PerformanceVox: Angela

By Mikhail Saavedra

All photos by Sai Sivanesan

Angela Mahoney appeared in my life thanks to very insistent friend who kept saying ” you have to see her to see how talented she really is”, this turned out to be a slight understatement particularly after seeing her in action.  While you can still find in her that unique politeness you tend to find in small towns on the East Coast, from the very first moment you set your eyes on her, you get this uniquely larger than life character who is many things at once: strong, tender, incredibly sharp, ambitious in a good way and very worldly, the sort of person who looks at you straight in the eye and which betrays a curious and humble soul.

But why choose her to be in this section? Her passions are wide ranging but the ones she lives for; dancing and writing are what make her stand out, Angela is someone able to show passion with her body and her words. I sat down with Angela to get a better sense of why she does what she does and her motivation to create:

Can you tell me a bit about the many things you do?

What I do? Well, when I moved back to Canada after traveling abroad for two years I began focusing on my two passions: dancing and writing. While going to school for journalism, I worked as a studio manager at OIP Dance Centre; both experiences inspired me to work towards my goals to someday open my own studio as well as do some freelance writing on the side. Right now I am in the midst of moving (albeit spontaneously) to Montreal where I’ll continue to gain experience in both fields.

I have always found dancing fascinating, but my interest in it has a cultural angle, how did you get so deeply involved in it?

I started dancing when I was very young; my parents signed me up for lessons. It is easy to be drawn into the beauty of the movement, the music, the fluidity of dance. But it’s hard to explain how dancing made me FEEL. Over the years, and to this day, dancing has carried me through some tough times. It’s my escape.

What I notice in your personality is how easy going you seem, but also your ability to look at people straight in the eye and speak your mind without coming across as unkind. What shaped that fine balance?

I think being raised in a small town definitely gave me a different perspective on the world. There are just over 7,000 in Campbellton, New Brunswick. A town where everyone knows your name and where strangers smile to one another on the sidewalk. When I graduated high school, I wanted to see what was outside of that. Which is why I decided to travel. I left at 18, on my own, to live and teach English in Japan. That’s when I caught the travel bug! From there, I went to South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia and Europe. I didn’t want familiar. Give me different. I love culture shock. I love the learning aspect of it. I love hearing people tell their stories; everybody has one.

You exude an intensity and a passion for getting things done, that much seems obvious to me. In your own words how would you define this passion and your motivations?

I am truly passionate about dancing, writing, traveling and maintaining good, quality relationships with the people in my life. Not in that order. I could have the best job in the world, but at the end of the day, if I have nobody to share it all with; it wouldn’t be complete. Family, friends and loved ones come first.

Let’s look to a possible future shall we? Where do you see yourself?

What does my near future hold? New experiences, new adventures, and new people. I am at a point in my life where I am fully able to commit and focus on my goals; and I intend to do just that. I will dance until I can’t anymore. Which hopefully won’t happen until well into my 90s. It will always be a part of my life.