Today we’d like to introduce you to Angie Bunch.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started dancing in 9th grade at a small studio in Mission Bay. I was a track and field competitor since elementary school but tossed that aside once I discovered how exciting and empowering dance made me feel. Jazz was my favorite form, but I also studied Ballet and Contemporary once I transferred to UCIrvine’s Dance Program. I didn’t stay long because I decided to move up to Los Angeles proper and train and suffer like most poor dancers. I loved it! I eventually moved back to Orange County for a job with Disney, dancing in Parades, Special Events, Private Parties and subbing in at the Horseshoe Review as a Can-Can dancer. There I met choreographer Ray Limon, who invited me to join the Ray Limon Jazz & Tap Dance Company. I was, most definitely, NOT a tapper. Later, I would be cast in 42nd Street at The Civic Theatre with San Diego Musical Theatre Company…without taps on my character shoes. I guess my fake was good enough, movement-wise but NOT sound-wise! I moved back to San Diego after a few more Disneyland years and a summer at Walt Disney World and walked into a Jazz class at Mesa Community College, taught by a friend and mentor from UCIrvine, Jan Ellis (RIP). She immediately started my hiring process to join the Dance Faculty at Mesa, teaching first Jazz and later (what became my complete obsession), Hip Hop Dance. I think that is when I felt most at Home. I loved teaching young adults so close to my age and connected so well with the other dance faculty. The Bi-Annual Dance Concerts birthed a love of choreographing, something that had previously scared me. During my early days at Mesa, I was approached by Frank Butterfield, a program director with Nike, Inc., asking me if I was interested in becoming a sponsored athlete. He had created a Dance & Fitness Instructor Training Program called THE NIKE ELITE. I was absolutely shocked and jumped at the chance! I traveled all over the US, Europe, and Asia and received more bookings by being associated with Nike in Russia, South America, and many others. Looking back, I remember pinching myself, from time to time…feeling so lucky, so blessed!
It was during this time in my life that Hip Hop was becoming more recognized as a music and dance art form. In 1993, I asked Nike if they would sponsor a Hip Hop Dance Team under my direction. They said YES, and my Nike Hip Hop Dance Team Audition signs were posted! And…I got in some ‘good lesson’ trouble with licensing rights and had to come up with a name. It was after Auditions (the flyer was posted, after all) and casting that I took a look at this motley crew and wondered what I had gotten myself into. It was at a pizza place, after rehearsal that the name, Culture Shock, was born! Dancer Lenon Peachlum, soon to become my Dance Captain, pronounced to the group of dancers eating pizza that this was “A Culture Shock,” looking at this cast of all ages, ethnicities, social and educational backgrounds, and later sharing the stage! I received several phone calls after this post-rehearsal dinner sharing the excitement of potentially coming up with a name for our Dance Company! I didn’t like, then I did, and the light bulb went on, and I knew we had the right Company Name! I decided on Dance Troupe versus Company because I liked the sound of it and thought it a little more unique, kind’ve like this interesting crew of dancers we were assembling.
Culture Shock Dance Troupe was founded in 1993, thanks, in part, to a wonderfully generous sponsorship from Nike Inc. and many dance and fitness studios who allowed us to rehearse in their spaces and, eventually, teach classes! The Dancers that came through Culture Shock and went on to become brilliant professional Dancers, Performers, Choreographers, Directors, and a myriad of other highly successful artistic careers helped to create and define what Culture Shock was/is simply by what it meant or needed to mean to them! I am forever grateful for this wild and crazy journey I could never have predicted.
Today, Culture Shock is located in San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, Las Vegas, Chicago, Washington D.C. Ottawa, and Toronto, Canada. We have ‘Family Affiliates’ in Germany, Switzerland, U.K… these are the places that I know of, anyway!
This year, Culture Shock San Diego is 30 years old! This year we celebrate our longevity and our legacy with several fun, social, and performance-based opportunities! Our first is an informal Birthday/Anniversary FREE Mixer at the Culture Shock Training Academy (formerly known as The Culture Shock Dance Center) Saturday, April 1st, 630-9 pm.
Our FREE Annual SHOCK’N THE PARK Production at Liberty Station, May 21st, 1230-5 p.m., leading up to October’s Annual International Choreographers Showcase at Mandeville Theatre, October 21 & 22.
We at Culture Shock are very thankful for the support and love from our communities…which reminds me to share our original MISSION STATEMENT (I didn’t quite understand what a Mission Statement was supposed to be, so I wrote what I felt)…
WE ARE A TROUPE OF INDIVIDUALS WHO, THROUGH THE POWER OF MUSIC AND DANCE, CULTIVATE SELF-WORTH, DIGNITY AND RESPECT FOR ALL PEOPLE.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Yes and No. Struggles…in the beginning, there were some uncomfortable comments and refusals to let us rehearse in some spaces. I have to assume that was due to our ethnically diverse group and their varying ages. Being able to, finally, create our own home, The (first) Culture Shock Training Academy at NTC, Building #271, on the corner of Farragut and Cushing…the Navy’s Gymnasium that we gutted, refinished the hardwood floors, painted, equipped with sound and a stage…and Voila! We had a home! We did get booted once the property was sold but were able to find our current home in Middletown, at 2120 Hancock Street, Suite 200 in San Diego, not far away! There would be occasional personality conflicts among the dancers, but those seemed to mend over time, especially after sharing the stage and being able to watch video feedback to realize how talented each dancer really was and how each supported the group as a whole.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Dance has always been my first love, but I also LOVE Theatre! I was young enough to be able to perform on the now Historic Starlight Bowl Theatre! I performed in multiple summer stock shows for many summers and enjoyed the short-lived winter seasons at The Civic Theatre with San Diego Musical Theatre. I am also very proud of creating a program, now a mainstay at many dance studios and gyms, called ‘Cardio Hip Hop’. I created this when teaching the Nike Networks. Because the focus was fitness, I had to create a practical version of a Hip-Hop Dance class that met the fitness criteria. So, choreography had to be presented in a repetitious but still engaging method of combination building that was accessible and rewarding to the student.
‘A Culture Shock Nutcracker’ (A Hip-Hop Dance Theatrical) was an original project of mine that I would talk about and never produce until one Board Member decided to ‘help move me along’ by secretly writing a grant and receiving it from the James Irvine Foundation! I was so nervous because the idea was perfect in my mind, but to orchestrate that…I chose to work with over 10 different choreographers to keep the dances unique from piece to piece, and we chose contemporary music to mix in with the original score. The CS Nutcracker ran for 5 years, relying on Popular music and integrating different pop-culture themes each year.
My creative team and I are currently writing an alternative ‘Alice In Wonderland’ production that may happen in the next year or two!
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I am 63 years old and no longer dance due to the abuse I inflicted on my younger body, but I still love the creative process of choreography and creating dance stories. As proud as I am of Culture Shock, my firstborn…My Daughter, Dominica, is my first love! I have an oversized animal family: 3 dogs, 5 cats, many squirrels and wild birds, and I Love to Bake! I spend my very early mornings at The Flower Pot Cafe and Bakery in La Jolla (previously, The Pannikin), baking while most are still asleep! It’s very peaceful…and smells great! CULTURE SHOCK WILL ALWAYS HAVE MY HEART!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cultureshocksandiego.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/cultureshock.trainingacademy/.
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cultureshocksandiego/.
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/culture-shock-san-diego/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/.@CultureShockSD
Image Credits
Chris Keeney Photography
Marilen Tran
Al Fernandez
Jeremy Long
