On Dance and Determination

Tracy Silver, a born and bred New Yorker, has been dancing her whole life. From the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to Sidney Poitier dance films. From guest-starring TV roles to teaching at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). She has danced her way to the top, and we asked her a few questions about where she's gone and where she's headed. 

Tracy Silver in "Motion Cures" at the 2015 Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival

  

How do you think movement and choreography can enhance storytelling in a way that words perhaps cannot? 
Being an actress, I’ve learned that it’s the ‘white’ between the words, and that silence and stillness are two of the most powerful things you can do. That being said…if you can juxtapose that with the right movement in the right moment, EVERYTHING LANDS! The story, the moment, the words that came before and after...because you can direct the audience’s eye and direct the focus to the most specific, small gesture…that will mean EVERYTHING!  

You speak of how dance saved your life. What do you mean by that?
More than once. It saved my life as a child, keeping me away from Ritalin, as well as giving me something else to focus on other than my unhappy surroundings. It forced me to prove myself as a human being as a teenager. I wanted it. I had to get it. No one gave it to me. I found out about my desire and resilience very early!  Then, it saved me financially as a young adult. I began working at the age of 17. I made more money than I thought possible. It showed me what success could be. It saved me in my 30’s and 40’s by giving me teaching and reminding me who I was when being a struggling actress in Hollywood was my identity. Finally, in my late 40’s, I have come full circle and appreciate what it means to be able to move. I am actually learning how I ‘dance’ now…and I am very proud of the maturity and understanding that ‘less is more’. Now I don’t have to dazzle you with my footwork…..I can dazzle you with my humanity...or at least that’s what I’m going for.

Do you still dance, or are you now strictly a choreographer? If you no longer dance, how does it feel to have moved from being a dancer to a choreographer? How do they each satisfy you in different ways?
I do still dance. I have a fantasy of doing major characters that move like you would never expect! BUT my real movement and attachment to music is used for the people who can actually do what I see in my mind. I am glad to now be the ‘choreographer’. I can see it in my mind…and have other people do it. They have the responsibility to move ‘FOR’ me. It’s a very different focus. I can now pay attention to ‘it’, not me…..and it’s very liberating. I loved being the ‘dancer’ and giving the choreographer their vision…and now I love giving the vision and the subtext and the details, and seeing it become a reality..I might actually like the wholeness of being the choreographer better…I like the bigger picture.


How is the process of creating choreography for yourself different from that of creating choreography for other dancers?

I am 49. I am on the ‘other end’ of movement. I am not interested in physical prowess for myself. That is for the more able. I have to be very truthful to my own moments. I can’t cover it up with a trick. So I have to dig a little bit more and have more patience with musicality…I can’t use speed or technique like I can with dancers. I have to use graciousness, humility and vulnerability. My dancers use ALL of the above  for my work as a choreography with  the emphasis on speed!

You speak of how satisfying it is to be teaching at AMDA. What do you most enjoy about teaching dance?

What I most enjoy about teaching is giving someone the pathway to their potential. Whether it is a physical issue or a connective story issue, I find that when you tell someone "Yes, YOU are possible"…"what you think in your mind’s eye is possible"...That is the moment!! The ability to ask the right questions based on my work as an actor/director/storyteller makes me aware that I am the right person in the room. Being a dancer is not always enough. I am able to communicate this with the advanced dance students as well as with the actors who are finding their whole selves for the first time. I NEVER tire of that!!!! Everyone is a different recipe or equation. I LOVE figuring out the specific equation that leads to freedom!!!!  

What advice would you give to those who would like to become a dancer?  
If you want to become a dancer: study who/what came before you.  And by study I mean...10,000 hours…Who is Carmen de Lavallade? Dudley Williams? Desmond Richardson? Pina Bausch? Gelsey Kirkland? Fernando Bujones?......Bejart? Mark Morris? Maria Tallchief? Balanchine? Don’t walk into my class with no vision for yourself. What choreographers are right for you? What companies? What Broadway shows? And learn the definition of patience. What does it mean to finish a moment? You cannot do B before you finish A. And lastly…you must be A MUSICIAN! The thing that separates the good from the great is your musicianship!    

What advice would you give to parents who have children who are hyper as you once were in terms of figuring out a way to channel that energy?  
If your child is hyper…put them in ballet class….hip-hop class, tap class…piano, trombone…..DON’T give them drugs to ‘calm them down’. That energy is their genius. FUNNEL IT!!! AND GET OUT OF THE WAY!

You have clearly had a passion for dance your whole life, but have you ever felt tempted to follow a different path?
I have been very tempted to do many other things. I have been successful in design, directing, acting…BUT all roads have led me back to Dance……It won’t let me get away.
 

See Tracy Silver in her one woman show, "Motion Cures", on June 19th at the Ivy Substation. To buy tickets, please go to our website, www.lawtf.org.