In this episode of Why We Dance, host Mia Tate sits down with creative leader Aaron Walton to explore how movement—across dance, discipline, and life—became a pathway to freedom, authenticity, and continual becoming.
Freedom as Practice. Movement as Choice.
In this episode of Why We Dance, Mia Tate welcomes Aaron Walton for a reflective and wide-ranging conversation about freedom—not as a destination, but as something lived, practiced, and earned through motion.
Aaron shares how growing up in a musically rich household shaped his earliest relationship to rhythm and expression, long before his career in advertising took shape. He reflects on formative professional experiences, including working alongside Michael Jackson, and how proximity to cultural icons taught him less about spectacle and more about discipline, trust, and creative rigor.
Rather than lingering in the spotlight, the conversation moves forward—through fashion, embodied learning, and spiritual curiosity. Aaron traces his path from Paris runways to the quiet intensity of the ballet studio, including his involvement with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, where structure, humility, and presence reshaped his relationship to movement.
The episode culminates in a deeply personal moment as Aaron reads a letter on why he dances—an intimate reflection on authenticity, gratitude, and the courage to remain open to change. This is a conversation about loosening definitions, honoring lineage, and discovering that true freedom is not found in stillness, but in motion.
Episode Timestamps:
[00:00] Embracing Curiosity and Growth
[01:22] Introducing Aaron Walton
[03:02] The Power of Dance and Movement
[06:36] Childhood and Early Influences
[08:36] Educational Journey and METCO Program
[12:03] Career Beginnings at Pepsi
[14:36] Michael Jackson’s Bad Tour Experience
[17:57] The Discipline Behind Creativity
[22:12] Fashion Week and Personal Growth
[29:17] Embracing Confidence and Body Awareness
[30:29] Joining the LINES Ballet Board
[32:05] Winning the Auction and Preparing to Dance
[33:46] The Joy of Ballet and Continuous Learning
[35:03] The Power of Movement and Creativity
[37:09] The Importance of Disruption and Curiosity
[45:11] Personal Truths and Coming Out
[47:08] Spiritual Connection to Movement
[49:19] Reflecting on Family and Upbringing
[54:25] Concluding Thoughts and Letter Reading
Links & Resources:
Mia Tate’s IMDb
Aaron Walton – Walton Isaacson
Alonzo King LINES Ballet}
Subscribe and Follow Why We Dance on Youtube, TikTok, and Instagram
Podcast Producer S.J. Nichols (Seannon Gonzalez)
Executive Producer Meredith Gooderham
Production Studio Caspian Studios
Camera Operator Kai Irvine
Assistant Camera Ben Drummond
Production also by Dark to Light Productions
Thank you to Davies Reid Rugs
[00:00:00] Aaron Walton: I've always kind of been that way. I've always had this very curious kind of personality where I've wanted to learn new things and I wanted to experiment and try things. And sometimes as you get older, you. You can play it safe and that makes you feel very comfortable. But for me, that comfort is very uncomfortable because it means I'm not growing and it means that I'm, I'm feeling stale.
[00:00:34] Aaron Walton: And so that's why I, I'm constant in constant motion. I think, you know, when I look at little kids that that's how they. Play and they learn and they're touch moving and they're, they're doing it unabashed, you know, with so much excitement. And I think, God, we need to keep some of that in us. That's what we experiment and we learn and we grow and we do all the things that are exciting, not just for us, but for the people around us.
[00:01:22] Mia Tate: Okay on why we dance. Of course, we love to celebrate stories about dancers, but we also seek to find stories about people who just love to dance or people who understand movement as a way to live an extraordinary life. Our guest today, Aaron Walton, is a perfect example of that. His stage is advertising everything from, let's see, Michael Jackson to Beyonce to Magic Johnson.
[00:01:52] Mia Tate: This is what I wanna talk to him about. He understands movement. He a profound way. How it moves people. And I find that fascinating. Uh, he is a co-founder of the creative agency, Walton and Isaacson. They have offices in la, New York, Chicago, and Atlanta. He's recently been inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame, one of the few African Americans to be on the roster.
[00:02:21] Mia Tate: He is a lover of theater and dance on the board of Lions Ballet. He said something beautiful. He said in his mind he dances as he creates and innovates, he thinks outside the box. He looks for opportunities to do things differently, celebrating diversity, and my favorite way it was put encouraging disruption.
[00:02:48] Mia Tate: He's my kind of person and it is my honor to welcome Erin to why We Dance.
[00:02:54] Aaron Walton: Oh, what a beautiful introduction. Thank you, Mia.
[00:02:57] Mia Tate: You're so welcome. It's such an honor to
[00:02:59] Aaron Walton: meet you. Uh, the honor is all mine. I love what you're doing. I love. How you are laying out the critical importance of dance and of movement and how it just keeps the world spinning and keeps us all doing what we need to do to, to make it through some beautiful times and some difficult times.
[00:03:22] Mia Tate: That is so well put. Exactly. I feel like it's movement, dance, the whole thing. It's kind of, it's this primal heartbeat we all share.
[00:03:30] Aaron Walton: Yeah. You know, it's, it's interesting. Um. As you mentioned, I'm on the board for the Lines Ballet and the founder and creative force behind it. Alonzo King always talks about how everyone is a dancer.
[00:03:46] Aaron Walton: Everyone has it inside of them and how it comes out. When it comes out it, it eventually will, but there is a fundamental belief that we all have that spirit. We all have that innate. Ability to express ourselves through dance. And it's always been something that I've loved. Never anything that I thought I was gonna do professionally, but I've always loved how it would make you feel.
