Episode 34: Community, a Career in Dance, and Keeping a Job with Torya Beard

Being the only Black person in the room can be lonely, but it’s not uncommon. Many of us want to explore our talents like dancing and acting, but find ourselves separated from our friends and family. That unfamiliarity can make us feel lesser than, like we need to change who we are and what we look like to fit in. But you don’t, and this week’s guest is here to tell you why.Torya Beard is a New York-based director, creative consultant, curator, choreographer, and producer specializing in dance and theater. For over 25 years, Torya Beard has supported performing artists through all manners of administrative and production support, including but not limited to general operations, public relations, marketing, creative consulting, and producing. She is the 2022 recipient of the APAP’s Inaugural CIPA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Creative Producing and was featured, along with Ayodele Casel and Idina Menzel, in Variety and Lifetime’s‘Power of Women: The Changemakers’Special for her work with the arts-based youth development organization, A BroaderWay Foundation.In this week’s episode, we talked about community, a career in dance, and keeping a job in the arts. Which is not an easy feat to accomplish! But Torya grew up so loved and cared for that she knew she could do anything she put her mind to - including having a dance career on Broadway. Tune in to hear how her community kept her head up, how she grew her self-confidence, and how she maneuvered being the only Black dancer in her department. Enjoy! And don’t forget to subscribe to the No Boundaries Patreon for exclusive content.Follow Torya on:Instagram @toryabeardLinkedIn: Torya BeardWebsite: toryabeard.com Follow Anousha on:Instagram @‌anoushanzumeFollow the No Boundaries Podcast on:Instagram @‌noboundariesthepodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoBoundariesthePodcastSubstack: @noboundariesthepodcast Patreon: NoBoundariesthePodcast Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST, an Afro-Latina-owned boutique podcast production and copywriting studio.