Meet Aurelie Garcia | Dancer Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aurelie Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aurelie, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
My career taught me to be flexible and adaptable. When something wrong happens, it is not the end of the world. What matters is if you are capable of fixing it and how you decide to fix it. There is always a solution to a problem, if you don’t find it you might just be looking at it from the wrong edge, step back, relativize and believe there is a way to make it happen. A teacher of mine always said “Make it happen! And if you can’t make it happen, MAKE IT UP!” and I fully agree with him.

Also, not being afraid of the unknown, helped me get to where I am now in my career and hopefully will bring me further

Allowing myself to go out of my comfort zone like taking regular dance classes in different and new disciplines, being open to different opportunities in different styles

Understanding and knowing that a “negative” review or comment is a chance to find out how to make things better, that it is not needed to take it personally and get discouraged. Take the note, apply the correction, improve your work, move on.

When going for an audition, looking at it as a special workshop in which I am supposed to have fun so no matter the answer, I aim to leave the studio with a good experience, after enjoying moving and exploring someone’s vision/repertory.
When performing for an audience, even though my art is also a form of personal therapy. Once in front of an audience, it is not about me anymore, I dance for the people, I share what I have to offer to them. Keeping our gift to ourselves and for ourselves only stops the artist from being capable of bringing out what’s shinning inside.

Allow yourself to be vulnerable so you can be strong
My career proved to me that taking risks is important for all artists (but also for any other career). You must be willing to take risks, if you stay always in your comfort zone there is not much room for you to evolve or improve your work. I do not mean to just take risk blindly, but to be open to trying new things, something you have never done before, it could be scary, but it is one of the best ways to explore and develop your art.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
For me, art is all about generosity and sharing. Art is a universal language. It is a beautiful way to express yourself but mainly to be able to share what you have to offer through unusual images (in my case as a dancer, through body language). It’s also a good way to talk about a serious topic and point out matters that needs change.

What constantly inspire me is humanity in itself, everyday simple and special things in life, different people’s culture, background and beliefs, people that made an impact, worked towards changing the unfair to the fair, stroke for a better future, fought against discrimination…
My goal as an artist is to be able to share stories, feelings with my audience, to offer them something they can refer to, something that makes them forget about their everyday life struggles or to open their eyes to another horizon.

My passion was transmitted to me by my mum, she signed me up to dance classes at a young age, but I did not know I wanted to pursue a carrier until the end of High School. I got injured and had to stop dancing while going through difficult times with a family member passing, I did not realize this all time I was not dancing, that I was not expressing much and keeping everything for myself. And one day after I finally got back to dance class, we had to do an improvisation, and all the emotions I was keeping inside of me came out. This is when I realized I needed to keep dancing because this was my language of expression. Choreographing on top of dancing is also something that is pushing me to pursue my career. To be able to bring out an entire concept through visuals that will make sense to an audience plus allow me to say what I need to say to the world is a wonderful gift. After my dad passing, choreographing a piece on his honour was my way to celebrate him but also to show other people that might go through the same difficulties, how to overcome a difficult time like this by celebrating our loved ones and the legacy they transmitted to us.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my friend was visiting the DFW area, I would bring them to the Winspear Opera House, since we performed with MOMIX our show “Alice” there this past September 2021. I would also bring my friend to check the Dallas Cattle Drive Sculptures and the Pioneer Plaza to go check out the art sculptures.
As well as Deep Ellum and the Bishop Arts District with all the street art displays. I would also love to bring my friend to White Rock Lake Park to walk around the lake and look at the beautiful sunset.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The first person to deserve a shoutout is my mom, for bringing me to dance class and always supporting me. The director of the dance school I went to until going to the United States (Centre Artistique de la Danse Cydrille Girard) for pushing me to be multidisciplinary, my ballet teacher Veronique Mangion that exposed me to Ballet Dance Competitions and Lisa Garguillo that introduced me to Hip Hop dance competitions.

The person that pushed me to audition for The Ailey School, Julie Magneville is the reason why I even considered it as a possible option for me. My story then blossomed thanks to all the wonderful teachers and choreographers that have been supporting me and sharing their wisdom: Freddie Moore, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Elizabeth Roxas, Ray Mercer, Anna Lederfeind, Moses Pendleton, Cynthia Quinn, Joshua Winzeler, Nijawon Matthews, Alison Cook Beatty, Vanessa Long, Elenore Scott, Penny Frank, and more…

Also could not have done it without my family and friends’ support (even more so after my dad passed in June 2017).

Instagram: @aureliiegarcia

Facebook: Aurélie Garcia

Youtube: https://youtu.be/A4UJHX0jzBU

Other: https://youtu.be/rcvPqfqwTTk https://youtu.be/3EBQRAGV8Z0

Image Credits
Marie Fondevieille Diego.G Deto. Patrick Keller