Being true to himself underlies every aspect of Travis Wall's life.
From the inspiration he takes from his mother (who's also a dancer/choreographer) to his soul-exposing pieces on So You Think You Can Dance to the blood, sweat and tears he puts into his dance company, Shaping Sound, there isn't one facet of his work that doesn't stem from passion and genuine emotion.
"Every time I put up a body of work, I always want to outdo what I did last time. And if not then I ask myself, what are you doing? Why are you still creating?"
In commercials by age nine, on Broadway by 12 and in front of millions on SYTYCD by age 18, Wall earned his spot at every turn through hard work and talent.
Your mom is a renowned dancer and teacher. When did you first know YOU were a dancer and a performer?
Immediately! I was probably choreographing and dancing before I was two and walking. I grew up in the dance studio, so I mimicked everything I saw. And I rarely saw people walk. I only saw people dance!
When did you get your start?
I competed a lot in dance competitions and when I was nine, I got cast in a Dr. Pepper commercial as the body double. My face wasn't going to be seen but it was still an amazing opportunity in New York City. The other kid wasn't taking direction and about an hour in, the director put me in.
Within two takes, they realized, "Let's just use Travis! He's really smart and he can take direction." My mom patted herself on the back because she made sure to instill in me that when we would take class, the only way to get better was to take direction and apply the correction.
How are you able to strip your ego down and take criticism at such a young age?
I never took it as criticism. It's like when you get an answer on your math test, you did something wrong. You get corrected by an elder and you fix it.
What came next?
When that commercial came out, I was like a celebrity in my elementary school in Virginia Beach. And then it was cool that I danced. I realized I CAN do this for a living and be accepted and not have to hide it from everybody. And this is something I love to do and thank God for that commercial, because it really changed my outlook on it.
So I started auditioning for things and I would go up to New York. That's how these opportunities started flowing in. Then I got The Music Man on Broadway at age 12 and moved to New York City by myself, moving around at first with family friends. So I grew up pretty quickly.
Then you were a contestant on SYTYCD. Any "aha" moments?
When I met Wade Robson, he definitely made me see, wow this is where someone's brain can go. It wasn't just about movement. It was so much about art direction, the concept of where the eye is going to be led throughout the piece and how you feel about it. When I met him, I realized this is truly art.
So if you had to choose a style of dance, would it be contemporary?
I don’t love labels. Because contemporary to me is an adjective. It describes something. It's a new version of "what." There's contemporary Jazz, Ballet, furniture. So it's a new take on a certain style. It's almost "pop" if you think about it. And I'm really inspired by music.
Speaking of, as now a choreographer on the show, how do you find music that inspires you and the pieces you're creating?
It has actually changed because I used to find the music first and then come up with a concept because of the piece of music. Either the actual lyrics or the tone of the musicality inspired the story. And in the past three years, I've got this book of concepts and movie ideas. These cinematic, epic monster routines that I don't have a song for.
So I come up with an idea first and now constantly search for a song that fits the idea.
Where do you pull these concepts from?
I live a very happy life because of my fiancé and my mother and I've got a lot of friends around me. But when it comes to being creative, I pull from a very dark place. I think that stems from my dreams. I have nightmares every single night where I'm either trying to save someone from dying or it's a full-on alien attack.
So I live a great life when I'm awake but I sleep in fear, pretty much every night of my life!
What's the most important thing for you to express during your pieces?
It's myself. I just premiered a brand new show called Hollow Suit which I directed, choreographed and starred in. It was about my life. I completely exposed myself - not clothing wise- but my soul and my past. And it was very vulnerable, maybe a little too vulnerable. I'm standing on stage hysterically sobbing because it's the first time I've ever truly dealt with all these things.
Creating is therapy. If you look back at some of my pieces from my early years on SYTYCD, like the "Fix You" piece when my mom was going through breast cancer and the best friend piece, when my best friend betrayed me and I was left heartbroken. How I dealt with those situations was by creating pieces for them.
At the end of the day, this is the way I express myself and I hold nothing back when it comes to it. Because it is a release for me and it's how I can finally shake something off my back.
We're creating these two hour shows for everyone to see and it's literally from scratch. So it's so exciting and exhilarating, these feelings. You put yourself through hell and then you finally see the final product and that feeling beats all of the torture and nightmares and self doubting and pain.
It's a very painful process when you care so much about something. I lose so much sleep, but hey, it's all worth it for the final at the end!
It must feel strange that something you create that's so personal is in the homes of so many people!
The fact that dance is on every channel right now and everybody wants more and more of it makes my life feel so much more full. We are such an incredible community. We have so much to say and so much to share and our hearts are so warm! So it's just amazing, and because of SYTYCD, I get to come up with a concept and share a piece of my life.
This season, what's it like working with the kids?
They are so talented. We are watching all of them at the very beginning of their long and successful dance careers. More than dance! They are stars. These kids are amazing and truly the All-Stars this year - what they've done with their little Mini-Mes - they deserve a lot of praise. The producers deserve a lot of praise.
And these kids are extraordinary. It has been a very special season with a lot of tears. It's very warm.
The first piece I did with them was the "Mirror" piece. And I'd have never been able to do that on any other show, on any other season besides this. That piece now has 52 million hits on the internet!
Let's talk Emmys. You’ve had six nominations and a win in 2015. How do these accolades factor in for you?
If you look at the category of who has been nominated and who has won in the choreography category over the past 60 years, it's legend after legend. To be put in the same group as the "next generation" is mind blowing and I can't believe it. If you were to have told me this 10 years ago, I would have hoped for this, but never have thought it would have come true.
To win last year, summed up my experience on the show from a young, bright-eyed contestant who was just so hungry for the world, outspoken at times because I was so eager to get "out there." I was 18 and I lost a reality dance competition on television. And then I won the Emmy when I was 28, 10 years later.
Can you talk about your dance company?
Teddy Forance, Nick Lazzarini, Kyle Robinson and I started Shaping Sound five years ago and it's our baby. We're now in our fourth international tour. It's more than a dance company. I really believe the show belongs on a Broadway stage; it's that entertaining!
And we have a brand new show coming out in March, which is gonna be amazing. I want the longevity of this company to last longer than my dancing days!
Any last words?
Try to be inspired by everything you see in life. I'm pulling inspiration from so many different sources and not just dance itself. There's a lot of art around you if you open up your eyes.
More about Shaping Sound here
