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| Imani Teague Nikki Blanck Photography |
IMANI TEAGUE is on a mission.
Imani Teague began her life in rural southern Ohio with a childhood spent in the social service system moving from various placements in the orphanage / foster care system. These early life experiences made an indelible mark, and her struggle with finding a home and an identity gave her an unusual sense of purpose to unlock her potential no matter how long it took.
Imani’s interest in dance, music, acting and performance began when she fell in love with the videos of Michael Jackson. Seeing The Nutcracker on Public TV at age 10, Imani then fell in love with Ballet. Family and life circumstances made it impossible to train at that time, but often she was researching video and books as an escape into the world of theatre that she felt was her “true home”.
Imani Teague began her life in rural southern Ohio with a childhood spent in the social service system moving from various placements in the orphanage / foster care system. These early life experiences made an indelible mark, and her struggle with finding a home and an identity gave her an unusual sense of purpose to unlock her potential no matter how long it took.
Imani’s interest in dance, music, acting and performance began when she fell in love with the videos of Michael Jackson. Seeing The Nutcracker on Public TV at age 10, Imani then fell in love with Ballet. Family and life circumstances made it impossible to train at that time, but often she was researching video and books as an escape into the world of theatre that she felt was her “true home”.
Finally, she began to study Modern Dance at near 22 years old, through taking an elective class at college.
Initially beginning as a way to strengthen her body against injury, and with the “excuse” that it would “prepare for an audition with Ailey”!, it wasn’t long before she found herself turning over every stone to receive training.
Moving to NYC after graduation, Imani has pursued additional training in Contemporary, Jazz and African dance and has been fortunate to perform with such companies as The Metropolitan Opera, Vissi Dance Theatre, Underground Dance
Project, The Lady Dames, and others. She
has also performed solo modern choreography in conjunction with
The Angel Orensanz Foundation and Baryshnikov Arts Center. One of her most incredible and heart moving experiences was being given scholarship to study and perform with Urban Bush
Women and The Mozambique National Dance Company.
Her decision to study Classical
Ballet began after a difficult bout with injury, which led her to quit dancing. She felt that dancing was “for others with more family and financial support. Nevertheless, after a bevy of "real
jobs" and a period of soul searching, she was led her back to her childhood love of Ballet.
Initially beginning as a way to strengthen her body against injury, and with the “excuse” that it would “prepare for an audition with Ailey”!, it wasn’t long before she found herself turning over every stone to receive training.
Since her decision to pursue serious ballet training, Imani has been lucky to study under incredible teachers and dancers -- many of whom have
been her idols since childhood --- allowing her nascent desire to learn ballet to blossom into a full
blown love affair.
Her first real experience of training began with ABT’s Collegiate Summer Intensive, which she presented a “faux age & birth certificate” in order to be accepted. (She reconciled this “little white lie” with the fact that The State of Ohio refused to give her “a real birth certificate” as a ward of the State).
Since 2013 Imani has been training in classical
technique and pedagogy under Mr. Vladilen Semenov, a reknowned Danseur Noble, Russian Classical Ballet Pedagogue and former Director of the Kirov Ballet.
In 2014 Imani began traveling to Havana, Cuba for intensive instruction in Cuban Classical
Ballet.
In 2016 and again in 2018, Imani was granted a full scholarship to attend Open
World Dance Foundation’s 4 Week Summer Intensive and Pedagogy Course on Russian
Classical Ballet where she was able to study under legendary teachers and coaches who are
among the few living pupils of Agrippina Vaganova, including studying pedagogy with Ludmila Safronova in 2016.
In 2017 Imani left her office job to return to Cuba for a 2 month intensive — her longest concentrated period of ballet training at that time — and was approached to begin the process of creating a documentary which would explore her unique path in ballet while also looking more closely at the power of the arts, opportunity inequality and the realities of the American Dream.
In 2019, Imani entered an MFA program that would finally allowed focused and concentrated training. As such, she returned to Cuba and debuted in her first Classical Ballet Performance with Laura Alonso’s ProDanza Ballet Company, where she performed IN POINTE SHOES FOR THE FIRST TIME in the Ballet, Romeo & Juliet at The National Theater in Havana, Cuba.
Her present goal is to continue her training to reach her professional goals; to procure support for the creation of a documentary on her unlikely journey form Foster Care to Ballet; and to continue to take advantage of incredible opportunities with her mentors in NY,. Russia and Cuba.
In addition to Dance, Imani also enjoys music, singing, writing, painting, photography and acting. She also secretly wants to be the First Artistic President of The United States as Performance Artist Gizelle Ganso!
Imani's long term mission is to become a performer-advocate to raise awareness and monies for the causes of disadvantaged children dealing with the effects of childhood trauma, and their often silenced life-long struggles. She also seeks to gain the pedagogical education needed to develop FOSTER ARTS programming for the community, which will seek to expand the talent pool to anyone with the talent, drive and discipline for the Classical Arts.
In 2019, Imani entered an MFA program that would finally allowed focused and concentrated training. As such, she returned to Cuba and debuted in her first Classical Ballet Performance with Laura Alonso’s ProDanza Ballet Company, where she performed IN POINTE SHOES FOR THE FIRST TIME in the Ballet, Romeo & Juliet at The National Theater in Havana, Cuba.
Her present goal is to continue her training to reach her professional goals; to procure support for the creation of a documentary on her unlikely journey form Foster Care to Ballet; and to continue to take advantage of incredible opportunities with her mentors in NY,. Russia and Cuba.
In addition to Dance, Imani also enjoys music, singing, writing, painting, photography and acting. She also secretly wants to be the First Artistic President of The United States as Performance Artist Gizelle Ganso!
Imani's long term mission is to become a performer-advocate to raise awareness and monies for the causes of disadvantaged children dealing with the effects of childhood trauma, and their often silenced life-long struggles. She also seeks to gain the pedagogical education needed to develop FOSTER ARTS programming for the community, which will seek to expand the talent pool to anyone with the talent, drive and discipline for the Classical Arts.
In addition Imani is a tireless advocate for the importance of the arts to economic and societal development and the increase of National Arts Funding across the board.
Imani's Official Motto:
DREAM BIG OR GO HOME!