[00:04:16] Aaron Walton: Um. You know, one of my favorite things with my mom, she recently passed and, but we would have date nights and we would just dance, and there was something freeing and beautiful and expressive, and just allowing yourself to be who you are without judgment and just. You know, embrace the moment. The music, the, the, the spirit of that energy that kind of exists really does kind of make you feel the joy and makes your soul move.
[00:04:51] Aaron Walton: And so, uh, I've always loved it and I love Mm, I think, uh, it's so important for all of us, um, even those people who aren't, you know, professional dancers to embrace it.
[00:05:04] Mia Tate: Right. I think that is so beautiful. I think it's something like for me, that you can kind of shut down and forget about. Mm-hmm. And when you're at your most alive or most kind of truthful is when you kind of remember.
[00:05:15] Mia Tate: And that's why I wanted to start this podcast because movement is a profound connection to like presence. I think it's a
[00:05:24] Aaron Walton: profound connection to presence. It is about storytelling. It is. Innovation. There's, there's so much that that comes from it. It just keeps your body alive and vibrant and connected to the energy around us.
[00:05:42] Aaron Walton: Um, so yeah. I, I,
[00:05:44] Mia Tate: yes. Okay. Well, I wanna go back though, because I love this. So let me just have a visual here. So you're on date night with your mom. Yes. And you just turn on the music as part of date night and start dancing.
[00:05:55] Aaron Walton: We will put on whatever music, uh, you know. And it can be anything. We, it's, we just love to dance and she loved to dance and, and even when we would go out, you know, I was lucky enough to, to be able to go to a lot of events, a lot of industry events, and there's always music.
[00:06:14] Aaron Walton: And she was unabashed come. Grabbed me, like, let's just go, let's dance. And, and it wasn't just with me. She would, you know, my friends were there, she would dance with them. It was just, it, it was great. And so I will always have that memory of her and the joy that it brought, uh, it brought her and, and me as a result.
[00:06:35] Aaron Walton: So.
[00:06:36] Mia Tate: I love that when you, you talked about when you grew up, you were always twirling and dancing. I mean, before we even put a word like dance on it, just how you moved, you were just that kind of kid.
[00:06:47] Aaron Walton: Yeah. You know, in my house growing up, we had all types of music. My, my parents are really into music and, and my dad was, um, you know, later in his life he decided he was gonna.
[00:07:03] Aaron Walton: Teach himself how to play the congas. And so he would play the congas and he would just, we had that kind of energy in our house all the time. And so for us, that movement, that music that, you know, connecting the stories that we were hearing on the radio through the mu, through the music, um. Was always a part of our life.
[00:07:27] Aaron Walton: I, I never remember it not being a part of my life, and it wasn't just, you know. You know, my, my grandmother worked for Gunther Schuler, and, um, so we would listen to classical music. Um, my parents, you know, I, I tell everyone that they were like hippies and so we were listening to everything from Motown to the Rolling Stones.
[00:07:50] Aaron Walton: It was just always present. And so for us, you know, just having that joy that, that those times when you're, you know. Just letting your hair down and, and yeah. Presence was, was always part of our house, so I never remember not doing
[00:08:07] Mia Tate: it. Oh, I love that. Where did you grow up?
[00:08:12] Aaron Walton: I, well, I was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and Okay.
[00:08:16] Aaron Walton: Then we moved to a small town called Bellingham, Massachusetts. So. Mm, fourth grade, um, we moved to Bellingham, which boarded Rhode Island. And so I actually went to private school in Rhode Island, but most of my, uh, childhood was, was in Bellingham.
[00:08:36] Mia Tate: Okay. And so I read you, um, bust, you were one of the first bust children in the county.
[00:08:42] Mia Tate: That's why I was wondering where is this at?
[00:08:44] Aaron Walton: You know, when I was in Roxbury. There was a experimental program, which is still going on now actually. It was called the Medco Program. And what they did is they took, and I was one of the first seven kids in this program, so they took seven black kids and they bused them to, um, the suburbs for school.
[00:09:09] Aaron Walton: So I went to, uh. Kindergarten through fourth grade, and it continued on to 12th grade, but we had just moved. But the idea was to help these students get an education that would not exist for them in the city. And it was also great for the school that we were, I went to school, to elementary school in in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and it was good for those students to be exposed to a different culture.
[00:09:40] Aaron Walton: Um, us, you know, kind of being from Roxbury and, and having a different kind of point of view on life and, and how we grew up. Um, so it was, it was, it was great. It was a voluntary busing program. Uh, it still exists today. I think so much of what I was able to achieve is a function of being exposed to. Other cultures to other ways of thinking.
[00:10:10] Aaron Walton: Um, that often doesn't happen when you're kind of just focused in 1, 1, 1 area. It was great. It transformed, I think, so much of my view of the world. My parents were very, very focused on education and making sure that. They gave, you know, their kids an op, an equal opportunity to, to thrive. And, and being a part of that METCO program really did to do that for us.
[00:10:39] Mia Tate: Very
[00:10:39] Aaron Walton: nice. And then you,
[00:10:41] Mia Tate: and then you went off to school, then you did go, where did you go? Yeah,
[00:10:44] Aaron Walton: I ended up, um, well I went to high school in Rhode Island and went to Mount St. Charles Academy, uh, which is a college prep. Uh, school and then I ended up going to Babson College where I, um, graduated in 1983. I have a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Communication, but it's an incredible experience being at Babson.
