Today we’d like to introduce you to Ally Vega.
Hi Ally, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My dad put my sister and I in dance classes when I was seven. I was a typical studio kid – I did ballet, jazz, tap, and hip hop. A couple of years later, I didn’t want to dance anymore because I wanted to differentiate myself from my sister, so I tried sports. I realized very quickly this wasn’t going to be my thing, so I ran back to dance when I entered middle school. From there, I joined my middle school dance team and started taking my training seriously. I kept training all throughout high school, where I joined my high school’s song team and became captain in both my junior and senior years. I took another break in college because I needed to focus on studying for a “real” degree (Asian parents, am I right?) Even though I wasn’t majoring in it, I kept training on the side.
Eventually, when I graduated college, I started interning for a dance studio in Torrance called Boogiezone Utopia, now known as Epicenter. One thing led to another and I found myself training every day just like how it was when I was 17. It all clicked for me when I was working at the only office job I ever had, and when I was supposed to be working, I would be looking up dance auditions. Impulsively one morning, I quit that office job, went back to my old barista job, and pursued dance full-time. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew I wanted to be around people that understood my drive. Years later when I established a good flow with my dance career, I started experimenting with fusion dance work, where I would take traditional Filipino dances and fuse it with hip hop. That work eventually led me to create my dance company, Ancestral Vision Movement. Because of the nature of that work, I wanted to go deeper in my movement training, so I decided to get my 200-hr yoga teacher certificate. Nowadays, I teach dance and yoga full-time all around the greater Los Angeles area and when I’m not at the studios, I’m working on film/live projects as a choreographer.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
What WASN’T a struggle? Living a freelance lifestyle in a city like LA is incredibly bold, even though so many people here do it. As a dance teacher, you have to be flexible and be a people person because you will have to teach EVERY kind of person – a 6-year-old, a 60-year-old, an actor trying to nail their self-tape, a mom who just wants an hour away from their kids, the former dancer who stepped away from dance for 15 years and wants to get back into it, the guy who wants to impress a girl, and so on. My week can look anything like teaching ten classes a week to 30 classes a week. In the beginning, when you’re still a new teacher and you’re trying to build your reputation, you’ll have to work some odd jobs in addition to those classes just to make ends meet. Fun fact – the way I started teaching at studios was because of an anime convention. I frequented a lot of anime conventions back in the day and one year, I decided to host a free dance workshop at one of these conventions (shout out to Anime LA). I brought my videographer friend along to film it, and once I posted it online, it gave me the credibility I needed to convince dance studios to hire me on as faculty. And it worked!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a choreographer, movement educator, and performer. I founded my own dance company called Ancestral Vision Movement, where I take traditional Filipino dances and fuse it with street styles and hip hop. I also have my own movement training program called Femmessence where I bring women, femmes, and non-binary folks together to use dance and movement to tap into their divine feminine energy.
I’ve been recognized by multiple cities in SoCal – Carson, Long Beach, LA – for the work I do with Ancestral Vision Movement. I’m just really proud of the fact that I created something where I can hire my friends and create cool art together.
What sets me apart is that aside from all of this, I also love doing comedic choreography! I choreographed for a musical comedy called Supportive White Parents, which ran at Upright Citizens Brigade and Second City Hollywood. This was my debut in the musical comedy genre and ever since then, I’ve loved bringing my choreography into this space.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I love slow mornings; I love drinking iced coffees and matcha lattes (with soy!), I love petting dogs and cats, I love watering my plants, I love supporting my friends at their shows, screenings, and tours, I love spending time with my friends and family, and I love having a moment to really bask in the gratitude of it all. I love all of these things because it allows me to step back from my work and remember why I love doing it which rejuvenates my soul to create new art, new dialogue, and new collaborations.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.allyvega.com
- Instagram: _allyvega, ancestralvisionmovement, femmessence.movement
Image Credits
Sthanlee B Mirador, Desi Jevon, Jeremy Rafanan, Maya Siklai, Annett Bone, Jennelle Fong
