Feminists Around the World: Ingrid Silva

Today we're spotlighting the work of ballet dancer and activist Ingrid Silva.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Anny and Samantha and welcome to stuff.
I never told your prediction by her.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Ideo And for this month of activist around the World,
I thought we would continue down the arts and artivism
path by featuring and acclaimed a ballet dancer an activist,

(00:30):
Ingrid Silva. But before we start any have we ever
talked about ballet? I don't know, I can't think of it.
Have you ever taken ballet? Did you take ballet?

Speaker 1 (00:39):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Oh you did? You are know a lot of activities
as a kid, your preparents has some money. Say this
jealously as I've never had these activities, but you did.
How long did you do ballet for? Uh?

Speaker 1 (00:50):
I think at least four or five years? And I
loved it mostly five years. I loved the outfits. That
was my favor. That was my favorite.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Ward. Did you like twirling?

Speaker 1 (01:04):
I liked twirling. I was honestly very insecure in the
whole thing. But the outfits I liked, and I meant
two of my best friends best friends through ballet. One
was my before I moved to where I would say
I grew up. We have a picture together during ballet,

(01:24):
And then, in an odd way, a lot of you
old time listeners know one of my best friends, Katie,
she was also in ballet, and there's a picture we
took before we even knew each other and I was
dancing and she was right there like watching, and it's like.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
It was meant to be. It was meant to be
kind of like got to be cute. Yeah, I love
that I did not get to dance ballet. And I
will say, as much as I love dance, ballet is
one of those that I'm like, yeah, I could never
My thick thighs and my thick calves I don't think,
and my weak ink. I twist my ankles like a
nobody's business. Maybe I should have just so that I

(02:04):
drink my ankles because that was bad. But it is
a gift to watch people who are talented in ballet
and also really intimidating because I'm like, el, that takes
a lot, Yes, how do you do that? How do
you do that? Well? Obviously we're going to talk about
one who has done so well and had the natural talent,

(02:25):
and yes, I have never experienced the pains and joy
of ballet, but we know Silva has and not only
doing what she loves, but she's made sure to use
her passion to open the doors for others to experience
love and passion of ballet as well. Silva started her
dance journey at the age of eight when she started
attending ballet through a community outreach program in Rio de

(02:45):
Janeiro with her brother, which is where she grew up,
and seeing that she was naturally talented, her teacher encouraged
her to continue to learn more and grow in her
skill and technique, which is what she did, which is
again we've talked about how amazing mentors and people who
who are there and really encourage you, how that can
be life changing. Here's another example. So, at the age

(03:06):
of seventeen, she became an apprentice at one of the
most prestigious Brazilian dance companies, Grupo Corpo, and she would
go on to continue her training and studies at the
Central Universitario desacad but would soon move to New York
where she would be invited to join the dtch and
Ensemble at the Dance Theater of Harlem by the founder,
Arthur Mitchell. So she was invited to do the junior company,

(03:27):
and I believe the company disbanded for a minute, and
then they came back together and in twenty twelve she
joined the company permanently. I believe she is still there
today being the main dancer. So anybody who's seen Center
Stage you know what I'm talking about main dancers. So
in an article she wrote for Dancemagazine dot com, she
says this about her love of dance and ballet. I

(03:49):
have always been very energetic. I remember listening to music
at home with my parents. Dancing came so easily. There's
something in music, any kind of music, that fascinates me.
Since I was eight years years old, dance has been
in a big part of my life. I always say
that I didn't choose ballet. Ballet chose me. I've had
to and I still have to overcome so many adversities

(04:11):
in dance. But one thing I am proud of is that,
no matter what happens, giving up has never been an
option for me. As an artist, you learn how to
develop love, patience, space, and a deep understanding of why
you do what you do. How does dance make me feel?
Is it even a feeling or is it a moment,
a dream, a reality. I only know that I am
myself fully when I am on stage dancing that's where

(04:34):
I feel safe and right at home. I love everything
about that, everything about that. And she has continued to
go down this path no matter that. Adversities are challenges
she's spaced. And in another article she was featured in
for Snowfi dot com, they write this about her and
her experiences. With the support of her family, she was
able to nurture and refine her natural talents, leading to

(04:56):
an opportunity for her to take on new heights to
fulfill her dream. It wasn't an easy journey coming to
New York. She had to leave her family and learn
a new language. All this intense training, persistence, and the
will to make a statement made Ingrid the ballerina that
she is today. So not only did it make her
the success and talented dancer she is today, but also

(05:18):
pushed her to become an advocate for other dancers like her.
So in twenty seventeen, she started the pod, her nonprofit
which quote aims to amplify women's voices and matters regarding
various areas and Foster's female sorority. And this is from
the un dot Org. And she goes on to say
in that article, we are a platform that generates opportunities

(05:38):
for education and network for those aspiring to claim their
own path, and in an interview with The Today Show,
she revealed that she had to color her own point
shoes with makeup to match her skin tone, as it

(06:00):
was not available to her at the time. She had
gone on the show to advocate four more diversity within
the ballet world and has since then become a representative
in the movement. So in an article highlighting her career
and work in Who Whatwear dot Com, they write this
about this moment without a doubt, one of her most
frequently discussed topics in the lack of diverse shades and