[00:11:08] Aaron Walton: It, it, um, it very entrepreneurial, um, very much about. Really pushing yourself and, and, and trying to find those areas where you could excel, but also sometimes it was a little scary, right? Doing something you've never done before. I guess for a lot of entrepreneurs that's. You know, that's what they do.
[00:11:32] Aaron Walton: That's what we do. We kind of push ourselves, try new things, super curious about the world and, and kind of identifying things that we can do to fill gaps or to build, you know, industries. And so for me, Babson was really a great stepping stone for. Building my confidence in, in showing me that there was an opportunity to kind of grow beyond areas that I thought I could.
[00:12:03] Aaron Walton: And then I ended up working at Pepsi, which I loved. Oh my gosh, it was such a great experience. And, and, um, before starting my own company.
[00:12:14] Mia Tate: I would love to hear about that a little bit. 'cause that's when you were with, um, uh, one of the executives on the Michael Jackson bad tour. Yeah. So I would love to hear about that experience.
[00:12:24] Aaron Walton: I, I actually started my career at Pepsi as a research analyst, which I love because it was about data, it was about storytelling, and it was like, you, you were learning so much not to, I love data as storytelling. Well, it really is because. Follow the numbers. Yeah. You'll be able to understand consumer behavior, you'll be able to understand, right.
[00:12:46] Aaron Walton: The industry is moving and so I love that part. Um, then they moved me onto the brand side of the business and I was on the Mountain Dew business and then ultimately I was on the, uh, Pepsi Cola brand business. And it was an incredible experience. I had kind of a dual role on that. On that brand. I, because my research background did a lot of the, the research and worked with the research department.
[00:13:17] Aaron Walton: But the other part of my passion was entertainment. And at the time there was a gentleman by the name of Roger en Rico. He was the, um, started as a chief marketing officer and ultimately, uh, became the president of Pepsi and then the chairman of the board for PepsiCo. But Roger was very focused on the.
[00:13:40] Aaron Walton: Using entertainment is a way to help tell the Pepsi story. Mm-hmm. And one of the ways that we were really looking at kind of carving out our own space was looking at music and looking at pop culture and supporting tours that were going out. And so at the, at the time we, you know, we were working with.
[00:14:07] Aaron Walton: Michael Jackson, Britney Spears. Lionel. Mm, Gloria Estefan. Uh, gosh, there were so many different folks that we were working with. So many different artists, just the biggest artist of the day. We were really associated with, and Michael was going out on his first solo tour, and we had already sponsored the Victory Tour.
[00:14:31] Aaron Walton: Uh, Pepsi had sponsored the Victory Tour, but this was Michael's first. You know, solo tour and it was a bad tour, and so Roger really wanted me to go out. With the tour and manage it from Pepsi's perspective because there was a lot of, you know, a lot of money that we would were investing in this. There was a lot of execution with each of the different bottlers across the country, and they needed a consistent, um, presence there.
[00:15:02] Aaron Walton: So I was basically assigned to do that and I went on the road with him for 18 months and it was extraordinary. I mean, when I tell you the first. I was based in New York, which is where their headquarters, um, is located. And Michael was rehearsing here in Los Angeles and they had taken over, um, one of the back lots at Universal and they had the entire set.
[00:15:30] Aaron Walton: Put together. And I literally walked in, um, and I was sitting in the back at the soundboard and I watched Michael for over an hour re rehears. He was, uh, rehearsing, um, Billie Jean. And he had the fedora and he was just rehearsing the movement, making sure the light hit at the right time, making sure Greg filling gains musical director, was hitting with the right note at the right time, and just over and over until it became instinctual for everyone, the crew.
[00:16:06] Aaron Walton: Michael, the band, they knew exactly how that movement, how the music, how the lighting, how the staging had to come together. To tell that story and 'cause he was so rehearsed, it was effortless. People don't realize, you know, how much work went into it because it just made it look seamless. But it was a real valuable lesson for me about rehearsing and being prepared and being really focused about your vision and not being.
[00:16:46] Aaron Walton: In a position where you want to compromise that, and he did it. It was, it was an incredible, extraordinary experience for me. And every time, yeah, every time I would go, uh, go to a different city, the reaction from people were always just. It was incredible. It was. He was Taylor Swift before Taylor Swift was, you know what I mean?
[00:17:10] Aaron Walton: He had those kind of fans and they were the
[00:17:12] Mia Tate: fans. Yeah, it was, well I think of when you tell that story, Aaron, I think of a couple things, like I think of the sense memory in the body. How, you know when we get something just in our body, it just becomes, his style was so his own. But all of us have a thing we do that comes in our body.
[00:17:28] Mia Tate: And I also play with the idea with that story of the. Of discipline. This is my new, I'm fascinated with discipline because I feel like discipline is the gateway to freedom. Instead, you can't quite get to the full freedom without discipline. You know, like how, how hard he worked to create this whole new, or how hard you work to create these ads, to tell these stories.
[00:17:52] Mia Tate: There's, it's like, this is just my magic thing lately, is freedom found through discipline.
[00:17:57] Aaron Walton: I think you're onto something because. Every great artist, whether you're a songwriter, a dancer, a, a musician, it, it doesn't just happen. It happens over time. It happens through failure. Learning from it. Yeah.
[00:18:20] Aaron Walton: Crafting it differently, trying new things. I, I, I do think that that idea of discipline and sitting down and. Plotting it out is important. I work with a designer, his name is Ren Shoe. He's a fashion designer and I've walked in over 20 shows of his and what made me think about it was this idea about discipline because he is very focused.
