Angel is a French dancer whose career started at the age of 6. Born in Belgium, she studied and pursued ballet for more than 15 years, learning many other dance styles along the way. She has also studied music and theater at Belgium’s Music Academy of Brussels. Apart from her studies in dance, Angel graduated with honors in Marketing from a business school in 2005.
A year later, she set up her first musical titled Elya’s Dream. The same year, she founded Contre-Tendance, a performance company. Angel started the company intending to train other artists and create opportunities that allow them to express themselves freely on stage. She encourages her artists with the leitmotif, “Believe in your dreams and try hard to reach them.”
In 2009, an opportunity arose for Angel as the Nutella brand in Europe launched a dance competition. Angel entered and won a chance to fly to the big apple, New York where she perfected her training in ballet, street jazz, and hip-hop.
In that period, Angel was recruited by mentor Ms. Robin Dunn, a choreographer, dance teacher, and FACE Coach who established herself as a key community leader in today’s entertainment industry.
Working with Ms. Dunn has given Angel plenty of opportunities. She has shared the stage with several big-name artists like Coolio, Kanye West, Kaye Styles, Orishas, Taye Diggs, Eddy Kenzo, Diamond Platnumz, Magic System, Alfonso Ribeiro, Salif Keita, Afro B and Rihanna, to name a few.
Her experience has seen her performing on several platforms like the stage, in television, commercials, and even dancing for globally renowned brands such as Coca Cola, Nutella, Levi Strauss & Co, Fructis by Garnier, MTV, NBC, Snapchat and Universal among many others.
Angel has created dance techniques called “Ka’frican,” which sees hip-hop and Afro Urban dance styles combined. Ka’frican explores different levels of grounded-ness while keeping a strong focus on rhythm and musicality. Angel developed these techniques to train people to be aware of controlling certain parts of their bodies. Many of the dancing techniques are based on African techniques incorporating urban street styles in the backdrop.
As an Afro-Caribbean from Congo and Martinique, Angel does not just want people to adapt the African culture into dance. She wants them to understand the culture it came from. While many people witness African dance and popularize them, they never give the culture the credit where it is due. Angel wants to bring value and give back to the community of its origin.
In 2013, Angel founded AfroDance New York (ADNY) as a platform that celebrates diversity, communities, and global culture. Her class is a mixture of the new generation of African influences and street dances with a welcoming environment for beginners. The music they use features a heavy influence from the rhythm and musical trends from the Congo, Ivory Coast, and Angola.
