Meet Angela Harris
Instructor
Dance Performance and Choreography
Contact Info
Biography
Angela Harris is a choreographer, producer, educator and founding Executive Artistic Director of Dance Canvas, Inc., a career development organization for emerging professional choreographers and youth. She received her dance training at Dance Theater of Harlem, School of the Hartford Ballet, and The Eglevsky Ballet. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Angela graduated from The Baltimore School for the Arts and attended Mercyhurst College and City College of New York, earning a B.A. in Journalism, while on full ballet scholarship at Steps on Broadway.
Angela has danced professionally with The Georgia Ballet (GA), Columbia City Ballet (SC), and Urban Ballet Theater in NYC. Her theatre dance credits include Jasmine Guy's Daughters of Alpha; Sophisticated Ladies and Degas' Little Dancer (Marie u/s) at the Tony award winning Alliance Theatre; A Chorus Line (Kristine), Chicago (Lipschitz), Camelot and Annie Get Your Gun at the Aurora Theatre; Film credits include Scary Movie 5 (Principal Ballet Dancer).
Angela has choreographed for professional ballet companies and schools across the country. Her work has been performed by The Georgia Ballet, Ballet Lubbock, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, and she has premiered work at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Rialto Center for the Arts and the Ferst Center for the Arts through her company, Dance Canvas. Angela has also choreographed for professional theater productions, including: The First Noel (Kenny Leon's True Colors Theater Company), 110 in the Shade (Theatrical Outfit), Little Shop of Horrors (Actor's Express), Bridges of Madison County (Aurora Theatre), Frankenstein's Funeral (Found Stages) and University productions: Ragtime (Kennesaw State University), Drowsy Chaperone (Georgia Tech). Angela was recognized with the Suzi Bass Award for Outstanding Choreography for her work on Song & Dance at the Aurora Theatre.
In 2016, Angela was awarded a Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Observership to work on the Broadway Lab of Little Dancer, a new musical in development under the direction and mentorship of Susan Stroman. Angela was also one of five Inaugural National Visiting Fellows at the School of American Ballet in NYC, assisting the prestigious institution with diversity initiatives and conversations.
Additionally, Angela has been a catalyst, consultant, and resource for numerous new dance organizations and artists throughout metro Atlanta. She has developed youth dance programs for the City of Atlanta's Office of Cultural Affairs, Grammy award winning recording artist Usher's New Look Foundation, Terminus School of Ballet, and the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation. Angela has received the Emerging Artist Award in Dance from The City of Atlanta's Office of Cultural Affairs, a proclamation from the Atlanta City Council for her work in dance in Atlanta and in 2011, she received the American Express National Emerging Leader Award from Americans for the Arts. Most recently, Angela was recognized by Atlanta Magazine as one of 'Atlanta's 500 Most Powerful Leaders' in 2025 and 2026. She also received Atlanta Magazine's 'Women Making a Mark Award'.
In 2021, Angela joined the faculty at Spelman College, teaching Ballet and choreographing for Spelman Dance Theater. In addition to her work at Spelman, she is also a ballet instructor and resident choreographer at Dekalb School for the Arts and Academy of Ballet. She has served on the faculty of the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute and has been a master class/guest instructor at colleges and universities across the country. In 2021, Angela was a featured speaker for TEDxEmory, and continues to present her talk 'Arts Entrepreneurship: Finding your Voice and Filling a Need' at conferences across the country (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eexSOCFgXc ). Angela currently serves on the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Arts Advisory Task Force and as a Board Member for both the Choreographer's Guild and Women in Dance Leadership.