[00:18:47] Aaron Walton: He sits down, he, you know. Before a collection, he, he kind of designs around a space, so he has a vision of the space that he's going to design, and then he kind of creates his collection. And I was just fascinated because I used to think, well, you know, a designer goes out, he, he's walking, he sees, you know, a beautiful tree, and that's kind of the, you know, the way that they ultimately start.
[00:19:13] Aaron Walton: He's like, no, I sit down, I start the collection, I start designing on this date. I will finish it by this. Mm-hmm. I will have my fab, you know, so there is a value to getting into that routine, getting into that discipline as you, as you so appropriately said, to getting great work to come out of it.
[00:19:40] Mia Tate: Right in that way that then you get to kind of break out of the box there, you get a, you know, look at unseen opportunities like you do, or how do you want it to look?
[00:19:50] Mia Tate: How do you want it to be different? But having all the knowledge beforehand, going in with, um, with that understanding. Yeah. Empowers one.
[00:19:59] Aaron Walton: Yeah. There's, there's also, you know, one of the things that we do at the agency that's really important. We've learned it from our Toyota Lexus client. It's this idea, um, centered around Kaizen.
[00:20:16] Aaron Walton: And Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy. It's about constant improvement and one of the things that we do at the agency. Is make sure that we're having kaizen sessions after everything we do, after every ad that we produce, after every event that we, uh, produce and we sit down and it's not about identifying what went wrong, what went right, it's about learning and how do we make it better the next time, even if it was an amazing.
[00:20:48] Aaron Walton: Experience, even if it was an ad, we sit and say, okay, that's good, but what can we do to make it better the next time? And it's that discipline that, that non-judgment, but getting into it with the right spirit that makes yes, huge difference. And it makes our work better.
[00:21:07] Mia Tate: Yeah. So purposeful. Yeah. As you get to, uh, you know, play almost with not just how can it be better, but as play, you know, like, what else, what,
[00:21:21] Aaron Walton: what can we do?
[00:21:22] Aaron Walton: Yeah. It's a little bit like, um, you know, I'm gonna have our creatives do, uh, some sessions with improv because I think being able to bounce off of one another, bounce ideas off without. Stopping. Right. But one of the great great things about improv, which you sure you know, is it's, it's never, no. It's, yes.
[00:21:47] Aaron Walton: And, and it's constantly, you know, moving things forward. And so I do think there is something really beautiful about that and how that can really help transform how we think, how we work, uh, how ideas can get developed.
[00:22:05] Mia Tate: Yes. I love the yes and yeah, I'm a big fan of the, and. Absolutely. Absolutely. Gosh, I, I wanted to ask you about when you walked, you know, I didn't realize you had done it that much in fashion Week, and when we go back to playing with our body and being, you know, in our vehicle, in our movement, how did it feel when you walked on Fashion Week?
[00:22:28] Mia Tate: Like, tell me, tell me a little bit about. I don't know anything about an experience like that.
[00:22:33] Aaron Walton: Well, it's really interesting. So the first time that I walked was in Paris during, uh, fashion week, and I will say I was really nervous. Be, you have to imagine, um, everyone focused on your and how your body. It can get tense when, you know, everyone is really just staring at you.
[00:23:02] Aaron Walton: And I'm not an actor. I, I'm, you know, not used to being on stage. So I had to learn how to breathe. I had to learn how to almost, to some degree, take on the character that. He wanted to help tell that story of what his collection was like. So I was really paying attention to what the collection was like, what my role in telling that story, and then learning how to breathe, stretch em body.
[00:23:51] Aaron Walton: Of what he wanted and it worked. And so the nerves started to go away. When I started to understand what my role was and how I needed to help him talk about the collection through my body, through the way I walked, through the way I. I stood and, and stopped and looked and, and did all the things that, uh, you know, you do when you're doing a fashion show.
[00:24:19] Aaron Walton: The last two shows that we've done have been in New York, and that was thrilling because I'd, I'd always gone to the fashion or New York Fashion Week, but I've never walked in them. So this was a great. Yeah, it was really, uh, a lot of fun and we'll be doing it again next year in September. We're going to, uh, I'll go to Tokyo to do the show, uh, to film his collection.
[00:24:48] Aaron Walton: Uh, and then we'll, and now we'll get released and then we'll come back in September for, for his New York Fashion Week show.
[00:24:57] Mia Tate: Why do you think he asks you to be in it?
[00:25:02] Aaron Walton: You know, I, that's a really good how it, how it started. Okay. I had to do some new headshots. The, the, my team was like, we gotta get some new headshot of you.
[00:25:16] Aaron Walton: And I was like, oh my God, if I have to do another one of those, you know, corporate boring, they look like your high school yearbook headshot. I was like, I, I can't do it. I will do it if you let me kind of do it the way that I would wanna do, which is much more focused on fashion and, and that's a big part of what I'm Right.
[00:25:38] Aaron Walton: And they were like, absolutely, absolutely. Go ahead. And so I called my friend, uh, Cal y, who's this amazing fashion photographer, and I asked Cal, I said, Hey, would you do me a favor? Would you, I know this is way below your pay grade, but would you take my headshot? And he said, sure. What, what do you think of?
[00:25:58] Aaron Walton: And I said, um, well, I have been reading this article and this was a great article on Will I Am. And I saw this suit that he had. I've been desperate to try to find this suit that he was wearing. And he says, well, lemme say it. I showed it to him. He goes, oh, that's Resu. I shoot for Resu. I was like, you're kidding me?
