[Applause]
hello I'm famous do you recognize me
oh come on you must know who I am I'm an
actor and comedian I've been acting for
15 years here in Australia alright I'll
give you a my resume I was on underbelly
for 20 seconds thank you
I was on Jack Irish as a Thai flight
attendant same same same thing and I was
on please like me oh yeah for 20 seconds
as a vid amis waitress same say about
different but yes I am famous for
another thing which is joy joy is my
caffeine I don't drink coffee I don't
drink tea I do drink allied I do drink
tea but my biggest drinking addiction is
joy and this is joy it is a great
feeling of happiness and pleasure it is
in here this feeling when you take a
little risk and it bubbles up from here
comes out and you start to giggle and
that bit when you kind of like step out
of the bounds of what you know and
you're free that is joy now I asked my
expert friends a couple of weeks ago
about their childhood joy memories and
this is what came up have a look and see
if you see anything that you did as a
kid on there my favorite ones are
talking to ants climbing trees in the
nature and reading my book two dolls and
when I read that I just laughed because
it made me remember about my childhood
and what made me to be Who I am today
that is me this silly old girl who did
ballet and loved dancing now let's go
back before the dancing I I reckon I was
dancing in my mum's stomach instead of
kicking her I was shaking my hips in
there yeah I was needing her
I also reckon I was a dancing egg as
well I think I'm thinking it's in my
genes and I'd love dancing so much it's
been part of my life
I remember our house being filled with
music vid amis musics bouncing against
the walls
I remember karaoke out of the sound
system and I remember the 1980s Love
Shack and come a chameleon coming on and
just dancing in the living room but in
that joy of music being in our home
there was also darkness from the ages of
6 to 8 years old
the police would escort my mum my two
younger sisters and I out of the house
to women safe haven homes because we had
domestic violence in our home I remember
in particular this one period of my life
when I was seven years old we were
staying at a nunnery and there was a
sister and a sister Penelope and we were
in the garden this Saturday morning and
we're just gardening and all of a sudden
this sound came across the fence into
the garden hit me and went past me it
was classical music and as a several
Chardo and where's it coming from where
is it sister Penelope took my mother and
I to next door and it was a community
room where they had a ballet dance
academy and me being the seven-year-old
child looked at the window and saw girls
like me with the tied hair up ballet
shoes leotard
dancing my mother saw me watching these
girls
dancing and then that following week I
was the ballet girl that one taught hair
ballet shoes leotard and dancing and I
danced everywhere I danced everywhere in
the in the ballet I won I actually am a
very good ballet dancer for 12 months I
won three blue ribbons and a bronze but
my mother being a single mom and a
Vietnamese refugee war survivor and
raising three daughters under seven by
herself on welfare she couldn't afford
ballet classes anymore so the ballet
classes ended and I still kept dancing I
danced everywhere in the dark of the
basements of nightclubs you've done it
too haven't you yeah we love dance in
the dark but I also dance while walking
home with my backpack
stepping on the cracks and dancing I
danced on the street i dancing from the
mirror i danced in my bedroom attending
hours of pop star i danced in the forest
and jungle and I danced on video and I
have to say because my mother gave me
this gift of watching me watch these
ballet girls dance she allowed me to
enter the arts and I loved the arts
because the arts saved my life
so yes I'm an actor and comedian and
I've had so many other roles as well
I've told you about my 22nd roles but
I've also had a lot of prostitute roles
to lots of them lots of prostitute roles
I also read in shows about what it's
like to be a vet amis Australian woman
playing these prostitute roles and I've
also done stand-up thinking I'm a
prostitute as well because sometimes
when you're acting a prostitute all the
time you actually think you're one
manifestation yes
and as havoc as the art industry is and
that goal of you know getting getting
everything you want and being a
millionaire and having a mansion the
arts industries does do havoc to your
mental health and I can tell you I have
had depression anxiety and heartbreak
and I know someone in this room all of
you have experienced heartbreak but
through that that seminal child who
dance I have continued to dance - laughs
- listen to music because it allows me
to breathe
what the hell is this
LinkedIn you've really heard already but
heard before this some but yes I danced
on LinkedIn what the hell that's what I
had reactions to when I started posting
videos of myself dancing on this
platform and became known as dancing
Diana I have amassed millions of views
on LinkedIn because I have stepped
outside of the business platform into
the arts and said hey come watch us come
watch the arts take space this is life
because the arts is life the art is not
a component where you're put into a box
it is what I breathe every day it's in
my soul and it saved my life by doing
everything I could to be an artist here
today now it gets a little crazy because
I went to the States last year 2019 and
I went on a dancing Diana American tour
can I remind you I'm not a professional
dancer I just I just moved these hips
right I'm no Beyonce
oh I'm no JLo but who went on a dancing
dana tour and this is a crazy thing I
had over 500 strangers dance with me on
video my mind blew up
why would these people be vulnerable
and dance with me and I can remind you
these are business owners business CEOs
employers employees mums and dads
they're not dancers but they chose a
dance with me and I realize it's because
I reminded them of their childhood and I
just want to show you this of these
people who have commented on my video
child explosion sunshine energy life
that's what I was bringing to a platform
where it was stuck here in this circle
but I was going no let's get outside of
the circle let's be everything and then
I also realized another reason why they
dance with me it's because I was willing
to fail first I was willing to take the
bullet first and then they would hop off
and on I was joy full that's me too
[Laughter]
sorry I do that I I realize I'm not just
a joy full ful I'm a joyful I'm willing
to be a clown so that you get to
experience joy and I want to you think
about you how could you be a joyful why
you should be a joyful because one it's
about connection physical emotional
connection you and I together I contact
in this room energy also courage willing
to stand up
and go I can't dance but I've got
movement yeah I can do this too and
number three is being present and I
talked about depression and anxiety and
heartbreak when my body has been so
stiff and my mind has been so locked up
I have used my body as a sword and cut
through the mental muck and mental
physical muck of just saying I've got
this by letting my body move I don't
want to talk anymore because the magic
of dancing needs to be done together
because I want you to think about this
what is your caffeine what drives you to
have pleasure in your life see this list
here this bull list of play how can you
put that into your life now so you can
live now with joy today tomorrow and
every day of your life because this girl
34 years old
when I dance I'm not dancing just for me
I'm dancing for my inner child that was
so bloody free so I would like you to
all stand up
and I want you to be I joined fool with
me alright so we're just gonna put the
music on Jim Jim have a big big volume
is that bigger volume all right and I'll
let you do the same align your hip right
and dawn fly in and then put your friend
next to you for them
[Applause]
thank you so much for being joy for
thank you I will be next accumulator
[Applause]