Today we’d like to introduce you to Felicia Dafeu.
Hi Felicia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Mmm… Where do I begin! My name is Felicia Dafeu but everyone knows me as ‘Feli”. I was born and raised in a beautiful country named Cameroon, located in both West and Central Africa; I moved to the United States when I was 13 years old. I am pro dancer, choreographer, teacher, model, project manager, and all-around creator based here in Dallas Tx. I specialize in different areas of the afro dance umbrella and that includes: afrobeat dance, amapiano dance, afro house, coupe decale but not limited to jazz, hip hop, and contemporary. My ‘Afro dance’ journey actually started when I was about 15 in high school, I started watching different dancers on Instagram that had so much passion in the afro world; a few to name are Sayrahchips, Sherrie Silver, Badgyalcassie and much more. I have always had love for dancing but at that age my love for afro dance grew immensely. When 2016 started and I was in my second semester of my sophomore year, I was able to take a dance course at my school and back then my school was not diverse; it mainly constituted of Black Americans and Hispanics. I was given the opportunity to create a dance group project and it was then that I realized that it was my chance to show where I came from. The first ever choreography that I made was to a very popular song at the time called ‘Do like that’ by Korede Bello. Everyone in my class loved the dance and loved how different it was, even my dance teacher at that told me that I should definitely join the drill team. At that point I knew that I wanted to do more with Afro. I then continued coming up with dances and solely did them in my bedroom just dreaming that one day that I would eventually be able to do something bigger with it. I was able to move to Dallas in 2018 and started my college career; I then joined the ASO dance team (African Student Organization) and discovered that I actually loved teaching other people new dances. We were able to compete and came out third place and a statewide competition; however, as a freshman in college that was still a pretty big win knowing that I had a lot of input into it. My friends have been a huge part of my journey always pushing me and believing that I can be so much more, and I love them for that. I then began going out and making new connection that gave opportunities to perform and opening for different artists, and since then I have been able to open for Rema, Flavour, BNXN, Awilo Logomba, Bm, Teni, Zlatan, Omah Lay, Fireboy and much more. I have had the opportunity to teach at a studio based in Plano, Texas called Fenton Dance Factory, and have been able to train and grow as a dancer as a whole. I have opened doors to new talents such as modeling to expand my creative side and I have been loving it ever since. I know this is just the beginning and I know there will be a lot more opportunities I am just grateful to God for everything he is doing for me, as well as the amazing support that I have from my different teams; my management A4lentmgmt and my production team inmyneighborhoord. Thank you to Voyage for giving me the opportunity to show who I am.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I don’t think it is ever that easy in my opinion. I have always gone through different challenges throughout the course of building my career. One of the many challenges that I have had to succumb has been to create a balance around everything else that I do; the fact that I am a full-time student and I also work a full-time job hasn’t been easy at all. Some days I wake up trying to figure out if what I am doing is even taking me far, and that came with self-doubt. Self-doubt can be a huge factor in anyone’s career especially when they start solo, or when they start putting a lot of pressure on themselves. Over the years, I have learned that nothing is a race and I realized that I very much prioritize my mental health at is fullest; when it gets tough take a break, reexamine, refresh, then come back stronger. Another challenge that I have faced, has been in the entertainment industry as a woman; people undermining your work or wanting to underpay you; having to convince or put this barrier just so I could be taken seriously, and another main thing I’ve learned has been to always have a contract that binds both parties. Once you establish a contract, you know if the other party is really serious about working with you and respecting your wages or if they just want to use you for their own benefits. There have been many challenges, but all of them have shaped me into the woman that I am today, and I have learned from various experiences.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a self-taught content creator, professional dancer, model, promoter. The reason I put self-taught is because most if not everything I have learned, I have never undergone a training for it per say. I am a quick learner, and when it comes to anything I have an interest in, I put my all into it by making sure the results are astonishing. I am mostly proud at the fact that I am able to walk into a room, knowing no one, and walking out with at least 2-3 new connections. I am proud of my ambitious ethics, and I know that it will help me tremendously in my journey. I am a professional dancer, but I excel and specialize more in afrobeats, why you may ask? because I love anything that embodies my culture and I want to show the whole world how unique we are. When I was younger, people did not like Africans at all; we used to be bullied in school just because of where we came from. Over the years ‘Afrobeats’ has become revolutionary and every race white, black, Hispanics, etc… can now see how creative and artistic we are to the point where some of them are wanting to copy our style, culture, dances. I would love to continue putting African on the map because that who I am, and I am very and always will be proud of that.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Some of my favorite apps are Instagram, Twitter, TikTok because even though they are social media apps, I am able to learn different things on those apps every day. How to cook, knit/sew clothes, and much more
Contact Info:
Image Credits
@krismaart
@renellbell