(06:23):
point shoes, and the fact that several well known ballet
companies and schools still enforce pink tights and shoes as
a uniform requirement. Due to the glaringly limited amount of
point shoe shade offerings, dancers of deeper skin tones are
often required to pancake them the act of altering the
color of their shoes to match a skin tone for
elongated lines. The Dance Theater of Harlem was one of

(06:45):
the first companies to encourage their dancers to wear tights
and shoes that match their skin tone, departing from the
widely accepted ballerina pink. Silva arrived wearing pink tights and
shoes on her first day for her previous training, but
was strongly encouraged to differ from her natural shit shade.
So she had these shoes, and it was such a
big deal that they actually took those shoes and were

(07:07):
because we know things have changed at the Smithsonian, so
dot dot dot someone could feel that in later. For me,
I guess because I don't want to see it. I
don't want to be sad right now. But they were
featured as a display in the Smithsonian National Museum of
African American History and Culture because it was such a
significant moment and people understood what was happening and what
needed to change. So the article continues with her saying this,

(07:29):
I felt so much better about the way my lines
looked after starting to wear my brown tys and shoes.
We have to look at ourselves in the mirror for hours,
and being required to wear the wrong shade of things
because my color isn't included is unfair. She says. This
experience inspired Silva to found her own point shoe company
and continue to question a number of the ballet World's
accepted practices, which again, it seems like something that you

(07:52):
wouldn't often think about. But they talk about how the
lines are long, and this creates the illusion and then
it breaks because you're not in an approach tire that
matches you. That's so sad. Why wouldn't that be a
common sense. I feelt that's such an easy change too.
I believe she's also been featured by Nike. I don't
know if she was sponsored by Nike, but featured by

(08:13):
Nike in different ads for her stance and diversifying ballet
and clothing within ballet. So she has done a lot
of work with this specific topic, and she has also
used her platforms in other ways, including advocating for mothers
in the industry. And I feel like that seems like
a pretty common knowledge that they retire young. A lot

(08:34):
of ballet dancers retire young, and from what I understand,
after giving birth or having children oftentimes their sideline. And
she really wanted to change that narrative as well. From
that same article, from what where they write historically female
dancers have been discouraged from continuing their careers during and
after pregnancy. My body changed a lot when I was pregnant.

(08:57):
My center of gravity wasn't the same. I kept dancing
all the way up until my final month, and then
after having my daughter, Laura decided to trade my body
so that I could go back to work. It was hard,
silver shares, and she did like the fact that she
did it while she was pregnant.

Speaker 1 (09:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:13):
Wow. And apparently when her recovery time was so short,
so short, and she came right back to the stage,
I can't imagine. Nope, Oh, thank you. So she co
founded Dancers in Motherhood and a little bit about that
organization from un dot org. It is a platform created
by all four women who are professionals and leaders in

(09:35):
the dance world, but who are above all mothers, dancers
and motherhood believe we can unite for a more inclusive
dance world. Unite by sharing our experiences without judgment to
encourage empathy and changes needed to support families in the
dance community. I love that just because you have a
child doesn't mean in your career if you can get
back to it, that is, if you want to, if

(09:55):
you want you want to, if you want to. She
has also co founded bla in Ballet, which celebrates dancers
of colors all around, giving opportunity and resources for those
who want to become dancers themselves. They have an amazing
video of some dances and her talking and being interviewed
about that organization. It's gorgeous, so you should take some
time to watch it. In the Dance magazine dot com

(10:19):
article that she writes, she says this, as a black
Latina immigrant mother and a woman, I carry so much
culture and so many ancestors. I embrace all of them.
They make me unique, and I bring them to my dance,
making it unique. I love all of that. Yeah. And
of course she continues to do exactly that, and she
has received a lot of accolades for her work. Just

(10:41):
a couple in twenty twenty one, she spoke at the
Harvard University Latina Empowerment and Development Conference and was recognized
with the Latina Trailblazers Award. She was featured in The
Forest Brazil magazine as one of the twenty successful Women
in Brazil in twenty twenty one. So so much more,
and then, of course she's been featured in so many programs.
She's been the star, she's been the main dancer, and

(11:03):
she created so much more. Yeah, go back and look
at her works because it's gorgeous. There's a photo from
her article Dance Magazine dot com that's one of the
most beautifully breathtaken photos I've ever seen in ballets. I'm like,
oh my god, So definitely go and check that out.

Speaker 1 (11:20):
Yes, yes, absolutely, and listeners. As always, if you have
any thoughts about this or any people you think we
should highlight, our organizations you think we should highlight, please
let us know. You can email us at Hello at
Stuffannever Told You dot com. You can find us on
blue Sky at mom Stuff podcast, our Instagram, and TikTok

(11:40):
at stuff Never Told You. We're also on YouTube. We
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you can get wherever you get here. Thanks it's always
to our super produce Christ, senior executive producer Maya, and
your contributor Joey.

Speaker 2 (11:52):
Thank you, and thanks to you for listening.

Speaker 1 (11:54):
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