Honoring the Healing Power of Dance

Cinematographer Austin Schmidt and film director Yasmina Cadiz in a heartfelt dialogue on the art of being fully present.

YC: Hola, Corazon!

It's lovely to reconnect with you. When you mentioned earlier that the surf has been good today, I pictured you immediately, paddling out along the Hawaiian coast, moving in quiet dialogue with the waves. There's something natural about imagining you there, trusting the ocean's rhythm and intelligence, allowing it to carry you into a moment of alignment. Thank you for taking me with you. I love that you make time to surf; it feels instinctive that you'd be drawn to the ocean.

How long have you been surfing, and what first drew you to it?

AS: Hello hello! Hugs to you from a distance. This is a fun format to share thoughts together and with others, thanks for including me. I do miss connecting as we did in the past when we both lived in LA.

Yes, the surf was good. One of the many draws of moving to the North Shore. I first started surfing in college, which was laughably the main reason I went to college. I don’t know why it was so important to me, having grown up in the mountains of Colorado. The sport was never on our radar as kids. It just became something I grew obsessed with during high school. So I followed my thirst for it and moved to San Diego for surf and college. The drive to film came a few years later.

YC: I hear that deeply. There’s a humility in the way you move through both the ocean and the work—showing up prepared, then surrendering to what wants to emerge. It’s a gift to create alongside someone who trusts the current. In that way, we're cut from a similar cloth. My heart genuinely goes out to the twenty-somethings of today. The box they carry is harder to recognize, almost invisible, yet it shapes the space they move through. I loved seeing the younger people in Alfredo's class, dancing and connecting without their cellphones, it was a glimpse of aliveness unmediated, a reminder that presence is still possible for this generation.

Every generation has its box. Ours did too; its edges were simply easier to see. Today, the box can feel like open air—glowing, responsive, held in the hands—so familiar it almost disappears. From inside it, those who live with momentum, who follow their curiosity into creation and movement, can be misunderstood. Aliveness may look like striving when stillness has grown heavy, and devotion to living can be mistaken for a wound rather than a choice.

It's no wonder the phone is often held while sitting in a car, a vessel designed for travel, offering the comfort of motion without risk of departure. I notice even as I write this—words formed inside a box, traveling into another (the internet). Tools themselves are not the trouble. What matters is the remembering: that we can step out, feel our feet on the ground, let the world meet us directly. Balance lives there, in that quiet, ongoing choice to say awake to life rather than merely observe it. Woah, that just came through fully synthesized... and ... we're back.

Before we continue, I’d like to set the scene for how this project came about, especially for younger creatives learning to trust the call to create when it lands in the heart, the way it did in mine.

AS: That’s the thing I can count on whenever you ring me. Whatever the idea, project, or inspiration is, it is always something that has completely moved you and has totally connected you with a specific aspect of life. So a note for all the directors out there, if you’re not 100% deep in it, your collaborators won’t be either.

YC: Let me set the scene for how this project came to be.

Fitness has always been important to me, so I make time for it regularly. As an avid salsa dancer, it never even crossed my mind to join the Latin Cardio dance classes offered at my gym by Alfredo.

Every day I was there, I’d notice the same thing: a line of people—young and old, Latino and non-Latino, seasoned athletes and those just beginning their fitness journeys, all lining up to get a spot in Alfredo’s class. Meanwhile, I’d be off doing shoulder presses, headphones on, fully immersed in my own playlist, completely unaware of what the fuss was about.

But the class was always packed.

Everyone danced in unison to a choreographed routine you were simply expected to catch up on, because Alfredo doesn’t teach the steps. The music starts, and you stumble along until you memorize it. And memorize it they did.

There was an 80-plus-year-old man dancing alongside a twenty-something living her best life. It was glorious.

They were living in the moment. Moving together, laughing, sweating—a community healing itself through shared experience, music, and motion. Day after day. Month after month. Eventually, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

So one day, I decided to jump in.

I mean… how hard could it be? I’m an experienced salsa dancer. On1, On2, (NYC, mambo style). I thought, I've got this.

I did not have this.

It was a disaster right out of the gate, and incredibly humbling. You have to be able to laugh at yourself and I did. This form of group dance, it turns out, is not my strength. I prefer improvisation: the playful, gentle tension of not knowing what my partner will do next, the unspoken conversation that happens one step ahead of the music. I can lead, but I also love following when the connection is there, moment to moment.

I never got the hang of Alfredo’s class, but I fell completely in love with the people in it.

They were having so much fun together. Alfredo created that atmosphere. He is jazz hands embodied, in the very best way. One of the bright stars on this planet. I wanted to honor the joy he brings into the world, so I asked if he would allow me to create a moving portrait of him and about the experience.

Alfredo and his students were more than happy to give back to him. Everything fell into place. All that was left was one phone call—to Austin.

