Today we’d like to introduce you to Ani Collier.
Hi Ani, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My life has been one big accident.
I have always wanted to perform everywhere, but living in Bulgaria in a communist regime, one couldn’t travel. Once the Berlin Wall came down I ventured out with no idea what I was doing or where I was going. One step after another, I found my place – of all places – in Gainesville, Florida, around the time of the 1990 serial murders. I thought, “Where am I? The Wild Wild West?” I wanted to buy a gun with my first paycheck.
I stopped drinking coffee for quite a while because there was not a good espresso to be found anywhere in Florida. I wondered why you called football, “football”, when you only touch the ball with your foot for the first kick. Everything was new to me.
I danced on pointe on stage for a number of years in ballets such as The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake, toured internationally, and when I stopped performing, I earned a couple degrees from UF and stayed with the Gators in “The Swamp”. A few dogs later, a husband and a son kept me in Gainesville, Florida even though I shifted gears as a photographer and visual artist displaying work in galleries from NYC to Cuba, from Italy to Bulgaria.
Currently, I’m part of a creative trio at Black C Art alongside Director/Educator Lauren Warhol Caldwell and Performance Artist Tom Miller, producing and performing original immersive experiences.
I can’t quit. I love what I do.
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?
Once a dancer, always a dancer. However, the body doesn’t do what it used to do.
So, one has to adapt. Instead of a leading Swan, I’m the Queen.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My body of work continues to evolve; from a principal dancer in classical ballets to a photographic fine artist, from performer to producer, from artist to director, and vice-versa. I have choreographed for numerous dance companies including Gainesville’s Dance Alive National Ballet, and created dance/theatre performances at regional venues including Gainesville’s Hippodrome Theatre; some of which enjoyed international festival tours. I cherish each and every creative opportunity.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I was kind of a Tomboy and always filled with energy. I was climbing trees, running around with the boys, and breaking things in the small apartment where I lived with three generations of my family. My mother signed me up for ballet training, thinking that would help channel my energies and she created a Ballerina instead.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blackcproduction.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackCArtGallery
- Other: https://www.visitgainesville.com/things-to-do/attractions/black-c-art-gallery/
