Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Santiago Villarreal. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Santiago , thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I was born in Monterrey Mexico. I started dancing when I was 16 years old and got introduced to dance through my high school. I decided to try for our Highschool dance team and after they accepted me everything changed. I became obsessed with dance, was at the studio almost 24/7. I felt so behind from everyone else so I worked twice as hard to be able to be at the same level as my peers. During my senior year I started applying for colleges, and of course, since I started dancing super late no one in my family thought I would want to dance professionally, for them it was just a hobby. However, I came to LA during my junior year summer and I got to meet professional dancers, I took classes at all of the studios that I always dreamed off. That was when I knew that dance was just not a hobby for me it was what I wanted to do. I came back home and convinced my parents to let me go to college to study dance. And after a lot of convincing they allowed me to only apply for one school and if that didn’t work out then I would choose a school in Mexico and just dance on the side. Luckily for me, Chapman University took a chance on me and accepted me into their program. Being a dancer has been my dream and my lifestyle since that day. I love growing and inspiring others through dance. I know I am capable of doing so many other jobs because of my dance training, and I think that is the most beautiful of being a dancer. We are thought so much, how to be tenacious, how to fight for our dreams, how to work in a team, how to promote yourself, and many other qualities that make us thrive in our and other industries.
Santiago , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Santiago Villarreal a queer, LatinX, dancer and choreographer born in Monterrey, Mexico now based in Los Angeles, California. I first came to the US in 2015 to pursue my BFA in Dance Performance at Chapman University. One of the best decisions I have ever made. Chapman prepared me to be a versatile passionate dancer able to conquer anything that comes my way. I was very fortunate to have been hired as an apprentice for Backhaus Dance during my Junior year at Chapman, I wanted to join a full time company that was my goal, therefore this experience really allowed me to grow exponentially by having professional opportunities while being a student. I was promoted to company member upon graduating and since it was part-time I was able to move to LA and audition for other projects. During my first audition for a full-time company I somehow was able to break my toe in half. I know it seems small but I need my toe to walk, let alone dance. I had to get surgery on my bone and I was out of dance for 7 months. During that time I struggled a lot and it has been perhaps one of the hardest periods of my life. Everything that I dreamed of accomplishing felt so far away and I thought I was stepping back in my career. After some emotional help I decided to find a way to stay involved in the dance community. If I couldn’t dance I would find a way to make my way in. That is when I reached out to dance companies based in LA and was hired as the company manager for Micaela Taylor’s The TL Collective. I learned a lot about management, touring, producing a show, building a workshop, payroll and more because of this opportunity. I was also able to meet incredible dancers and work alongside Micaela to help her achieve her mission and I realized how much I could learn by just watching rehearsal. I was able to learn and grow as a dancer even when I couldn’t dance and/or fully embody the movement. After my recovery I started dancing for Jacob Jonas and Ate9 and after some months… COVID happened. The world stopped and again I felt like my carrier was on hold. However, because of the connections I made while I was injured I continued working, planning and helping other companies. I felt that because I have already experienced my career being on hold, I wasn’t scared anymore and trusted the universe. As soon as we were able to, I went back in rehearsals with Ate9 and started performing again. After a couple years I moved to Portland, Oregon, to dance with NW Dance Project. I was finally a part of a full-time company and I loved it completely. I was getting paid to dance every day and to work with amazing choreographers. I was able to work with big names such as Ihsan Rustem, YinYue, Joseph Hernandez, Sarah Slipper and many more choreographers. We went on tour to Germany to perform and performed all around Portland, OR. After a couple years I decided to go back to my freelance lifestyle and moved back to Los Angeles. After making that decision I didn’t really know what was going to happen or what was next. I went to Europe to audition for European dance companies and also to see if I could live in Europe. I loved it, however, none of the auditions worked out and honestly I did not fall in love with any place. I told myself that If there was a place I wanted to live in I would try again and again until accomplishing my goal, but that didn’t happen, so I have not felt the need to try and audition in Europe again. I came back to LA and I started to audition for commercial gigs. I wanted to be more versatile and see if I could freelance in the concert and commercial world. I audition to be a back up dancer for Kali Uchis and I was fortunate enough to have made it. We went on a Latin American Festival tour with Kali, performing in Argentina, Colombia, Brasil and Chile. I then was able to fulfill my bucket list moment to perform at Coachella’s Main Stage and right after that we went on a US national tour. I have been working with Kali Uchis since then and I have loved every moment. This year I have been working with Kali and whenever we have off times I have tried to focus on my concert side too. I went to New York for a couple months to work with Omar Roman’s company BocaTuya. I started putting my choreography out there more and made a dance film in Mexico and a duet that premiered in Los Angeles. I want to continue pursuing both the concert and commercial world as well as my own choreography endeavors and I have been very lucky to be able to do that. I want to keep growing as an artist and not limit myself to just one side of the dance world. It is so big and so beautiful and I want to absorb all of it while I can.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I want to uplift immigrant stories. I want people to learn more about what it means to leave your home to pursue your dreams and how hard and rewarding it can be. I want to inspire people like me to fight for their dreams and what they believe in; whatever that might be. I want to also introduce the incredible talent we have in Mexico to more audiences and I want to find ways to give back to my community.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect for me is sharing and connecting with others. I love creating community through art, finding people that share the same values and experiences with you and want to support or be a part of your creatives endeavors. I love giving back to the community and using art, specifically dance, to help others. I think art can be healing and very rewarding and I want to make sure it is accessible for as many people as I can. Art is all about sharing and being okay with being vulnerable and even though it can be very scary It can also be extremely rewarding.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @santiagovrdz
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSkdY8wAPjkqliwygiLK4g
Image Credits
Owen Scarlet, Camryn Eakes, Blaine Truitt Covert.