Melly Mel: Dancer, Spirit in Motion, and Creative Force
Release Date: 09/23/2025
Pink Floyd and the Sound of the Beyond
Rebel Artists Through Time
This episode features an early, foundational conversation between Dawson and Sebastian—a long-time friend, working musician, and creative sounding board—recorded before RATT fully had its shape, but not before it had its purpose. Rather than walking through a discography, this conversation explores what it feels like to truly listen to Pink Floyd—to experience their music as a journey, a space, and in some moments, something bordering on the sacred. From first encounters and late-night listening sessions to reflections on Dark Side of the Moon, creative fracture, and legacy, the...
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Presence, Responsibility, and the Art of Seeing People
Rebel Artists Through Time
In this episode of Rebel Artists Through Time, we sit down with photographer Leah den Bok and artist Willie Baronet for a deeply reflective conversation about presence, responsibility, and the ethics of storytelling. Leah’s long-running project Humanizing the Homeless uses portraiture to restore dignity and visibility to people experiencing homelessness. Willie’s We Are All Homeless project collects and exhibits handwritten signs purchased directly from unhoused individuals, transforming them into powerful public installations. Together, they explore: What it means to be truly present...
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Rob Stimpson: Expedition Photographer | Through Ice, Light, and Silence
Rebel Artists Through Time
In this episode of Rebel Artists Through Time (RATT), we speak with Rob Stimpson, an award-winning Canadian photographer, guide, and educator whose work has taken him from Canada’s northern wilderness to the frozen frontiers of the Arctic and Antarctica. Rob’s creative life was not carefully planned — it was answered. After an unexpected career turning point, he followed a quiet pull toward nature, patience, and a way of seeing shaped by stillness rather than speed. This conversation explores creativity as a calling rather than a career ladder, and reflects on what it means to slow down,...
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Collingwood Creates: How Art Builds Community
Rebel Artists Through Time
Creativity doesn’t just shape culture — it builds connection. In this special collaboration between RATT.fm and the Town of Collingwood, Ontario (@experiencecollingwood), we explore how creativity builds connection — turning heritage into inspiration and local artists into community catalysts. Featuring three of Collingwood’s creative voices — Rick & Anke Lex (@tremontstudios) - the husband-and-wife team behind Collingwood’s Tremont Studios. Rick led the restoration of the historic Tremont building, saving it from demolition, while Anke, an accomplished multidisciplinary...
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Talking George Lucas - The Rebel Who Built New Worlds
Rebel Artists Through Time
George Lucas didn's just create Star Wars — he reinvented the art of filmmaking. In this RATT conversation, Dawson and Sebastian explore how Lucas transformed sci-fi from niche to mainstream, pioneered digital cinema, and built the visual effects revolution through ILM. They also dive into his storytelling genius, mythological influences, and the balance between art and technology that defined a generation. A deep dive into the rebel who made imagination real.
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Magical Bones - Dance, Illusion, and the Art of Breaking Boundaries (Updated Audio)
Rebel Artists Through Time
In this episode of Rebel Artists Through Time, dancer and magician Richard Essien — better known as Magical Bones — shares his journey from London street performer to global stage artist redefining what magic can be. From breakdancing with Madonna, Alicia Keys, and the Black Eyed Peas to captivating millions on Britain’s Got Talent, Bones fuses rhythm, storytelling, and illusion into a new form of performance art. His groundbreaking act honoring Henry Box Brown, the 19th-century freedom fighter who mailed himself to freedom, celebrates creativity as liberation. In this conversation,...
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Melly Mel: Dancer, Spirit in Motion, and Creative Force
Rebel Artists Through Time
What does it mean to move with purpose? In this episode of Rebel Artists Through Time, we meet Melly Mel — dancer, choreographer, and educator — whose journey has taken her from grassroots crews in Ottawa to the global stage with Cirque du Soleil. Mel shares how dance became her form of light, how she calls on her ancestors before each performance, and how she passes her art on to the next generation — including her own son. Highlights include: – Stories from Cirque du Soleil, including the night she freestyled to save the show. – Balancing motherhood, teaching, and artistry. –...
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Ernest Hemingway: The Writer Who Changed Storytelling Forever
Rebel Artists Through Time
Ernest Hemingway’s stripped-down prose changed modern writing. But behind the myth of the macho adventurer was a man marked by war, trauma, love, and loss. In this episode of RATT: Rebel Artists Through Time, we trace his journey from the battlefields of World War I to the cafés of Paris, the bullrings of Spain, and the fishing boats of Cuba. Along the way, we explore the novels that defined him — The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea — and th
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Tarantino: The Rebel Who Rewired Cinema
Rebel Artists Through Time
Quentin Tarantino didn’t just make movies—he rewrote the rulebook. From Pulp Fiction’s nonlinear chaos to the bloody brilliance of Kill Bill, from the alternate histories of Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained to the nostalgic haze of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood—his work shaped how an entire generation thinks about film.
In this episode, Dawson and his long-time friend Sebastian dive into Tarantino’s wild career: the shock of seeing Pul
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Jerry Lee Lewis: The Fire That Ignited Rock and Roll
Rebel Artists Through Time
Rewind to the moment rock and roll caught fire.
He kicked over pianos, set the stage ablaze (literally), and dared the world to follow. In this episode of RATT, we dive into the chaotic legacy of Jerry Lee Lewis—the original wild man of rock and roll. More than a scandal, he was a spark.
He set pianos on fire. Kicked the stool, shook the stage, and dared the world to follow.
In this episode of RATT, we dive into the wild legacy of Jerry Lee Lewis—the ultimate rebel sho
info_outlineWhat does it mean to move with purpose?
In this episode of Rebel Artists Through Time, we meet Melly Mel — dancer, choreographer, and educator — whose journey has taken her from grassroots crews in Ottawa to the global stage with Cirque du Soleil.
Mel shares how dance became her form of light, how she calls on her ancestors before each performance, and how she passes her art on to the next generation — including her own son.
Highlights include:
– Stories from Cirque du Soleil, including the night she freestyled to save the show.
– Balancing motherhood, teaching, and artistry.
– What audiences often miss about the work behind the performance.
Follow Melly Mel on Instagram: @mminspires
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