We were lucky to catch up with Colby Taylor recently and have shared our conversation below.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Colby Taylor, I am 21 year old Professional Dancer/Choreographer who currently reside in Cincinnati, OH.

My relationship with dance started the moment I was born. Growing up I was a very flamboyant child who loved to entertain. Being the youngest of 4 boys, who all were involved in sports, my path that was laid out for me was not the path I took. From twirling in the middle of the baseball field with flowers in my hand, too mimicking the cheerleaders at the football game, I knew that I was meant to be a performer!

Fast forward to the Christmas of my 5th grade year, I begged my mom to put me in dance lessons for Christmas. My mom is the most supportive woman ever, but was still hesitant because we lived in the south, and was scared for my safety. She took a leap of faith and enrolled me in a 45min Hip Hop class at our local studio. From there I went from dancing in a recreational class one time a week to dancing 3 nights a week for 4 hours on the competitive team. As I aged, the dedication to dance became stronger and the training became longer. By my senior of high school, I was on my schools field and competition dance team, my studios competition team, and started teaching my first recreational class.

After graduation, I signed with an agency out in Los Angeles, CA, and began the life of trying to be a professional dancer. The one thing that I wasn’t excepting to hinder my dreams, was a pandemic. 1 month after I signed my contract with the agency, the whole world shut down. Navigating the begging of a career that was based on being in social gathering was hard, extremely hard. There were plenty of nights where I laid wondering if I’ll ever be able to follow the path I thought I was meant for. Slowly thing started opening back up and the burning desire to follow my dreams sparked again. I knew that I had to get serious since things were slowly getting back to normal, so I got my self in the gym and went through a 100 pound weight loss journey.

100 pounds down and the pandemic behind us, I signed my lease to my apartment in Los Angeles and the countdown started to my big move. 2 weeks out from my move, I injured my knee, had reconstructive surgery for the second time, and lost my apartment. Feeling absolutely crushed and helpless, I began my recovery at home in Mississippi in hopes to one day be able to dance again. During my recovery, I met my now boyfriend and made a new plan to move to Nashville with my brother.

Fully recovered, In a new city, with a new relationship my life was finally looking up. I became a work study at Millennium Nashville and worked with the local agency to audition for jobs. Training and auditioning became my life and I finally got booked on my first job for a flashmob commercial in Downtown Nashville for Gaylord Hotels. After my first professional job behind me, I was ready for more. I Auditioned for anything I could, but like every dancer, you hear 100 no’s before a single yes. While still doing the audition life, I was given a teaching slot at millennium and had open classes every Thursday!

After a few months in Nashville, my heart was pulling me to be with my boyfriend in Cincinnati, so I packed my things and was off. While living in OH, I traveled with a dance competition as their backstage manager. Seeing all the talent across the states inspired me to start choreographing more. I made a few contacts with some studios and began traveling and choreographing along side my boyfriend, Gage Wayne. After a year of making connections and traveling, I switched Agecies to Clear Talent LA, teach full time, and choreograph for studios!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative, is the final product. The process of creating something can be mentally, socially and sometimes physically exhausting. So much time and effort goes into projects/performances/artwork that being able to see the end results and how the audience reacts, is a feeling only a creative will understand.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The mission driving my creative journey, is to fulfill my self expression. Every piece of work I do helps tell my journey and show the audience what goes on in my mind.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: colbytaylor_
• Other: Tik Tok @colbytaylor_

Image Credits
Brian Sullivan Crystal Marie