Ph.D. Mind- Body Medicine - Saybrook University (In Progress)

M.A. Liberal Arts and Science (MALAS) - San Diego State University 2024

B.F.A. Dance - San Diego State University 2022

A.A. Sociology - Folsom Lake College 2020

A.A. Dance Studies - Folsom Lake College 2019

Robbie Taylor is a Placerville, California native who has had a passion for the arts his whole life. Having access to the family computer, he learned how to dance through YouTube videos and later joined the dance department at his high school in Placerville, California. After graduation, Robbie attended Folsom Lake College where he explored dancing ballet, modern, musical theater, and dance composition and production. While attending Folsom Lake College, he joined the MOSAIC Dance Company of Folsom Lake College in 2016 where the company's focus was on local outreach programs, performing at local events and venues, and touring nationally. 

In 2017, Robbie performed in the annual Sacramento Ballet 'Nutcracker' under the direction and mentorship of artistic director Ron Cunningham. While studying at the Sacramento Ballet, his training focus was on character pantomime and performance, Alexander technique, and classical ballet. He also performed with the company in other works including 'Carmina Burana' and 'Giselle'. 

Robbie joined Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre (SCDT) in 2018, under the direction of Jacob Gutierrez-Montoya. He found a home in SCDT where the company brings the work of local non-profits to the stage through visual and performing arts. 

In 2019, Robbie finished his associate degrees in dance and sociology from Folsom Lake College. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, he moved from Sacramento to Orange County for a year to study at CSU Fullerton and later transferred to San Diego State University where he obtained his BFA in Dance in the Fall of 2022. 

After graduating, Robbie continued his research in the Master of Arts in Liberal Arts and Science program at SDSU where he created the With;OUT Dance Project exploring the cathartic expression of queer dancemaking. 

I always wanted to be a dancer, but instead I spent twelve years as a wrestler, living a life that reflected my parents' expectations rather than my own aspirations. Growing up in El Dorado, California, my mother refused to let me take ballet classes at the local studio because she believed ballet was only for girls, as well as a financial burden it would put on my father who worked for Future Ford of Sacramento at the time. Determined to dance, I turned to YouTube, where I taught myself the basics of ballet and jazz technique. 

Dance became a space where I could begin to discover and accept myself. Through dance, I found a way to embody and express both my masculine and feminine qualities, exploring parts of myself that felt inaccessible in other areas of my life. 

As I continued dancing, I came to recognize that many queer dancers do not have the same privilege of freely expressing all aspects of their identities. I stand at the forefront of queer artists, dancers, and activists whose efforts have expanded opportunities for LGBTQ+ people to live and create spaces where they can live more authentically. Their work inspires my own mission: to create performances, facilitate movement experiences, and cultivate communities where LGBTQ+ dancers can fully express who they are without fear of judgment or exclusion. 

I hope to inspire others to engage with movement as more than a technical practice, but as a way to feel part of something again. It is in my heart that dance can be a catalyst for self-discovery, community building, and social change. I want my community to recognize that what they learn in my dancemaking practices can extend into their everyday lives, shaping how they understand themselves, relate to others, and contribute to the world around them. 

The questions that guide my creative and scholarly work include:

• How can I create safer spaces for queer dancers so they can experience the same sense of freedom and self-expression that dance provided for me?

• How can dancemaking become a celebration of sexuality and a site for exploring the fluid spectrum of masculinity and femininity?

These questions continue to shape my practice-as-research approach and inform projects such as The With;OUT Dance Project and We Open at the Close. 

Sincerely,
Robbie T.