[00:26:23] Aaron Walton: I said, can you see if he can get the show now? Resu was in Tokyo, so he reaches out to Resu. Resu sends the suit. I tried it on, worked perfectly. We shot, Cal sent this photo back and when she calls and said, um. To Cal. He said, I like your friend's. Look very much. Would he be interested in walking my show in Paris for fashion wig?
[00:26:47] Aaron Walton: Cal. Cal called me. I said, did you just ask a gay black man if he wanted to walk in a fashion show? And Paris, the answer is yes. When do we go? So that's how it started. Uh, I don't know. I think the reason and answer your question, I think the reason there is a connection. That we have where I understand what he's doing with his collection.
[00:27:15] Aaron Walton: I, I love it. I mean, I love the artistry of it. And he's now working with his wife, who's also a designer who, by the way, was a ballet, a dancer. So there ity in how they work and, and, um. Create and the, the, I just feel really strong and powerful when I'm putting on the, the, the, and so, um, I just think there was something natural that just worked for the two of us.
[00:27:51] Aaron Walton: I think he understands that I understand what he is doing and how to tell the story, and, and I really appreciate the, the attention to detail, the fabrics, the textures, all of it is just wonderful.
[00:28:06] Mia Tate: You know, you've always been kind of a tr, you've always been a trailblazer, and I'm wondering if through that, if you think you hold yourself in your body a particular way.
[00:28:18] Aaron Walton: Um, you know, it's really interesting. I, I do, I've started taking ballet classes and I've done that largely because there is something. That ballet does from the inside that makes me stand differently, feel differently. Um, I myself, I think with more strength and more, um, what's the word? I, I guess it's, it's not just strength.
[00:28:57] Aaron Walton: It's about this power that feels like you're. Control a little bit more, and you're at one with your body. And so for me, that does translate a lot into how I walk into a room when I'm presenting, how I am talking about ideas. There's a level of confidence that comes with, you know, being. Much more grounded in who you are and how your body is, how your place, your voice, and, and so it has made a huge difference, I think in, in how I kind of walk through the world and how I am at one with my body and how that translates to other people and how they react when, when they're Yes,
[00:29:49] Mia Tate: it does.
[00:29:49] Mia Tate: Yes. I, um, on the side, I, I teach yoga sometimes and I say, you know, we're getting a great gift here. We're getting inside our body, and then we get a move out in the world in a way that elevates, because we're coming from, we're in our body, we feel the wind, you know? Yeah. Yeah. And so the dancing, the taking of dance classes.
[00:30:13] Mia Tate: Now tell me, let's, um, tell me about lines getting on the board with that, and then I wanna know about like, the auction piece, getting on stage and how you started dancing and how you've continued dancing and all the beautiful stuff.
[00:30:29] Aaron Walton: So I've been on the board, on the board for the Lines, ballet for two, a little over two years now.
[00:30:37] Aaron Walton: And, um, actually it's long, about almost three years. I have always been a fan of the Lines Ballet. I had a good friend who was on the board and, um, she turned off the board and, and her husband ended, ended up being on the board and, and was the chairman of the board. And, and he had reached out to me actually during COVID to see if I was interested in, in joining.
[00:31:03] Aaron Walton: And of course. I was such a fan of Alonzo and the work that he has done, the movement, the storytelling, the cost. I mean, it is just exquisite. And I loved this company because it was so diverse. There were people from around the world that were part of this. This beautiful group of dancers and, and artists, and I was just thrilled to be in a position where I could help bring that art to the world and other people appreciate the movement, the dance, the music, uh, that is all part of Align's experience.
[00:31:53] Aaron Walton: Um. We have once a year they have their annual gala and they usually introduce a new piece in San Francisco. And following the, the, the performance, there's, you know, fundraiser and one of the fundraising items last year was, well actually in 2024, the auction item was a walk-on part. To be in this year's performance.
[00:32:26] Aaron Walton: And so I bid on it and I won. And I was actually kinda laughing 'cause I was talking smack during the board calls. I was like, all right, if I'm gonna come up, I don't just wanna enter stage left, give someone a sword and then exit stage, right? I wanna, I wanna dance, I wanna costume, I wanna play. And you know, and Alonzo, he's such a beautiful soul, he, he literally said.
[00:32:51] Aaron Walton: Oh, Aaron wants to dance. We're gonna, and they gave me, you know, the, the choreography. I looked at it and it was overwhelming. It was only, you know, 50 seconds. I mean, it was not that long, but it was complicated. And so I had, uh, a woman named Suzanne Easter, who's a incredible dancer, professional dancer. And now she's working for our agency.
[00:33:23] Aaron Walton: She's leading the content division that we, we've started and I said, Suzanne, I'm pulling you back out of retirement. You're gonna have to teach me. So we months starting in January through April, we would rehearse. Um, we had this beautiful, you know. Studio that we would rehearse in, not far from, from the house, and we would spend the time and I realized how much I really loved that rehearsal and, and how much I really didn't know about ballet or didn't really have an appreciation then like I do now.
[00:34:08] Aaron Walton: Um, having been in an audience and watched ballet, you really do start to appreciate it differently when you're, when you're taking a class. And so I said, well, why wouldn't I continue doing this? It was a beautiful experience. It was really got me into shape, but it's outta shape. I was, I started doing it and, um, I felt like I was learning something new and, and it was just.
[00:34:34] Aaron Walton: You know, inspiring and, and Suzanne was such a patient teacher, and it's a very different discipline than, you know, what I do every day. And so it really taught me a lot about patience. It taught me a lot about movement. It taught me a lot about precision and, and, uh, you know, how all of that kind of comes together to really help tell beautiful stories.
