We had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa Torres and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Although my artistic career is part time, I wanted to pursue this creative career because of my love for art, music, dance and the community that comes with it. I find that my authentic love for dance is not only just to learn dance moves, but more so to creatively express and show who I am as an artist because a lot of my movement is based on who I am and how I feel. I love being a creative. I’m happy to be a creative.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have a versatile background when it comes to work. I’ve worked in the food industry, corporate business Industry, event planning business industry where weddings, banquets, and other special events take place and the non-profit dance organization industry. I believe what sets me apart from others is being a versatile professional. I think what led me to where I am today professionally is the authentic skillset of knowing my purpose for the job, my honesty, my hard work + dedication and being a natural with interpersonal skills. It was not easy to get to where I am today, but throughout my process for each job, comes development. That’s how you learn and grow. For each development I gained, It made my next choice of work easier because I learned from the my previous profession. When I learn and develop new skills, I intertwine those skills with the new skills I learn. I believe that what ever you may learn in life, take those skills everywhere you go. One thing I can consider easy was my natural interpersonal skills because I have always been a natural at social interaction. Knowing I have a skill that I know I am good at, that is a skill that can help to overcome any challenges. Overtime, I’ve learned awareness, kindness and professionalism skills. I want the world to know that being the person I am today took a lot of hurdles. Yes, I may project myself as if my life is completely wonderful because I do not talk about my past much, but the real story is that I went through some dark situations in my life and because of those dark situations, I am who I am today. I have realized throughout my highs and lows, that life is short. I don’t want to waste my life. I want to live and really live as in take a chance on opportunities. I have a habit of traveling because I want to grow and learn from as many places as I can learn from. I choose to live my life to the fullest using the talented abilities I have. It’s a now or never kind of life view for me which is why I make the choices I make. Something that I hear from time to time from friends are: “You inspire me” and I love that because I want to inspire the world. It would be a dream for many to look up to me. There’s nothing more that I want then for people to be inspired by me to believe that they can achieve any dream they want to achieve. If I can inspire someone, that inspiration can take them further than they could ever imagine.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend were visiting and I wanted to show them the best time ever, I would take them to a variety of places such as Entertainment Shows, Nature Exploration Places, Art Museums, Animal Parks, and Themed parks depending on the time of the year. If it were a week long trip, we would eat in downtown Portland where restaurants and food trucks are an option. We want all the options we can get. Coffee is definitely a must therefore, we would drink coffee from a variety of coffee shops. Water is an essential therefore we would keep that on hand, too. We would visit hiking areas, nature reserve places, historical, animal or art museums, libraries, and the ocean.

In my view, specific places I have found fun and interesting so far are Portland Oregon and Seattle Washington. I haven’t been to states, but Portland and Seattle are two very fun cities to visit especially being from a place that is mainly desert. These cities have so much to offer. I love nature, coffee, food and good weather. Multnomah Falls, Canon Beach, Portland Public Library, Food trucks in Downtown Portland, and The Grotto, Pike Place Market, Drip Tea, and Katsu Burger are places to check out.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to a few artistic creatives. The first person I’d like to give dedicate credit to is Sarah “Saza” Kent. Sarah was my first dance teacher in high school as well my first dance director for a non-profit professional dance company called “Epik Dance Company”. I crossed trained, developed multiple styles because of Epik. The second group of individuals I’d like to dedicate credit to is Leah Bancod-Roman and Rarerae Bancod-Roman. During my employment with Epik, I also had become a dance member for the Jukebox dance studio, also known as “Jukebox Family”. I crossed trained and developed multiple hip-hop foundational styles because of the jukebox. Not only have I learned hip-hop styles, I also learned some knowledgeable history regarding how, where and when hip-hop was born. Between Epik and Jukebox, I developed multiple styles, becoming the performer that I am today. This group of individuals are the reason I am the creative I am today. The third group I’d like to give credit to is the Be Kind People Project. This is a non-profit educational performing arts group. This group is involved with creating a positive change in the overall learning environment, providing relevant learning and youth development opportunities that inspire academic achievement.

Instagram: @mellytorresss

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-torres-a55807178/?trk=eml-email_edge_discover_01-header-0-profile_glimmer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissa.torres.10888/

Image Credits
Melissa Torres (Self)

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