{"id":8805,"date":"2021-03-03T23:09:50","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T23:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/?p=8805"},"modified":"2026-02-03T04:06:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T04:06:23","slug":"interview-with-model-and-dancer-fana-tesfagiorgis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/?p=8805","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Model and Dancer Fana Tesfagiorgis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fana Tesfagiorgis strives to grow and share more of herself\neach day. From childhood, Fana\u2019s family has instilled the highest regard for\nthe both the arts and education in her heart and mind. She trained in dance\nfrom a young age at Madison Ballet and spent her high school years continuing\nher dance training at Interlochen Arts Academy. This journey continued to NYC,\nwhere Fana studied at The Ailey School\/Fordham University, earning a BFA degree\nin Dance and a minor in Communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Tesfagiorgis\u2019s professional dance journey\nincludes: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Nimbus Dance Works,\nEvidence Dance Company, The Black Iris Project, Ebony Williams and Company,\nBrian Harlan Brooks, Nimbus Dance Works, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since branching out beyond the concert dance world, Fana has had the pleasure of opening the 73rd Annual Tony Awards<\/em>, an appearance in the TV series, Pose<\/em>, and an appearance in the upcoming film, In The Heights<\/em>. Fana is currently in the ensemble of My Fair Lady<\/em>\u2019s 1st National Tour (on hiatus as the world heals). She is appreciating this valuable time to develop her skills as an Actress, Model, and Singer while also teaching dance virtually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"

Photo Credit: Ylva Erevall. MUA: JP Ramirez. (IG: @ylvaerevall &\u00a0 @thefaceimakebyjp) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tell us about your\ncareer as model and dancer. How did you get started? <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fana Tesfagiorgis:<\/strong> I\nremember dancing around the house as a little girl. In my family and my\ncultures (African-American and Habesha), music and dance are very much a part\nof daily life! One specific memory that I hold dear is running up to the TV and\ndancing every time I would hear the theme song for In Living Color\u2026 <\/em>I\njust knew the Fly Girls would have some new moves for me to try! My mother saw\nmy energy and love for moment right away and put me into ballet classes. I fell\nin love instantly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My dance career is\nwhat led me into modeling. Dance helps me to study and practice different lines\nand angles, and to constantly expand what my body is capable of. While I was\nwith The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, I had the pleasure of being\nintroduced to many different realms in the modeling world.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What type of\nmodeling do you do?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fana Tesfagiorgis:<\/strong> I\nreally love collaborative and creative projects! I try to keep up with Photographers,\nCreative Directors and MUAs that I\u2019ve clicked with in past shoots and connect\non more personal creative ideas. There\u2019s something very intriguing to me about\na raw idea. Especially if it comes from a place of truth in that particular moment\nand speaks to the times that we are in socially or politically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of my\nexperience has been modeling in dance photography.I also enjoy print\nwork, modeling clothing or shoes, hair, and beauty! Lately, I\u2019ve had a lot of\nfun learning about the world of social media influencing! It\u2019s cool to see all\nthe different lanes sort of merging into these highways of creativity.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does fashion\nmean to you?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fana Tesfagiorgis:<\/strong> To\nme, fashion is an expression of the self. The beauty of the inner portrayed on\nthe outer. I love that the possibilities are limitless in terms of what &\nhow we can express!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s one of the\nmost interesting shoots that you\u2019<\/strong>ve done?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fana Tesfagiorgis:<\/strong> One shoot that I will remember forever was with Essence Magazine: 3 Alvin Ailey Dancers Share How They Protect Their Natural Tresses. <\/em>As soon as we walked into the room, I felt at home! The MUAs, the Hair Stylists, Photographer and Crew\u2026 everyone was so warm and welcoming! I had never been on a set with so many People of Color, and predominately Black Women! I appreciated the ENTIRE day! The efficiency, the communication, the sense of community, and the playfulness, too! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"

