Dana Foglia never envisioned herself as a choreographer. Her journey had taken her on the path as a highly trained successful dancer.
She has well-versed in diverse genres incorporating ballet, modern, tap, African, hip hop, and Street Jazz since the age of 3, and she’s performed and toured with top artists including Beyoncé in the legendary world tour, “The Beyoncé Experience”.
“I had been a dancer my whole career,” Foglia says. “It was the biggest part of my life and I never wanted anything else. I never thought I would do anything else. I never saw another side of me. I had amazing opportunities as a dancer, but I never really felt fulfillment. I never felt I was using my full potential. I decided to explore what would be next for me.”
Dana Foglia's describes her style as “fusion” derives from her exposure to a variety of dance.
Foglia found she loved teaching dance students, but admits she hated to choreograph.
“Music has always been my inspiration,” she says. “It’s been my ‘go to’ reason why I dance and the reason why I move and create and visualize. I slowly found new music to re-inspire and feel differently and create. I decided to produce a performance with regular students and after this experience, producing this full-length show, rehearsing all the time, self-producing everything. I felt I could say, ‘I’m definitely a choreographer.’ It felt right to me.”
Building upon her confidence in the success of her show, Foglia began Dana Foglia Dance (D.F.D.) incorporating her signature style which she characterizes as “fusion” derived from her extensive exposure to different dance styles and techniques.
Dana Foglia: “Music has always been my inspiration. It’s been my ‘go to’ reason why I dance and the reason why I move and create and visualize.”
“I feel like I fuse a lot of genres into one movement,” she says. “I call it Contemporary Fusion so that people can relate to it but it really feels like Fusion.”
Dana Foglia Dance will bring an ensemble cast to perform her original piece “Stilhed/Rock On” in the professional division at the 18th Annual Choreography Festival, Nov. 7-8, at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert.
Over the years, the festival has grown into a creative event showcasing both pro and pre-professional choreography in a competitive platform; outreach programs such as the East Valley Project; workshops, and the designation of a Lifetime Achievement Award honoring influencers. The 2015 recipient is Daniel Ezralow, dancer and Emmy award-winning choreographer.
18th Annual Choreography Festival, Nov. 7-8, McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, 760-340-2787; www.mccallumtheatre.com