Rising Stars: Meet Perlizbeth De Leon of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Perlizbeth De Leon.

Hi Perlizbeth, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My parents immigrated from the Philippines to California in the early 90s. When I was 2 we moved to North Carolina and I grew up in Youngsville in a tiny trailer park off the highway. We couldn’t afford any extracurriculars and I remember spending all my time with my siblings in the Food Lion break room while my mom worked. I read as many books as I could and would swipe pieces of computer paper to scribble on during my bus rides.

This was the beginning of my artistic voice being shaped.

I went to three different middle schools. I went to 6th grade in Franklin County and then we tried to move to the Philippines in 7th grade. That epically failed so we moved back and I went to a school in Wake County for 8th grade.

My parents got divorced right before I started high school.

I went to Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School. This is where I tried a million new things. I joined Japanese Club and took Japanese for 4 years, tried fencing, joined the Student Government Association, became President of the National Art Honor Society, learned K-pop dances, started playing guitar and ukulele, performed in the talent show three years in a row, joined Gay-Straight Alliance, sang during services at my Filipino church, started working at Marbles Kids Museum, volunteered at Artspace NC, animal shelters, and special and senior olympics. I remember just doing everything I could to make myself a better person.

I went to school at Appalachian State University and majored in Art Education (K-12). During this time, I found the love of my life: dance. I joined the hip hop dance crew on campus, Entropy Dance Crew, started taking technique classes with any extra credit hours I had, and traveled anywhere from Chicago to Florida to train with the best of the best. I still loved the visual arts but dance was pulling me and inspiring me in a way I never felt before.

I found a YouTube video of Sean Bankhead teaching at Dance 411 in Atlanta while working at the music library on campus. I was obsessed. I traveled to Atlanta every summer starting in 2016. In 2019, I auditioned for MSA South and they wanted to sign me. I moved in July of 2019.

I remember my first big dance job being as a mascot performer for Santa’s Fantastical. It was intense. I was working in two different costumed characters. It taught me a lot about nonverbal communication, how to be warm without using my voice OR my face.

From there, COVID hit, and I was strapped for a way to make money. I started teaching dance and haven’t stopped since.

Now, I teach at Xcel Studios, Dance 411 (the original reason I found ATL!), Neighborhood Ballet, and Dancemakers of Atlanta.

Since then, I’ve had the amazing opportunity to work on projects with the most talented people: Usher, LISA, Travis Scott, Jack Harlow, Saucy Santana, Anike, Diljit Dosanjh, Mike Teezy, etc. It’s been an honor to share spaces with hundreds of creative minds.

This year, I took up painting again and started working as the gallery manager at Blooms Emporium, a fine arts space with two locations at Ponce City Market and Atlanta Chinatown, assisting in general operations, administrative work, selling artwork, working markets, etc.

I’ve been able to sell my own original paintings during this time and am still tirelessly pushing forward to find my artistic voice and discover what my soul is trying to say.

My biggest inspirations and cheerleaders are God and my daughter Isabella.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Absolutely not. My biggest struggles were my childhood and my divorce. I didn’t realize how much generational trauma was present in my family and how that has affected me in my adult life. A lot of healing this year has been accomplished through dance and talking to God. I find solace in knowing his vision for my life is out of my control.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a dancer, choreographer, artist, singer, and educator. I specialize in hip hop, street jazz, contemporary. In art, I mostly paint in an abstract expressionistic style and in music, I would call my musical style alternative indie. I’m most proud of my dance skills. I think what sets me apart is my ability to work with other people. I try to make every experience I have personal. As humans, we think about work as separate from our personal lives but as a creative, our work is inherently personal. Everything means more to us because we’re crafting work from our hearts and souls, not just mindlessly going through the motions. I try to connect with every camp I work with and strive to better each individual I interact with. I firmly believe every experience we have is meant to progress us as people. Why else do we live life if not to be better each day?

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was super sensitive. I would take insults to heart and wouldn’t believe any compliments I was given. It was hard for me to feel inspired by people because no one around me looked like me. No one on TV shared my complexion. No one in movies shared my background. I had a hard time connecting my life to greatness. I loved spending time outside riding my bike around the trailer park. This was the time I felt most alive. Looking for bugs in the grass and throwing sticks across the river.

Pricing:

• Private Dance Lessons: $70/hour
• 8×10 Fine Art Prints: $35
• 11×14 Fine Art Prints: $65

Contact Info:

• Website: https://perlizbeth-paints.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perlizbeth_/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/puretsu

Image Credits
Photos by Neely Townes, Arvin Temkar, Kat Ko, Victory World Church, Zoe Litaker, Melina Velleman, Christina Massad