Photo Credit: New York City Dance Project, Deborah Ory & Ken Browar.
(IG: @nycdanceproject ) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What was your\nfirst big break in the industry?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fana Tesfagiorgis:<\/strong> My\nfirst professional dance experience was after my College graduation from The\nAiley School\/Fordham University\u2019s BFA program. I was honored to join the junior\ncompany, Ailey II. At that time, under the direction of Ms. Sylvia Waters, we\nwere fortunate to be groomed into professionalism with a lot of guidance both\nartistically and on a human level. We got to experience the world, touring all\nover Europe and the U.S., and we also became very close. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t know that\nI\u2019ve had a \u201cbig break\u201d in the modeling industry thus far, as I still feel like\nI\u2019m on the outskirts of it, but I do feel very fortunate to say that all of my\nmodeling opportunities have been very meaningful, and related to\nstories\/purposes that I believe in. I look forward to more of that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are you\ncurrently working on?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fana Tesfagiorgis:<\/strong> A\nlot of my focus in this season has been planting seeds. I have fallen more and\nmore in love with the art of Acting, and I spend most of my time reading plays,\npracticing lines, harassing my friends to read with me, haha (they are very\ngenerous), watching and studying films and TV shows. It excites me how much\nthere is to learn about Acting, but even more so how much we already\ninstinctively know, being human. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am also\ncontinuing to teach Modern Dance classes remotely. It is a challenge to dance\nthrough a screen, but I do appreciate being able to reach a wider range of\ndancers geographically. Dancing together has definitely been uplifting\nthroughout this past year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What other\nprojects are you doing this year? How has COVID-19 impacted your current plans?\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fana Tesfagiorgis:<\/strong> PLANS!? HAHAHA, what are those? It\u2019s interesting, because I am DEFINITELY a planner. This whole year has challenged all of my usual habits and Fana-isms to where I really have no choice but to operate by Faith. I do not know when my show (My Fair Lady) will return to the stage, but in the meantime, I am completely grateful for the time to reflect, assess, realign, reposition, chase new dreams and to simply GROW! Again, I feel like I\u2019m just planting seeds with my commitment & diligence, while watering them with consistency and practice. The planning, as of now, is God\u2019s part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How would you\ndefine your personal style in dance?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fana Tesfagiorgis:<\/strong> As\na dancer, I try to be a chameleon. I have always loved different styles of\ndance, and learning from different choreographers. I love music, and I love to\nplay with how my body can physicalize different sounds and rhythms. I love\nballet, modern, different styles of African dance, heels, house\u2026 close to\neverything! As a performer, it has always been my aim to tell a story in my\nmovement.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What influences your style and\ncreativity?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fana Tesfagiorgis:<\/strong> A lot of my style is rooted in my community,\nwhat inspires me when I see Black Women. There are infinite answers to that:\nour intelligence; our natural crowned hair; our beautifully creative minds; our\ninstinctive ability to create something out of nothing; our prominent features;\nour various glowing shades of melanin; our powerful connection to spirit; the\nextra bit of soul in our vocal chords\u2026 the list goes on and on. When we walk\ninto a room, its like generations before and after come right on in with us!\nRelishing in that is plenty of fuel for a lifetime of style and creativity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell us about your\ntraining routine.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fana Tesfagiorgis:<\/strong> I\nam always redesigning my routine for my body conditioning. I do believe it\nchanges based on what season I\u2019m in. In this season, I\u2019m finding joy in Cardio\/Strength\nTraining 3x per week, Ballet class 2x per week, daily Yoga and Meditation\npractices, and additional dancing\/creating as I feel inspired to. When the\ntemperature rises, I\u2019ll definitely be back on my bike daily!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you hope\nto accomplish in 2021? Any future plans? <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fana Tesfagiorgis:<\/strong> While it\u2019s challenging to make a plan in my industries during this time,\nI do have a very clear list of things that I hope to manifest in 2021. I can\u2019t\nshare them all, but my favorite 2 are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. To be entirely\nmy truest and best self in every space, situation, relationship and encounter;\noperating in Love and keeping God as my compass! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. ENDLESS CREATIVITY!!! May every God-given and inner child dreamin\u2019 idea of mine be nourished and generated into fruition. Dance, acting, singing, modeling, activism, mentoring, influencing, making people laugh\u2026 may I use all of these gifts to uplift and inspire the world!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

** Article Cover Photo Credit:<\/em> Visual Artist: L\u00e1ol\u00fa. Photographer: J\u00edb\u00f3l\u00fa.(IG: @laolunyc & @jibolu. #sacredartoftheori ) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fana Tesfagiorgis strives to grow and share more of herself each day. From childhood, Fana\u2019s family has instilled the highest regard for the both the arts and education in her heart and mind. She trained in dance from a young age at Madison Ballet and spent her high school years continuing her dance training at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8807,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-fashion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8805"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19227,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8805\/revisions\/19227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}