We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tori Brindis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Tori thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I think a part of me always knew I wanted to follow a creative path, as music and dance were such a huge part of my upbringing. By the time I got to high school and was spending my summers at intensives, camps, and workshops, I felt inspired enough to want to the chase the performer’s dream. At that age I had no idea the wide spectrum of job opportunities that fit under the “dancer” or “choreographer” category because people really don’t talk about it enough! Growing up on the East Coast and visiting New York often, I just assumed the only path was to be a dancer on Broadway. It wasn’t until I started going to a summer camp called “Show Choir Camps of America” that my eyes were opened to a completely different world. Similar to the TV show “Glee,” singing and dancing are put together and coached to compete at an extremely high level. This combined all facets of the art that I loved: acting, singing, and dance. I spent so many summers there as a camper and then counselor which led me to new job opportunities that I had no idea would turn into a full blown career!
Tori, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am freelance choreographer and dance educator based in Portland, OR. Most of my work consists of choreographing and coaching for competitive high school show choir. I dipped my toe into the industry right after graduating from college. I started assisting established choreographers to gain experience, build relationships, and learn! My job is to create and teach a 15-20 minute show, much like a mini musical, for 50-60 high school students. They then take the information that I create and perfect it over many months to later compete around the country with other schools. I help my schools not only with the choreography but with show planning, picking music, designing costumes/lights and sets. My main goal is to help students learn about themselves and grow as a person through the art that I know best. I’m most proud of my commitment to my students and helping them grow and inspired by all things music and dance. I work with about 20 groups all over the country and I will always strive to make each and every one of them feel like my #1. The other side of my job as a freelance dance educator takes me to dance studios as well. When I’m not traveling for show choir I am teaching adult and pre-professional dance classes in Portland! Although I am trained in most styles of dance, I specialize in hip-hop, musical theatre, and heels. One of my biggest passions that I want to instill in my students is self-confidence, leadership qualities, and love and kindness for others. The very emotional mind-body connection that dance, music, and art bring to our lives is what has connected me to thousands of people across the country. I truly feel so grateful to be able to spend about half the year traveling around to all of my different schools as well as building a network of beautiful movers in the PNW. It’s a very unconventional lifestyle that I live, but it is so full of amazing things, no two days are ever the same, and I wouldn’t change it for anything!
Image Credits
Loveland Show choirs, franklin central choirs, Ben ramos photography.