[00:35:01] Mia Tate: Hmm. I love that. I feel like you've kind of always had this understanding, like when you say, um, in your stunning letter that I'm so excited for you to read at the end of the episode. I was really moved by that letter, but I loved how you said, um, your mind dances as you create and innovate.
[00:35:20] Aaron Walton: Yeah. It's just one of those things where you, it's this constant motion, this constant.
[00:35:28] Aaron Walton: Ideas, like a flowing through, flowing through me, and I've learned not to stop them. You just, they have to come out. And sometimes that's through movement. Sometimes, you know, I'm now one of those people who, you know, I have a pad next to my bed because something comes up, I have to write it down, get it out, and then I move on.
[00:35:56] Aaron Walton: And so. I, I've always kind of been that way. I've always had this very curious kind of personality where I've wanted to learn new things and I wanted to experiment and try things. And sometimes as you get older, you, you can play it, it's safe and that makes you feel very comfortable. But. For me that comfort is very uncomfortable because it means I'm not growing and it means that I'm, I'm feeling stale.
[00:36:33] Aaron Walton: And so that's why I'm constant in constant motion. I think, you know, when I look at little kids that that's how they play and they learn and they're touching, moving, and they're, they're doing it unabashed, you know, with so much excitement and I think, God, we need to keep some of that in us. That's how we experiment and we learn and we grow, and we do all the things that are exciting, not just for us, but for the people around us.
[00:37:04] Aaron Walton: Mm-hmm.
[00:37:07] Mia Tate: It is that exciting that yes. And that outside of the box you have a great, what is it encouraging disruption, you know, I mean, I love how you word things, but would that be, would that fall in the lines of what you're saying with the curiosity, with the, looking deeper at things, with that, you know, constant movement.
[00:37:31] Mia Tate: Yeah. People
[00:37:32] Aaron Walton: think often. Of collisions as being a negative thing. And I think of it as a positive thing and, and I've used this analogy before, think of a kaleidoscope, right? And so you have a kaleidoscope and you've. You can look through it and you look at one of those beautiful shapes and it's fine on its own, but then when you turn it and it collides into something else, it creates a bigger, more beautiful mosaic.
[00:38:03] Aaron Walton: And so for me, that constant movement, that constant, you know, going out of your body, getting into areas that are not necessarily comfortable and colliding with new ideas can create. That disruption. That brings us to new ways of thinking, to new ways of experimenting, to new ways of understanding how things work and how things can grow, and how things can ultimately come up with a solution that you may not have had if you're just looking at it.
[00:38:42] Aaron Walton: Through a very narrow lens.
[00:38:44] Mia Tate: Yeah. Yes, it is. Those times of disruption in my life that I look back on. You know, those hard have to chew on kind of times that I look back with the most, where my heart swells the most. I mean, it was very alive in those moments. And if we're so interested in comfort, you know, you just, you don't give yourself that opportunity.
[00:39:09] Aaron Walton: You don't, and, and there's nothing wrong with being comfortable. And don't get me wrong, I'm like, we all wanna snuggle up and be comfortable every once in a while. But, but doing that. Without. Yeah. This idea of moving forward at some point and getting out of the, that lane can be stifling and I think, yeah, you start to die a little bit where you just have those blinders on and, and I wanna live, I wanna experience life and all of the great things that it has to offer.
[00:39:41] Aaron Walton: I'm not gonna be able to do everything, but I'm gonna try.
[00:39:46] Mia Tate: I have a feeling you might, I'll try. Uh, I have a question If this speaks to you. So when you know that moment where you get an idea, I would imagine where it just that click, you know, that like, uh, and it starts building and building, where do you feel that in your body?
[00:40:05] Aaron Walton: I usually feel it in my arms. I know that sounds, but because when I'm very.
[00:40:16] Aaron Walton: You know, I use my hands a lot to express myself and usually it's, it's, it's my arms moving. It's how I tell stories. It's, it's freeing, it's, you know, and so that's, I think usually where it, it starts to come for me and, and uh, and then it just kind of flows out. That's
[00:40:39] Mia Tate: that. Oh, I love that. Yeah, total creation and movement.
[00:40:45] Mia Tate: I mean, that's, that is exactly it. Yeah. So tell me, um, okay, I have some, I have a question that I usually start with, but for some reason, Erin, I just was like, well, let's just dive into everything. But if we were gonna start with the first question, um, tell me what does movement mean to you? Movement.
[00:41:08] Aaron Walton: Is freedom.
[00:41:09] Aaron Walton: For me, that's what it means. It means the ability to go places, to share an idea, to bring people in to your soul, to help them understand what you're trying to, the story you're trying to. To say movement is not just about dance for me, it's also an expression of how you, in, in a case for us, how we express a 32nd ad, how the movement, the rhythm, the pacing of.
[00:42:00] Aaron Walton: The elements in that ad, how they all help to tell an ultimate story. So it, it is about freedom for me. It is about storytelling. It is about a connection that one has, not just for themselves, but for the people around around them.
[00:42:23] Mia Tate: Yeah, that's beautiful. Freedom. Yeah. I, I, that speaks to me very much. Um, trying to see, as we just started chatting, if there's any, do you have a creation or an ad that warms your heart the most, that when you look at your career that you go, oh, I loved that moment.
[00:42:54] Aaron Walton: Yes. You know what? I don't have one particular because they all, it's like picking your favorite child. You, you, you can't,
[00:43:04] Mia Tate: they,
[00:43:05] Aaron Walton: they all, you're not supposed
[00:43:06] Mia Tate: to do that. Yeah.
