Rylen Besler: Turning Small Town Determination into International Fame
There’s an old pair of shoes on display in Rylen Besler’s home. These are a reminder to him of how a single choice can set the trajectory for life. Raised in the small town of Garson (Winnipeg Manitoba) with a population of less than 1,000 people, Rylen vacillated between hockey and dance until financial limitations prompted his decision to get a new pair of dance shoes rather than continuing hockey. This single decision was the spark that has led to Besler’s international career and a multitude of followers for his online creations via Instagram, Tik Tok, and other outlets. Rylen has been a prominent part of establishing the new template for dancers which reinforces that you don’t have to relocate to a major city in order to have a thriving career unless you choose to do so. He enthusiastically notes, “Not only has social media made it easier than ever to get yourself out there but it has also created entirely different career paths. You no longer have to be a backup dancer if you don’t want to, you can now be the face of your own brand. I’m really excited to see what dancers continue to do with these new tools. Still, I think it can be helpful to travel to major dance cities and get in front of your favorite choreographers; nothing beats in person training and connecting. Dance is very energy driven and you can only feel so much of that through a phone.”
Nearly all dancers of the modern era and style find music videos to be a fruitful avenue. Rylen began working in this medium at only fifteen-years-old when he was approached to appear in Heidi Korte’s “More Than Words” video. His performance and choreography was so strong that the decision was made to have only Heidi and Rylen appear on camera. The attention brought about by this video led to higher production value ensemble productions such as Mark Tuan’s “Fallin” which features a large ensemble with major choreography taking place in the 1950s. A dazzling spectacle of the past meets modern street dancing, Besler is captivating with his graceful moves in this high energy production. Tuan’s twenty-three million followers were fascinated by “Fallin” making note of Rylen’s charismatic presence in this music video.
Though he always considers himself a proud Canadian, Los Angeles has provided exciting opportunities to interact with other dancers Rylen has long admired. The invitation to perform with these professionals in Southern California allowed him to check a few items off of his wish list. Rylen communicates, “Performing at Carnival in Los Angeles at academy LA with DJ Marv was so much fun. With Carnival being such a staple in the LA dance community, I was so excited to get the chance to step on that stage. I’ve admired DJ Marv’s work as a choreographer for so long, and being able to perform with my friends at this event was a very special experience for me. I also have to thank LA for my performance at Club Jete because this was my first time performing since the Covid lockdown started. It felt like life was starting again and I was going to actually have a future. I think we all probably remember that moment when we were experiencing hope again.”
His high profile on social media and frequent original video posts have the benevolent effect of bringing work to Rylen. In the past, this only occurred with the most household of names. One of the most exciting occurrences of this kind for Besler was when he was asked to be a part of a piece of a video for Michael Jackson’s personal Instagram. As one of the most iconic dancers of all time in pop music, Jackson’s IG account is considered to have the highest level of talent and creativity. Rylen appeared in a quintet of dancers in a sequence choreographed to the hit “Billie Jean.” The choreography pays homage to some of Jackson’s most well-known moves with remarkable accuracy and style.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5JYIWuJ-LH/?igsh=MWthb3d3MGwycmox
The “Kitchen Series” is how Rylen refers to a group of videos he has created which showcase his choreography and dance skills as a sort of calling card to major artists who might seek him out. With multimillion views, these self-produced videos have amassed a huge following on Tik Tok. In them, Besler displays his incredible talent and unique voice along to hit songs such as “Cold” by Clinton Kane, “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran, and others. The video he created and filmed for “Orange Juice” by Noah Kahan is most accurately described as an indie film than a mere video. Filmed in both Canada and Southern California, this production is among Rylen’s most viewed and popular works. He remarks, “Noah Kahan’s ability to tell stories within his music is what inspired me to create to it. As a creator having a song that can be such a strong base to build off of is so important and this song was perfect for that. I spent at least a month working on this one. This video means so much to me and has definitely inspired me to create more long form content. Dancing to music that means something to people shows it to them in a different light, which I love to do. After growing a following on Tik Tok I decided to implement some of my creative ideas of using dance as a way of storytelling. I truly believe that I’ve just scratched the surface when it comes to the possibilities that I have to create and entertain. I’m excited about some of the ideas I have and bringing them to the public.”
