We were lucky to catch up with Trevor Silva recently and have shared our conversation below.

Trevor, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I sometimes Ponder over the idea that maybe if I started dancing at a younger age things would have been easier for me. Starting dance at 18 and being thrown into class with girls who have been doing it since they were 3 was challenging, intimidating but most importantly motivating. Yes I wish I started dance early, I would have probably had better technique and better understanding of my body. The only thing is if I could go back I wouldn’t change a thing. I have watched so many of my friends burnout from dance and take what we get to do for a living for granted. People who are so talented but could never really make it because they never developed the fight grit and mental strength it takes to have longevity in this industry. Always feeling like I was one step behind was rough but it lite a fire inside me that continues to burn brighter to this day. Choosing dance at the age I did made it so that I had to actually get up everyday and CHOOSE dance. The older I get the more I realize that things happen for a reason and it’s your responsibility to take the most out of every situation and lesson.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Trevor Silva and I’m an dance artist! I got into this industry for one simple reason, my life at the time was dark and meaningless. Dance gave me a light and meaning to my life when nothing else did. Dance gave me hope and helped me see a better future for myself. Dance became my therapy and coping mechanism helping me to finally deal with all that life had to throw at me but in a constructive and positive way. The only time I felt like I had the space to explore myself but at the same time feel like my self was when i was moving. So naturally at 22years old I took a bus to NYC from Rhode Island where I grew up to start my life as a professional dancer. Broke and with out any direction I just trusted that if I did the work and was fearless I would have a shot. Upon starting my dance career in NYC I quickly found myself at the world Renowned Broadway Dance Center were I enrolled in their training program. It was here where I truly developed the skills and knowledge needed to take control of my career. I can still here Bonnie (our director at the time) and Neil Schwartz (my mentor) in the back of my head every time I’m faced with career choices. I am a professional Dancer/Model but due to recent events aka pandemic, mental health and a broke system that makes it so hard to be an artist I have had to ask myself what’s next. So in the last couple of years I have been pursuing a career behind the scenes creative directing, choreographing and teaching. I love creating. I love taking nothing and turning it into something that will change how people see the world. I’m so excited to be able to rely on my brain and not my body. I was ruthless in my training learning 4 disciplines in a span of 4 years. I have mastered Dance Gymnastics Cheerleading and aerial making me a very versatile and creative choreographer. I believe my knowledge of so many art forms makes me unique and helps me stand alone in a sea of incredible creators. A lot of people ask me what I’m most proud of. And my response is always that I’m most proud of the fact that regardless of what challenges I faced I always showed up and never backed down. Failure was not an option for me.To anyone I get the pleasure of working with in the future just know I will always bring that passion and fight to every project I am involved in.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I am always the tallest one in the room. At 6’5” there aren’t that many people that match me so for the longest time I felt like I needed to hide, blend and not draw attention. This worked somewhat but I just always felt like I was hold my self back from being great. But hey what do you do when every choreographer walks into the rehearsal room on the first day of a job scans the room and looks straight at you and says what do I do with him! My height was my weakness for so long but it wasnt until I had a choreographer call me out in front of everyone demanding that I dance my full potential and not to worry about how everyone else looks. The only way I could describe that moment would be when a power ranger yells “it’s morphing time!”. That day changed me forever. I stopped apologizing for who I was and realized no matter what people are gunna see me so I better give them a show. Embrace who u are because the sooner you take the leap into being who u were meant to be the sooner you become someone that can’t be duplicated. Like Beyoncé said “I’m one of one”.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is watching the audience watch what I have created. Seeing the reactions and feeling the impact that your work has on the world is priceless. The legacy I leave behind won’t be my instagram followers or my resume. It will be the feeling that my audience experiences when watching me or my work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/trevor_ryian

Image Credits
Nick Wright Vince Trupsin Birdie Vincent Todd vitti Gabriel gastelum Richard Funston