We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tracy Silver. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tracy below.

Alright, Tracy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I’ve had so many meaningful projects. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to propose my own projects and have them suported and fulfilled with fabulous collaborators.To date the one that is standing out is the full length evening of dance based on Gabrielle Roth’s 5Rhythms and her journey with ecstatic dance.
It was something I dove into in Graduate school as I was looking to understand and develop freedom within heavily structured movement.
What I didn’t expect to find was the clear trajectory of becoming an artist that the 5Rhythms outlines.
It was meaningful to me because it revealed and illuminated my own journey, as well as the young artists I work with, who are currently experiencing the natural order of thier own maturity in real time.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I began dancing as a solution to hyperactivity at the age of 3. Instead of Ritalin my mother put me in Ballet class. Across fifty years; dance became my profession and led me to other artistic pursuits that have blossomed into a lifelong career in the arts.
I continue to work in many facets inclusive of acting, direction, choreography as well as in higher education across many artistic disicplines!
Full circle, dance remains my core practice and the place I reconnect with myself because of the meditational aspect of movement.
Currently I specialize in Ballet; working to find the freedom for ALL dancers within highly structured movement,while still having the opportunity to blow it all up with interdisciplinary practices!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to redefine my defintion of success. I started working professionally at a very early age. I booked my first job at seventeen. One day I was a Scholarship student at the Ailey School and the next day I was on a set in Los Angeles shooting a feature film directed by Sidney Poitier. It was exciting and I was able to handle the challlenge but it was like going from 0-100 in 10 seconds. I was young and I became hell bent on maintaining that level of success. I started thinking with my head instead of my heart and my goals changed. Instead of being present in the journey of becoming what I wanted to become, of being in love with the moment to moment of each experience, my new goals had more to do with my ego, my agents, business, money, roles and the result oriented things that the industry seems to require and reward. I see the similiarities and experience the remnants of it via the competition dance world that has become so popular. Between that and social media, young artists don’t have the privacy to become and the goal is a trophy or a title.
I wasn’t fully baked when certain opportunities arose. It took many years of failure, and a lot of hard work, perseverence and small incraments of success to reignite my love for anything I did. It is the maintaining the care of the soul while traversing the business of art.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Yes- To teach young artists how to remain present , create their own artistic authenticity and flourish on their individual journey! Maintaining curiosity,patience and joy is the key to growth. Doing the thing because you love it has to remain the priority! Anything after that is a cherry on the sundae.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://motioncures.com
• Instagram: it’stracysilver

Image Credits

Top Left- Production: All Cracked Up Top Right- Production: Ecstatic

Middle Left- Production: Ecstatic Middle Right- Production: Ecstatic

Bottom right- Production: BodyPoem Bottom Right- Production: Moving Pictures

*Productions conceived and directed by Tracy Silver