User:NYCsDancer

The creator of "The Electric" also known as "The Electric Slide", Ric Silver studied dance at Connecticut College

Attended Connecticut College in New London, CT after a year at Westminster Choir College as a Piano Major and voice minor. While dancing in New York City, a Broadway Producer saw him performing at Studio 54 and stated that "If you had dance training, I would put you on Broadway tomorrow". Hearing this, he returned to his home in Stonington, CT and managed to get into Conn and took Directing Classes with Larry Arrick at the National Theatre Institute in Waterford, CT. Ric was given a scholarship to The American Dance Festival where he danced with some of the best dancers in America studying Jazz with Walter Nicks who took him under his wing and placed him along side him in class. Starting in the intermediate class, he was quickly moved into the advance class and for the 6 weeks of the Festival, learned at the side of this great Jazz teacher. After the festival, he returned to Manhattan to dance in the Off Broadway show "All The Kings Men" with the Urban Arts Corp. The only dancer hired through auditions, Vinnette Carrol asked Alvin Ailey to supply his 3rd sting dancers to fill the dance core, of which Ric became the dance captain. Ric went on to audition for "A Chorus Line" but at his 3rd audition, Michael Bennett got out of his seat in the front row of the theater and asked Ric to kneel at the front of the stage so that no one else could hear him. He said "Ric, This is the 3rd time you have auditioned for me. You are too good, you will stand out. I can't use you. Don't bother coming back.   NEXT!" The following week, He auditioned for Bob Fosse for "Dancin'" Fosse said that he had a habit of overlooking great dancers and, while looking directly at Ric stated, "If you aren't picked - It's not because you aren't good enough". Ric packed his bags the next day and moved to L A, to be hired by a group of Mitzi Gainer dancers doing a show at the Wilshire Ebell called "Hollywood Dancin'" a takeoff on Fosse' show, where members of the troupe would choreograph for the others. The Producer, who could not dance but wanted to be in the show, decided to sing "Come In From The Rain" and was looking for someone to choreograph a ballet to go with it. Ric was hired and created a pas-de-trois, an Adam & Eve character and a Christ figure but when 1st shown to the rest of the troupe was immediately pulled from the roster with the statement "IF we show this, it will make the rest of us look like crap(cleaned up)". The show opened and closed in one day.