school. It wasn't until he reached high school, though, that his
training intensified, a time when he said he began to fully pursue
dance.
"He had a lot of natural ability and once he received training,
there was no stopping him," said Gloria DeFore, owner of the DeFore
Dance Center in Costa Mesa, where Silva began his formal training as
a teen.
While in town with "The Lion King," Silva is teaching class at the
center once a week.
"He was on scholarship here and he worked really hard," said
DeFore, who will get a glimpse of Silva's work when she sees a
performance of "The Lion King" next week. "We saw a future in dance
for him, definitely."
After briefly attending Orange Coast College, Silva went to New
York City on scholarship to attend the Broadway Dance Center.
As an accomplished professional dancer, he began working on cruise
ships. His list of major credits, along with the L.A. production of
"The Lion King," includes a role in the Disney film "Newsies,"
playing Rico and a spot in Barry Manilow's production of,
"Copacabana." He has also been cast as a lead adagio with various
ballet companies.
Silva has been on tour for the past two years, but still manages
to touch down at his home base in L.A., when time permits. The show's
run in Costa Mesa will afford him several chances to get back to his
roots.
Once "The Lion King" leaves Costa Mesa, the tour will travel to
Sacramento, and then settle in Chicago for the summer.
Silva has danced all over the world, on stages in London and
Tokyo, but he says that, despite the cliche, there really is no place
like home.
"It can be a little weary, living out of a suitcase and being on
the road so much," he said. "You just start to get your bearings in a
certain city, and then it's time to pack up and hit the road again.
But the plus side is that while on tour, you get to see cities and
surrounding areas that you probably wouldn't be able to see
otherwise.
"But it feels great to be home, back in Orange County where it all
started for me. It feels really comfortable here in familiar
surroundings."
