You could say that Danielle Silver has one foot in the past, the other in the present, and both are headed toward the future of dance.
When she dances, the senior at Orange County School of the Arts tries to meld a studied knowledge of dance history and its great performers and choreographers with modern trends and styles to entertain today’s audiences.
Meet the other 2022 Artists of the Year
Film/animation: Youning Jiang
Instrumental music: Aaron Kim
Vocal music: Landon Wouters
Theater: Lauren Mai
Computer-assisted visual arts: Meena Senapathi
Handcrafted visual arts: Joyce Yuruo Hong
That depth to her artistry is what underpinned the judges’ decision to name Silver, who goes by the nickname “Dani,” the Artist of the Year in dance.
Most young artists are not that interested in dance history, said Melanie Kay Rosa, who chairs the dance department at Fullerton College.
But Silver, 17, took to heart a teacher’s advice to study the greats and not just focus on current dance styles. Two years ago, a class in dance history opened her eyes to the origins of dance, from Africa to Europe, on through its evolution.
She said she hopes to uphold the legacy of such luminaries as Martha Graham and Bob Fosse while also adding her own 21st century story to dance.
“That’s very respectful,” said Alaine Haubert, director of ABT Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts and a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet.
Silver chose commercial dance as her specialty, but she’s also grounded in ballet and concert dance.
“I remain consistent with my concert dance training, as ballet and technique are the foundation of all dance forms,” she wrote in her submission for Artist of the Year.
With a bowler hat saucily poised atop her head, Silver tapped her way through “There’ll Be Some Changes Made” from Fosse’s “All That Jazz.” Then she performed contemporary dance movements to Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”
In discussing the choice for Artist of the Year, Haubert called Silver “a good mover” and noted that she’s been well trained.
“She’s a real dancer,” Haubert concluded.
Silver plans to get a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance after she graduates high school this year. Her ultimate dream? To go to New York City and be a professional dancer for film and TV, and on Broadway.
That’s a huge challenge, but Silver danced her way back from a serious back injury in seventh grade when she was dropped during a stage lift. She had to stop dancing for several months and slept in a back brace every night for two years.
Her own painful experience fuels her desire to use dance to help heal others, something she has done through involvement with Dancers Against Cancer and HALO Dance 4 Autism.
“I’m fully recovered now,” she declared to the judges.
They chorused back: “We noticed!”
Dance finalists
Dance is divided into four specialties: commercial dance, concert dance, street dance and world/cultural dance. (No semifinalists were named in street dance this year.) In addition to Artist of the Year, the judges selected finalists in each category.
David Burn of Fullerton, a senior studying at Sunny Hills High School, is the dance finalist in the specialty of commercial dance for Artist of the Year in 2022. (Photo courtesy of Bob Burn)
Commercial dance: David Burn, 18, senior at Sunny Hills High. He sees himself as a role model. Burn, who strives to be a dance coach or dance teacher, wants to show that boys can dance and “have extreme passion for an art form dominated by women.” His family fully supports him, including his father — described by Burn as a “hardcore” dance dad — who waited outside with Burn’s mom while their son performed for the judges and couldn’t wait to ask how it went.
Michaela Capulong of Huntington Beach, a senior studying at Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts, is the dance finalist in the specialty of concert dance for Artist of the Year in 2022. (Photo courtesy of Michaela Capulong)
Concert dance: Michaela Capulong, 18, senior at Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts. She made Artist of the Year dance finalist this year after being selected as a semifinalist last year. There’s no quit in her, a drive that has earned her other top honors that include a full tuition scholarship to the 2021 Milwaukee Ballet Pre-Professional Program. What motivates her: “I always come back to why am I doing this? I love to dance.” She also loves to write, something she rediscovered during the isolation of the pandemic.
Mia Amaris Lopez of Santa Ana, a junior studying at Orange County School of the Arts, is the dance finalist in the specialty of world/cultural dance for Artist of the Year in 2022. (Photo courtesy of Rosa Lopez)
World/cultural dance: Mia Amaris Lopez, 17, junior at Orange County School of the Arts, where she is in the Ballet Folklorico Conservatory. The wooden floor at Chapman University’s Partridge Dance Center resounded with the rhythmic smack of her heels as she performed a Mexican folklorico number and then Spanish classical flamenco. She hopes to attend University of Texas for a dance degree and grow folklorico as an art form. “As a Mexican girl, it’s empowering to be nominated for Artist of the Year.”