ZEST COLLECTIVE Contemporary Performance Art / Gentry Isaiah George

Graduate of the Juilliard School and former Dance Artist for Ailey 2 of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Gentry Isaiah George is the founder and Artistic Director of ZEST COLLECTIVE Contemporary Performance Art.  In April 2013, the NY Post heralded George as one of “3 Men to watch in Ballet.”  In 2010 he was named a “Promising Artist of the 21st Century,” by the Costa Rican Government, having participated in a series of cultural outreach programs and performances during his enrollment at The Juilliard School.           

George was born August 19, 1990 in Miami, Florida.  At age eight, he began his Artistic studies with Linda Agyapong, founder of The Community Book and Dance Academy.  He studied extensively with Sylvia Padron at Charles R. Drew Middle School, and later with Peter London at New World School of the Arts.  Gentry trained with the Artistic Director of Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida, Vladimir Issaev, and was a scholarship student at The Ailey School, The School at Jacob’s Pillow, and The Miami Conservatory’s Thomas Armour Youth Ballet.  

He is a recipient of a Level 1 ARTS award given by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and is featured on HBO’s “Masterclass,” also starring Jacques d’Amboise.  He has graced the pages of Essence Magazine, has appeared in an editorial collection by fashion photographer, Matthew Kim and can be seen in the feature-film, “Life of an Actress.” 

In July 2013, at the Alchemical Theater Laboratory in New York, George and ZEST COLLECTIVE’s theater-maker, South African Director, Shariffa Ali presented the international debut of “STILL,” – a one-man show and cross-continental evening length collaboration.  During that time George was also invited to join Malcolm Low’s Formal Structure as a Freelance Dance Artist.  George founded ZEST COLLECTIVE November 02, 2013 and will begin dancing with Lustig Dance Theater October, 2014.