[00:43:09] Aaron Walton: They're, they're all, yeah. D they all have a special place for different reasons. A spot that we just did for Lexus around, um. The launch of the, it was a brand story and it featured Blair Underwood and the rhythm, the pacing of this piece with the music was just beautifully executed, um, and hit a place in my heart that was incredibly touched by.
[00:43:49] Aaron Walton: The words that he said, the music, the, the, the way the film was shot. And then there's, you know, other things that we've done with Lexus, whether it's Black Panther, and there was rhythm in that and excitement and energy that was very different pace, uh, that I loved. Um, I, one of the early spots that I was involved with.
[00:44:15] Aaron Walton: Was an at and t commercial with Whitney Houston and the movement was simple. It was subtle, but it really helped punctuate the story that we were telling about technology of all things and using her voice, uh, and her silhouette to help. Amplify this incredible technology that at t had. So it, it, it's all very different, you know, depending on where I am in the, in that time and that space and where we are in the world.
[00:44:50] Aaron Walton: It makes a, it makes a big difference.
[00:44:53] Mia Tate: Yes. Um, tell me a truth. You said movement or dance is. Truth. You mentioned something like that. So I was gonna ask you a question. Tell me a truth of how you move through life. So I will tell
[00:45:13] Aaron Walton: you it's actually a truth for me was coming out and being out of the closet.
[00:45:24] Aaron Walton: And how that just changed everything for me and how I move. And I wasn't hunched over, I wasn't trying to hide anymore and my cadence, my body just felt stronger. And there was something that I never forget that time when I was like, I'm not gonna. Do this anymore. I'm going to be who I am and feel free to do it.
[00:45:52] Aaron Walton: And it was like the scene in The Wizard of Oz when it went from black and white to color this, this, my whole body changed. I felt this vibration, I felt this strength. That only comes with being truthful to who you are and how you want to be perceived in the world. And once you own that truth, once you own who you are, everything changes.
[00:46:22] Aaron Walton: Everything changes. And it did for me. And so, and I know everyone has a different way of. Coming out or finding their truth. But for me, that's the moment that things changed. It changed my relationship with my family. It changed my relationship with my friends, with my coworkers. It, it made a huge difference.
[00:46:46] Aaron Walton: Oh
[00:46:47] Mia Tate: my
[00:46:47] Aaron Walton: God. That is
[00:46:48] Mia Tate: gorgeous. Yeah. That what you found, how you talked about that, going from hunch to, you know, broken open into this kind of way to allow authenticity, you know, to allow your true Yeah. Light. That was, that is, that's beautiful. Thank you. Thank you. Um, is there a spiritual connection to movement for you?
[00:47:18] Aaron Walton: Yeah, because it's,
[00:47:19] Mia Tate: other than everything you've just said,
[00:47:22] Aaron Walton: oh, there's definitely a spiritual connection because it comes from the soul and Yeah. And the soul is grounded for me. You know, my mom was a minister, so, oh. Um, it was very grounded in understanding the strength of faith and the strength of. You know, believing in something that is much more powerful than anything you can do on your own.
[00:47:53] Aaron Walton: And so it does, it does come from from within, and it can come out in ways that you don't control. I think every great choreographer, uh, that I've ever seen, uh, like Alonzo, there's something, it's not just about the steps. It is about, uh, what comes out from inside of you and how he takes that and interprets it in a way that only someone with a soul that is deep can.
[00:48:34] Aaron Walton: Really help others experience it. And you look at all the great choreographers, whether it's Fosse or Michael Bennett, they all have something that is inside, that comes out in a way that is just glorious. And so I, I do think that there is something spiritual that, that is connected to, to movement. Um, and it can be small.
[00:49:04] Aaron Walton: Fosse did things very small. Mm-hmm. Or it can be large. Right. And, and so Yeah. Yeah. I do believe that.
[00:49:13] Mia Tate: Yes, I do too. I love the connection. It's like movement feels divine to me. Yeah. Um, what was it like growing up? Your mom was a minister.
[00:49:24] Aaron Walton: She was a minister, but later in her life. So she became ordained, um, when she was in her fifties, so, ah, yeah.
[00:49:33] Aaron Walton: So she, you know, she was a spectacular woman. She started going to school actually before my sister and I went to school. So she would take a class here, a class there. Uh, she ultimately graduated from Boston College and then she went to. Andover Newton, where she got her master's degree in theology and then ultimately, uh, became ordained.
[00:50:04] Aaron Walton: She was the Protestant chaplain at Wellesley College for years before she retired and she moved out. Uh, to California with my dad to be closer to I, I say the truth is, I was out here for a long time. They never moved. And then my sister had a, her baby, they decided, oh, it's time. We're gonna be grandparents, so let's, let's move out to Yeah.
[00:50:26] Aaron Walton: California. Yeah. So she retired and she would, um, she would still preach here in California. Occasionally when someone would go on vacation, they would ask her to, to, um. Step in and, and she was great. She worked at a, it didn't work. She preached at a place in Palm Springs, a church in Palm Springs called, um, bloom in the Desert.
[00:50:53] Aaron Walton: And um, she loved it. She was great. She was an amazing woman.
[00:50:58] Mia Tate: I am sorry for your loss. It feels like she was quite an extraordinary woman, and it seems that, that she, that sense of curiosity that you hold dear, um, as part of her legacy, it,
[00:51:11] Aaron Walton: it, it, it is something that will always stay with me and you are correct.
[00:51:18] Aaron Walton: As much as she was a very curious person who was always kind of reading and learning and exploring and and questioning, and it was great. And I think my sister and I picked up on a lot of that. That became
[00:51:35] Mia Tate: a part of who we are. Right. My mom, um, went back to school when I was, well, she went to school, you know, when I was young.
