Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Ervin Jr.
Hi Will, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Will is an East Coast native. He started as a street performer, busking with friends while training in musical theater, vogue, hip-hop, popping waving, house, and Jersey club. He later earned a BFA in dance from Montclair State University.
He also holds an MFA in dance from the University of Illinois. He has trained with Joffrey
Ballet, EMIA, Rennie Harris, Jacobs Pillow, and Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet.
As Artistic Director of his company Erv Works Dance, he has presented choreography at
the Dumbo Dance Festival, the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, and the Krannert
Center for the Performing Arts. Recent works were choreographing for Kemar Jewels
Dance Film project “Soft”, headlining the Global Black Pride event, where Kemar’s work was
presented after the keynote speaker, Former President Joe Biden, Battery Dance
Festival, Maria Torres’s Sol El Bario, and the Joyce Theatre in partnership with Future
Dance Festival, 92nd Y, and The Martha Graham Dance Company.
Other accomplishments include performing in Cabaret at theKitKat Club on Broadway,
interning with the American Ballet Theatre’s Major Gifts Department, and apprenticing
with Camille A. Brown & Dancers. He has been named Dance Lab NY by Josh Prince’s fall
cycle choreographer, Dance on the Lawn’s emerging choreographer, and has set work on
Dimensions Dance Theater of Miami, Accent Dance NY & Brooklyn Ballet.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, the road has not been smooth to get where I am today, which I knew when I decided to pursue art as a career. The main hurdle is often getting in the door in the first place. If you are kind, have a great work ethic, and form meaningful relationships, connections and jobs often come around many times over once you are in the door. People love to work with those they know.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a creative, I choreograph for my own company (Erv Works Dance), and other dance companies. I am. branching into choreographing and movement direction for print ads/ commercials/ theater/ musicals/ television/ and film. I am also a well-versed performer (dance, acting, singing). The bulk of my career outside of art, has been as an administrator and fundraiser for non-profit companies. I’m the guy you come to when you want to secure that 6 figures or more in funding for those donors, especially if you want them to come back.
I am most proud of my resiliency/community. While I have been blessed to be a part of many projects, my identity is not tied to being an artist. I know that seeing myself as a multifaceted human, with a strong community of support around me is the thing that has kept me going when I was down or when work was slow. Life is not easy, but your capacity to handle what comes your way is entirely dependent on your coping mechanisms, self-worth, and the people you surround yourself with.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Pursue what you love, but please give yourself grace. Most overnight success stories are built over years of toil, consistent training, meaningful connections, and sustainable ways to keep yourself going when things are not looking or feeling great. Don’t give up on your dreams, but don’t let the time it takes for those dreams to come true be the reason you start to give up on yourself either.
Pricing:
- Artists cannot get paid off exposure
- Email me for rates/bookings
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wille_ervworks/
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/will-ervin-jr-78b77b1bb/?skipRedirect=true
Image Credits
Zaki Marshall
Robert M. Cooper
Aaron Micheal
Jabari Taylor
Brooke Bell
Luis Suar
