Edgar L Page, a natural born mover, is originally from Detroit, Michigan. He moved to Denver 11 years ago to pursue a career in dance, and since relocating to the Mile High City has spun his way into spaces he’d never imagined.

Edgar is a creative and educator who reflects his world through movement with a focus on sharing uncommon narratives that center the underrepresented. He is on a mission to challenge the notions about who can or should be considered a dancer, and is here to make dance accessible to those who have either removed themselves or been excluded due to societal expectations.

During our conversation, we discussed how Denver is a land of opportunity and possibilities, but you have to take the risk. Since taking a leap of faith to launch his very own dance company, Edgar has received multiple honors including, the 2018 Presenting Denver Dance Festival Audience Favorite and the 2019 Readers’ Choice for Best Artist in 5280 Magazine’s Annual Top of the Town issue.

When I asked Edgar to describe Denver in one word, he replied, “Majestic.” Keep reading to learn what it means to be him here.

Who are you?

I’m a “recovering undercover, over-lover.” I am a diligent creative. My work is a reckoning and reconciliation of truths inspired by my personal experiences while embodying the movement of the diaspora. I’m complex and yet I move with poetic simplicity, fully owning my imperfections. I seek grace and compassion as I explore authenticity and vulnerability in real time, especially wading through the post-traumatic enlightenment of this historic time. I cry in private and negotiate my privilege, or lack thereof, respectability and performative politics to amplify the voices of others.

What does it mean to be you?

I am in service to my art. I fortify, educate, and connect through movement. It has been my goal to embrace fluidity within social constructs, confront colliding truths, and uplift intersectionality within multiple communities. We all possess a “human stain” that shapes us through proximity to disparities, injustices, and traumas. Acknowledging and sharing this has been transformative as I seek to know myself more innately and reject whole lies that I believed about myself from external sources; re-realizing aspirations previously cast aside due to fear and stigmatization.

What does it mean to you to be Black in Denver?

Being a Black creative in Denver comes with a rich history rooted in community, encouragement, and opportunities that are unique to the West. Although I was not born here, I walk in gratitude that this community has allowed me to use dance as a functional tool to enrich the artistic landscape of this great city. Denver has been kind to me. I not only found my home here, I found MYSELF as an artist!

What do you love most about living in Denver?

I love seeing the mountains on the horizon. The complex simplicity of that beautiful sight always entrances me. Growing up in Detroit, I never saw mountains. That was one of the first things I noticed getting off the plane when I moved here. The glory emanating from those mountains is sensual, powerful, and spiritual all at once. I think the majority of people who migrate to Colorado are called to be here by those mountains. I also love that Denver has these really dope microcosms of people doing amazing things. Denver attracts forward thinkers, dreamers, and risk-takers, such as myself.

How have your experiences in Denver shaped you?

My experiences have made me braver, stronger, and smarter than I knew I could be. As a creative venture entrepreneur, I have taken a considerable amount of risks. Thankfully, they are paying off. I stood on faith that I could create something with my creative gifts that connect dance to people at the emotional level, removing abstractions to really allow audiences to see the capacity that this art has to change minds and the world. This amplified my strength, courage, and wisdom in the process. I do not think I could have started a company like this anywhere else but in Denver.