[00:51:44] Mia Tate: And she, similar story, it reminded me she, you know, she went and got her degree Yeah. As she was raising kids. And she went and got her master's and she went and got her PhD and my mom became a professor. She had been a dancer, she was a rocket and a Copa girl. All these things. And then. You know, once she was a mother, then she became a single mother and she had to support herself.
[00:52:07] Mia Tate: So she just went back to education and started from day one and took it up to, you know, becoming a professor. What did she teach? Communication. Oh. Oh, that's great. Yeah.
[00:52:19] Aaron Walton: That's
[00:52:19] Mia Tate: great. That's
[00:52:20] Aaron Walton: one of my majors.
[00:52:21] Mia Tate: Yeah, I heard that when you were saying that it's, it's, I hold it dear, but I think it's interesting.
[00:52:28] Mia Tate: I mean, when you're raised in a situation where you're seeing your parents, you know, when you're seeing that kind of like, that want to learn, that curiosity, it does feed into our lives.
[00:52:39] Aaron Walton: I mean, that, that, that expression, you can't be, what you don't see is I think, very real. And particularly for, for, you know, people who.
[00:52:51] Aaron Walton: Like me or in diverse communities where we weren't exposed well, I was ultimately, but you know, being exposed to other people in different cultures, different, you know, economic backgrounds really was inspiring and, and opened the door and opened my mind to what is possible. And right. What could happen if you work hard and, and put in the time and do all the things that you know you need to do to, to thrive.
[00:53:25] Aaron Walton: And my parents, particularly my mom, was very, very much in that space.
[00:53:32] Mia Tate: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you don't know what you don't know. Yep. When you know, but then once you know, you can't unknow. Exactly. Exactly,
[00:53:43] Aaron Walton: exactly. Cool. And see it.
[00:53:45] Mia Tate: Oh, Erin, this has been such a pleasure. I was so excited when you agreed to come on.
[00:53:50] Mia Tate: Y we dance. I just, I love your career. I love how you speak. I love your letter, so it's just a true honor to meet you and get to talk to you.
[00:54:01] Aaron Walton: I feel the same. I'm so excited that you're doing this. It's so unique and so important, and one of the things that people don't often talk about, so keep doing what you're doing and I will be out there.
[00:54:14] Aaron Walton: Supporting you however I can because I really do think it makes a difference in, in a lot of people's lives.
[00:54:20] Mia Tate: Ah, thank you. That means a lot. I so appreciate it. In the heart of Ketchum, Idaho, discover a place where art, culture, and craftsmanship come together. At Davies Reed, every rug is unique and one of a kind hand woven by Afghan Turman artisans, whose skills have been passed down through generations using high mountain hand spun wool and natural dyes.
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[00:55:21] Mia Tate: I would love for you to read your letter.
[00:55:23] Aaron Walton: Why I dance When I was little, I didn't think of it as dance. I was just in motion, wiggling, leaping, spinning, stretching, running, jumping. None of it particularly graceful. It just was. Maybe my body was designed to put these long limbs to use. Then came theater at first as an audience member.
[00:55:49] Aaron Walton: I was spellbound by the lights, the dimming, and a story coming alive through movement. I've always loved musicals, but even in plays, I notice how physical expression, the smallest gesture or a bit of choreography can carry emotion more deeply than words. Dancers are storytellers and watching them, I always felt the pull to understand what it feels like to move like that, to let the body tell the truth.
[00:56:22] Aaron Walton: My professional life, however, led me to a different kind of stage, marketing and advertising. My dancing mostly happened at parties, but the rhythm, the beat, the pulse, that's always been the music behind my. Creative process. My mind dances when I create and innovate. You know, years ago working as a Pepsi executive on the Michael Jackson Bad Tour, I saw dance at its most precise and powerful moment.
[00:56:54] Aaron Walton: I once walked into a rehearsal where Michael practice a simple move, a pointed foot, a tilt of a hat over and over until it was perfect. It was mesmerizing. Even as a spectator, I absorbed something profound about discipline, rhythm, and the pursuit of grace. Fast forward to years later when I joined the board of Alonzo King's Lines Ballet in San Francisco.
[00:57:22] Aaron Walton: Alonzo says, the qualities we admire in great dancing are the same qualities we admire in human beings. Honesty, courage, fearlessness, generosity, wisdom, compassion, and humanity. I agree completely. Dance to me is life in motion. At the Lines fundraiser, I bid on an auction item, a walk-on roll in one of their productions, and I won.
[00:57:50] Aaron Walton: That moment, changed everything. What started as a whimsical act of support became an invitation to rediscover movement from the inside out. I trained with an instructor who treated me like a dancer. We rehearsed hard. I struggled, sweated started again, and for a few precious moments on stage, I wasn't watching dance.
[00:58:15] Aaron Walton: I was dance. Now I continue to study ballet, not to perform, but to stay connected to that feeling. Dancing brings me out of my head and into my body. The places where ideas begin, it opens channels of creativity and courage. I didn't know were there.
[00:58:35] Mia Tate: Oh my gosh. I'm over here writing things just because I want to remember them.
[00:58:39] Mia Tate: I love, I was dance. I mean, that was nice. So good. Thank, and I think you say the inside out, I feel like you've always kind of been dance, but how you move through life. But I love also how you say, and I got out of my head and into my body where all great ideas begin. Yeah. Oh. Oh, Aaron, thank you. Yeah, thank you.