Meet Michelle Silva
On July 14, 2020, I made a commitment to myself, and I’m beginning to see my work unfold in a beautiful way. I began waking up every day at 5:00 a.m. to honor my commitment, and continue to do so today. Before I post what I’ve been up to, I’m going to share some tidbits that may help you see how I arrived at my current situation.
When I was 12-years-old I attended my first dance class and it forever changed my life. Thank you Diane, Tracey, and Eden. The music, the movement, the ability to express myself in new ways resonated deep within me. I HAD to go to dance class and the hot pursuit of my dreams began. Along the way feelings of happiness (and oftentimes doubt) charged me towards an extraordinary career until official retirement from the stage at age 34.
I began journaling around the same time I began dancing. Journaling, poetry, short stories, plays, personal cards, fiction writing, love letters, to name a few, were and still are interchangeable to my life as an artist. Surprisingly, at times, lines blurred on which forum drove my creativity. Was I gifted the drive to dance so that I could write, or blessed with the love of words so that I could understand and execute myself as an artist in the form of dance?
I quit high school at 17-years-old during my senior year after signing a contract with Busch Gardens Theme Park. My professional career as an artist began the day I left my hometown in March, 1986.
When I was 26-years-old, after dancing on some of the most revered stages in the world, I went to college at UNLV during the day and continued performing at night. I spent the next five years of my life selfishly devoted to intellectual pursuits and dreams/passions of a new kind.
If anyone thought I made sacrifices in my life as a dancer, nothing compared to the sacrifices and rituals I endured as a college student & dancer. I was so driven to complete my education and stretched myself beyond measures I could never have imagined.
My love of writing grew exponentially during college. I became schooled in technical writing, fiction and non-fiction writing, character development, plot, public relations, marketing, and advertising writing, to name a few. I also began a manuscript that I workshopped nearly the entire time I spent in college. That manuscript created such a confident buzz in me that I set my sights on an internship in Los Angeles in the film/tv industry. I wanted to write for tv, specifically soap operas. Alas, that dream did not come true, but my love of writing continues today.
During quarantine, I began devoting myself to daily journaling, goal setting, dreaming, healing, discovering, and reconnecting with my artist self. Ironically, Gracie was gifted the book, “The Artist’s Way,” by one of her acting coaches in NYC. After reading the first two pages, I needed my own copy to read on my own. I began an inward journey reconnecting to my artist’s life.
When I share with you what I’ve been up to, I didn’t set out with a specific intention. The door flung open only a few short weeks ago. Stay tuned!
