Ingrid Silva (born 1988/1989) is a Brazilian ballet dancer who currently performs with the

Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served a ...

in New York City.

Early life

Silva was born and raised in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, to a father who served in the air force and mother who was a maid. At age 8, she started ballet through a community out-reach program, then trained at Dançando Para Não Dançar,

Theatro Municipal Teatro Municipal, Theatro Municipal, Théâtre Municipal or Teatro Municipale (= Municipal theatre) may refer to: * Théâtre municipal d'Albi * Teatro Municipal de Caracas * Teatro Municipal de Chacao * Théâtre municipal de Grenoble * Théâtre ...

's school, and under

Deborah Colker Deborah Colker (born 1960 Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian writer, theater director, dancer and choreographer. She was an awardee of the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance. Colker was also the movement director and chore ...

and Pedro Pederneiras.

Career

At age 17, Silva became an apprentice with Grupo Corpo. In 2008, at age 18, Silva moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

as there were very few opportunities for Black dancers in Brazil. Shortly after she arrived,

's founder Arthur Mitchell invited her to join DTH Ensemble, the junior company that performed when the main company was disbanded. In 2012, when the main company was reinstated, Silva joined the company permanently. Silva has called for greater diversity in ballet. In an appearance on '' The Today Show'', Silva noted that she has to color her

pointe shoes A pointe shoe (, ), also called a ballet toe shoe or simply toe shoe, is a type of shoe worn by ballet dancers when performing pointe work. Pointe shoes were conceived in response to the desire for dancers to appear weightless and sylph-like an ...

, a process known as "pancaking", as most brands only provide light shade options. In 2020, she appeared in a Nike advertisement celebrating

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

, narrated by

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

. Later that year, Silva danced ''

The Swan A swan is a bird of the genus ''Cygnus'' (true swans) or ''Coscoroba'' (coscoroba swans). Swan, swans, or The Swan may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film and television * ''The Swan'' (1925 film), a 1925 silent film * ''The Swa ...

'' in Misty Copeland's fundraiser, Swans for Relief, a response to the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on the dance community, with funds going to participating dancers' companies and other related relief funds. Outside of ballet, Silva co-founded EmpowHerNY, a platform with different women to take over its Instagram account.

Personal life

In November 2020, Silva gave birth to her daughter.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Ingrid Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers Brazilian ballerinas Afro-Brazilian female dancers 21st-century ballet dancers 21st-century Brazilian dancers Living people 1980s births Year of birth uncertain People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian expatriates in the United States