Today we’d like to introduce you to Angel Lavery.
Hi Angel, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in San Francisco, CA and have always had a relentless passion for dance. I was actually a late-bloomer because I started dancing when I was thirteen years old. I worked hard to catch up with dancers who had danced all their lives. However, when I turned eighteen, I decided to go to college and major in business. Although I was not a dance major nor did I seek to dance full-time in a dance company, my heart was always with dance.
Fortunately, I was still offered performance opportunities. I performed with Santa Clara Ballet and Peninsula Ballet Theater. I was even a San Francisco 49ers Cheerleader!
I moved to Detroit in 2009. My husband is from Michigan and his job brought us here. Honestly, I was a lost soul when I arrived. I knew nobody and the winters made life seem bleak. I had to fight to regain my identity. Thus, I started taking ballet classes again. I began making friends at the dance studio!
Eventually, I was in good enough shape to perform again. I performed as a Stoli Ballerina at the Detroit Opera House, Dancing With The Detroit Stars at the Townsend Hotel, and the Press Release for GAC at the North American International Auto Show.
But I noticed one thing that Detroit was missing… a ballet company. With my friend Erica Briganti that I met at the ballet studio, we co founded Ballet Edge Detroit!
Since 2017, I have served as Artistic Director of Ballet Edge Detroit. I choreograph the repertoire for my company. Ballet Edge Detroit is an innovative, exciting ballet company. Although our dancers are classically trained, we produce performances that edgy, current, and relatable for everyone. We dance to widely-recognized music such as Game of Thrones, Lose Yourself, Fur Elise, and Smooth Criminal which won the People’s Choice Award at the Detroit Dance Race. In addition, I was featured in Downtown Publications for bringing an innovative dance style to Detroit.
Diversity is another point of pride for Ballet Edge Detroit. We have dancers of different races: Caucasian, African-American, and Asian. Our ages range from 20s to 40s. And most importantly, our professional and personal identities are varied. We have an accountant, a dental hygienist, a doctor of physical therapy, a medical student, and mothers… to name some. Rarely do you find a group this diverse within a ballet company!
Since the company was founded, we have produced performances such as Electric at the Redford Theatre in Detroit, Ovation at Orchard Lake, and Jingle at Audi Birmingham. We have also performed at the Chinese New Year Charity for Henry Ford’s Cancer Foundation.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Covid was certainly a struggle. We had a few big performances lined up but they were canceled:
1) A fundraiser for Cranbrook Schools
2) West Side Story performance at the Redford Theatre which would feature George Chakiris
3) Our summer 2020 performance at the Bolle Theatre in Detroit
I think that all performing artists were very worried as to whether we would ever perform live again.
Dancers struggled. We tried to stay in shape by dancing at home, – in the kitchen, in our living room, or in the basement. However, the lack of space to turn, kick, and jump freely caused many of us to lose our strength and flexibility. Moreover, the dancing at home by ourselves left us feeling lost and purposeless.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a choreographer and a dancer. The first step in creating a dance piece is finding music. I consider song choice to be equally important as the choreography. The music needs to hook the audience’s attention and keep them interested. I spend hours and hours listening to music and picking out songs that all audience members will enjoy.
The second step is choreography – creating the movement to match the music. Every choreographer is different. Personally, I play my song choice over and over again. Luckily, my husband and kids tolerate listening to the same song a hundred times in a row! As I listen to the music, I imagine the moves with my eyes closed. Then I will try to do the movement in my kitchen or my hallway. Sometimes, I will go on a walk and try to choreograph the routine while walking!
Finally, the best part is teaching my choreography to my dancers. I love my dancers. They are well-trained, fast learners, and so fun to work with! We not only dance together. We sweat, cry, and laugh together.
I am most proud of bringing a new style of dance to Detroit. I use classically-trained ballerinas who have excellent technique and form. My choreography requires classical ballet to merge with an edgy, current style to attract all people. I want ballet to be exciting for not only dance aficionados but also for people who know nothing about dance.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was born in Taiwan and immigrated to the United States when I was three years old. My single mother raised me and my little sister. We did not have a lot of material things, but I was a happy, outgoing kid.
I loved school, especially math! Math just made sense to me. I loved times tables and solving equations. As a side note, I remember getting the perfect attendance award in elementary school because I refused to miss a day of school. I got good grades and took school seriously because education was the equalizer for most immigrants. My mom wanted me to go to a good college and get a good job after graduation.
In my formative years, I remember watching the Olympics Women’s Gymnastics on television and that struck my interest in movement. Immediately, I asked my mom to sign me up for gymnastics and my childhood dream was to become an Olympic gymnast. But when my gym shut down, I turned to the closest thing to gymnastics – dance.
Most people say that middle school was a nightmare for them. However, I LOVED middle school because I had the best time immersed in the performing arts. I sang in the choir, I played violin in the orchestra, and I danced on the dance team. My friends were all in the choir and we loved getting to school at 6:30 AM for choir practice! However, as I got older, I had more homework and less time for extracurricular activities. I had to choose one activity and I chose dance.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.balletedgedetroit.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balletedgedetroit/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/balletedgedetroit
Image Credits
John Sobczak
