Angel Tisdale was born in Hopewell, VA in 1966. From her earliest years, Angel’s parents facilitated her incessant musicality, rhythm, and tumbling about through dance and gymnastics
lessons, leading to her ever-present love of movement arts. Throughout her life, while involved in musical theater, as a dancer and singer herself, and later as a teacher, she has always been
surrounded by and participated in performing arts. Eventually, though, photography captured her heart, particularly the photography of the dancer. To be able to show in that one instance the
flowing movement–not as a Duchamp descent but strikingly clear and crisp, showcased by technique and tone–that was the treasure through her lens.
Initially, Angel cultivated her art as a dance instructor as well as a professional make-up artist. She also served as a professional costume designer for many years, producing works that were
featured at national competitions for renowned choreographers such as Denise Wall and award-winning dancers like Travis Wall and Danny Tidwell. Later, due to illness, she transitioned
to more formal studies, expanding on her education in English and Theater Arts with a Dance minor at Old Dominion University to complete her degree from the New York Institute of
Photography. Finally, she refined those skills with Rachel Neville, becoming one of the first to graduate from her Master Curriculum. Angel focuses on one aspect primarily in her work: artistic expression through refined technique.
In addition to her years of contemporary, jazz, and tap, her ballet honed insights that tell her instinctively when the moment is just right to capture the arabesque. No separation exists
between the dancer and the photographer, as both innately experience the movement as it occurs. Yet, it’s not just the extension of the dancer that can determine the success of the effort; the photographer too must understand light, lines, movement…all through today’s professional digital cameras. More and more, post-production has become just a stage for seeing just what
has all been captured in-camera, at that moment, when it happened: muscle shading and texture, just the right angle to capture the flex of the foot–these subtleties add layer upon layer to the developing flavor of her work.
Angel has worked with professional organizations as well as individual dancers, and her photography has been published by Pointe Magazine and other dance publications. Her work can be seen in seasonal marketing campaigns for pre-professional and professional companies, on the covers of production programs, and has been commissioned as a gallery wall for a ballet conservatory. She is a businesswoman and instructor in her own right through ATDance Art, her own studio. In addition, she co-founded “Dance Accepts Everyone,” a worldwide dance positive group on Facebook, “Light and Lines,” a dedicated community of artists, dancers, and photographers all seeking to better each other and their works, and most recently the “Devant Group,” an effort to address discrimination and sexism within the larger dance community.
Angel presently lives and works in Florida, where she continues to celebrate the artistry, athleticism, and the joy of dance through light, lines, and movement. Her desire to encourage an emotional response from viewers while preserving dance’s rich history is as important as honoring the artists with whom she is privileged to create.