Austin is a professional cinematographer who’s worked on top-tier Hollywood films. We met a few years earlier when I directed a fitness-based project for Universal Studios. Within weeks, he was in my LA loft helping secure a RED camera, the lens I was obsessed with at the time, and all the gear we needed. You’d be surprised how much equipment goes into a “simple” shoot.

Austin and I are make-it-happen creatives and he was open to collaborating on a project with an À la minute approach. We work well together. He’s a lighthouse, and I’m deeply grateful to have him in my life.

Alright, now that the backstory is set, let’s dive into conversation.

YC: When I first called you about filming a Latin Cardio dance workout class at a gym, what was your initial reaction? Did you have any reservations, especially coming off a feature film project, or did it feel like a breath of fresh air?

AS: Hahahaha, I never thought about it in terms of “reservations.” Sure, the original concept isn’t something that jumps off the page. And if someone else had pitched it, I don’t know that I would have embraced it so quickly.

But because I know how your mind works, I love experiencing the layers beneath the layers with you. So despite what the pitch may have looked like on paper, I know there is much more beneath that you want to discover. This project was no different. That’s why finding your “people” matters. There’s a trust factor and belief factor in what you two can create together. Even though I don’t fully know how it’s going to unfold, I’m confident the ride will be impactful, the people we meet will be life-changing, and the experience will be personally and creatively uplifting.

YC: How do you prepare, mentally and emotionally, to work on a project like this? I’m curious how you generally approach collaboration and the headspace you need to arrive in.

AS: The prep process is different for every project, but I generally adapt to the Director’s process, as my job is to support their work. That said, I encourage spending as much time together as possible, in and out of working hours.

This gives me a better view through the Director’s creative window. Creativity and inspiration don’t come out of a tap you turn on or off according to a meeting schedule. Being around a Director, experiencing everyday life, helps me understand the way they see it.

Emotionally, spending time together creates a human connection. When hours get long and situations intense, I kick into high gear and go above and beyond for the person and the project. They’re no longer just a work associate, they’re a good friend.

Over the last few years, I’ve increasingly used music during visual preparation. It helps create a rhythm of visuals and camera movement, whether shot listing ahead of time or shooting on the fly.

YC: It’s funny, my spirit seems to call out to you whenever I’m in a deeply poetic creative space. The best way I can describe it is this: when I lived in the West Village in NYC, I would walk to my favorite mambo dance social anytime I wanted to challenge myself creatively. Dancing On2 (mambo) in New York is like being handed a hot potato while juggling spinning plates on a tightrope. Challenge accepted. I loved it.

But I especially loved when Mario was there. I didn’t know him personally—just his name, his face, and the fact that he was an exhilarating dance partner. The level of improvisation we shared was unlike anything else. You are my Mario of filmmaking. I hope that makes sense.

For anyone reading this and feeling a little overwhelmed right now: I’m honest, and I don’t hold back. So, Mr. Austin, what does it feel like looking back on this project today given the current state of the filmmaking industry and the increased role of AI?

AS: That is a poignant question. This project is a good case in point. AI will become another tool in a creative’s toolbox, but it can’t replace the human elements this work relies on. A project that grows from a seed in your mind, adapting on the day of shooting and evolving into its own unique human story, could never be fully created by AI. Audiences will always value authenticity and human connection.

In additon, AI as a creative tool collates information from a multitude of sources and spits out the average middle ground of it all from what's been done before. But in the film world, none of us are interested in the "average."

YC: Amen. I agree 100%.

When I finally returned to the edit, I poured all of that renewed energy into the process. I had so much fun, it genuinely gave me life. I imagine there may have been a moment when you weren’t sure whether we even had anything “in the can” after lockdown. When I resurfaced and shared the edit with you, what was your first impression?

AS: I think taking time before editing is a good thing. Your work on this project is proof of that. Prep, shooting, and editing are very different stages. It’s important not to be emotionally attached to what you wanted to capture, but to become emotionally engaged with what you captured.

I absolutely loved the way this piece turned out and am very proud of our work. After each project together, I'm very excited to see how you finish it. It's like unwrapping a little present each time I see the final product. I have an idea about what I’m about to see, but then it’s always so much better and elevated than what I imagined.

YC: Any form of attachment is unhealthy. So yes, detaching and letting time, space, and perspective carry the work for a while, is what lets it blossom when we return to edit.

When we eventually work together on the narrative project I’ve had burning in my pocket for years now, how do you think we should mark and honor that moment

AS: Well, you obviously come to Kauai for a visit, and get to immerse yourself in Mother Island!

YC: Done. I'm open to diving in and giving surfing a go.

What would you like to explore creatively in the process of our next project and how I can help support you in realizing your visionary goals?

AS: I tend to go with the flow and enjoy the moment. For me, staying present and connected to the people, the place, the energy is where the best creative outcomes come from.

YC: I want you to know how deeply you are loved, Mr. Austin. Thank you for being an honest, open, and trusted co-creator.

AS: Gracias, my dear. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Film family is everything in this business. Impossible to survive this process for long without them.