Dancer-Performer Aurélie Garcia Takes Manhattan by Storm
By Joseph West
The professional dancer’s life is perhaps the most demanding of all performance disciplines. It not only requires the struggle and competition of the audition process,it is conducted at a far higher level of expectation and ability — the dancer must possess both a primordial physicality and an ethereal expressiveness. It’s an unusually complex mixture, one at which the dancer-performer
Aurélie Garcia excels, and her gift for combining these disparate elements into a flawless, interpretive whole has made her one of the leading forces in her field.
In the past 36 months, the French-born, New York based Aurélie’s roster of credits have blossomed to a fabulous degree, with a succession of distinguished performances at some of Manhattan’s most prestigious venues — New York City Center, the world famous Apollo Theater and the fabled Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
It’s a long way from her childhood home on Southern France’s Côte d’Azur but the journey was one of inevitable destiny — it began when she was just 3 years old.
“I was always dancing around the house and at family gatherings,” Aurélie said. “My mom decided to enroll me in a dance school in our town, but the director there thought I was too young. My mom insisted I do a trial, and once the first class finished, the director said ‘I want to keep her.’”
For Aurélie dance has been a lifelong pursuit, one imbued with almost spiritual significance.
“That day, I started my path as a dancer and stayed in the same school until I moved to New York,” she said. “Dance is what allows me to express my true self, the deep feelings that I am too introverted to be able to communicate with words. It also helps me to not dive down emotionally, to maintain a good balance.”
Aurélie’s dedication to her craft was so great that, when the opportunity presented itself, she didn’t hesitate to leave home and family behind.
“A dance teacher I had recommended me to audition for the fabulous school connected to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater — The Ailey School,” Aurélie said. “That same summer Alvin Ailey was having a little summer intensive [workshop] in Paris. I flew to Paris with my mom, did a week of intensive and then I auditioned. After a brief wait, I was surprised to get accepted.”
The Ailey company is one of the most prestigious troupes in modern dance and, in less then a months time following the invitation, Aurélie relocated to New York, the glittering epicenter of the dance world. At age 18, it was more than a little daunting but the dancer persevered.
“Sometimes it’s hard to be far away from my family but their support and love and my strong dedication to my art helps me to keep going,” Aurélie said.
She quickly distinguished herself, receiving two consecutive merit scholarships from the Ailey organization — a significant recognition in and of itself. But the best was yet to come.
“I was invited for a very competitive audition in which I was selected, from that first step, I was invited to perform ‘Memoria’ with the company,” Aurélie said.
“Performing at the New York City Center with this company was like a dream come true and the piece I performed, ‘Memoria,’ which Alvin Ailey, because he was on tour and wasn’t present for her burial, created as a celebration of the life of his dear friend Joyce Triller. It was a beautiful piece to perform and doing it in front of so many people was surreal.”
With such an auspicious debut, Aurélie’s professional profile began a steady ascent and before long, she was performing at the world famous Apollo Theater with the famed Ballet Hispanico, interpreting works by internationally acclaimed choreographers Talley Beatty and Ronald K. Brown.
“Perfroming at the Apollo Theater was also a beautiful experience,” Aurélie said. “I performed ‘Tres Cantos,’ Talley Beatty’s brilliant reflection on the history of Mexico, from its Aztec roots through the Spanish Conquest and Ronald K. Brown ’s ‘Espíritu Vivo,’ his masterwork exploring the intersection of African and Latino diasporas in Latin America. These choreographers are towering figures in the art of dance and, with my father’s Spanish heritage, both pieces were very personal for me.”
This rich intersection of technique, interpretation and soul-deep passion is where Aurélie truly shines, and her luminous stage style has continued to propel her to ever greater heights — her next stop, again with Ballet Hispanico, was Manhattan’s legendary Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
“It was amazing,” Aurélie said. “Lincoln Center is such an inspiring place to be as an artist and doing 15 performances there was just a blessing.”
With a rich program of Latin-themed fusion ballet and pieces that incorporated everything from Spanish flamenco to Cuban cha cha and mambo to Mexican folklorico, all the inspired creations of 4 master choreographers (Talley Beatty, Pedro Ruiz, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Michele Manzanales), Aurélie really came into her own as a communicative performer.
“I learned a lot during this process,” she said. “Performing those 4 different pieces was like a travelling through time, sensation, cultures and places, and sharing my art with audiences over multiple days in a row, to have them travel and explore these worlds with us, was so beautiful.”
The youthful, driven Aurélie has demonstrated an artistic capacity which has already reached an altitude higher than many dream of, yet she is still at the dawn of her professional career. Sensitive, ambitious, dedicated and boundlessly skilled, Aurélie has many stories to share, countless truths to tell.
“For me, it’s about generosity and honesty,” she said. “If you are not honest with your art and generous enough to share it to the world — in an extreme way — then you are wasting it.”
“It takes a lot of bravery to allow vulnerability to be part of what you show the world, but sometimes, that is exactly what is going to touch the most hearts.
