you if you're on social media, all the things.
Brie Peña: We are really active on social media. We're @elevationontour at all of our social outlets, as well as our website is at elevationontour.com.
Kristina Cross: Perfect. And Crowd Pleasers can be found at crowdpleasersdance.com, as well as I believe we're all CP Dance now, or Crowd Pleasers,
on our
Toby Myles: socials. Okay. All right. We will link everything in the show notes. This has been so much fun. I had a hunch that it would be. I learned a lot of things that I didn't expect that I would learn, not just how you each got here, but just, like, a whole different look at, um, at your industry. And so I'm, I'm sure that this is gonna be, um, a well-listened-to episode, so I appreciate you both, uh, for being here.
Kristina Cross: Yeah. Thanks so much for having us, Toby.
Toby Myles: Thank you.