Debut Album Brings Dancer Angel Ferreira a Step Closer to Being a Pure ‘Entertainer’

Leaping from a successful dancing career to serious work as a pop singer is an obvious enough path, particularly since the chart-topping successes of singer-dancer-choreographer Paula Abdul. And now, for Angel Ferreira, the time spent in a recording studio recently was merely another step in his evolution to what he called a pure “entertainer.”

It’s the sort of quality the dancer said he has long admired in the stars of the 1940s and ‘50s, who appeared to be as comfortable behind a microphone singing, joking, acting or silently dancing.

He hopes to do much the same, having already found some success as a dancer, choreographer, music video director and Coca-Cola pitchman in commercials aimed at the Latin community. And before the release this month of his debut album for Virgin Records, titled “Angel,” Ferreira had already been keeping some exclusive company, notably as a principal dancer for Madonna’s 1987 “Who’s That Girl” tour.

But the new record is not limited to the relentless dance beats one might have expected, even if the album does offer generous helpings of dance music aimed directly at the club scene. On several of “Angel’s” 12 tracks are flavorings of romance, jazz and Latin influences, reflecting his own upbringing in East Los Angeles.

“I think the people at Virgin could see that I could go farther than that, otherwise the whole album would have sounded one-dimensional,” Ferreira said last week in his West Los Angeles apartment. “That’s what I wanted to stay away from, so that the next time I want to do something different, they’re not going to be surprised by it.”

The singer-dancer, who now uses only his first name professionally, said his intention is to offer an appealing escape for audiences, rather than any deep intellectual or political statements. But with the track “Living in the Ghetto,” he reflects on the plight of people in the barrios of East Los Angeles, which he left at 17 when he moved to Hollywood. Later, he won scholarships to the Lichine Ballet Academy in Beverly Hills, the Cleveland Ballet, and the Joffrey Ballet School in New York.

He first pursued inner-city themes with an earlier independently released 12-inch single, “Wet Jam,” which alerted his people to “wake up and realize the greatness of your culture.” The newer “Living in the Ghetto,” like other tracks on the album, incorporates several lyrics in Spanish while reminding listeners of the Latin people’s historical claim to territory stretching from California to Texas. He sings: “Make a change, rearrange your mind to a place that used to be yours.”

Ferreira explains, “If you don’t have a strong sense of who you are, and don’t believe in yourself, and believe that you can do something, you won’t accomplish what you need.”

Meanwhile, he said, he objects to the imagery often used by other musicians coming from similar backgrounds, some of whom he said glamorize the self-destructive side of the barrio, such as gang violence. It’s a place where much of his family still lives.

“I think you should be hard-core, but be clear in your message and be positive,” he said. “You can still have your style, be a cholo and have tattoos and be cool, as long as you aren’t killing people or hurting anybody else.

“You can still be dark, but be creative with it.”

Angel Ferreira performs as part of the International DJ Expo West (see below) at 9 p.m. Tuesday at Vertigo, 333 S. Boylston St., L.A. Tickets are $15. For more information, call the club at (213) 747-4849.

MORE DANCE FEVER: Angel Ferreira and Jellybean are among a long list of entertainers scheduled to perform at the first International DJ Expo West this week at the Sheraton Universal.

Organized by the DJ Times, a New York-based dance music trade magazine, the three-day event is designed as a showcase for new dance artists, deejay equipment and state-of-the-art sound systems. Assorted panels are to discuss new techniques and trends in the musical style that DJ Times editor Chuck Arnold suggested is heading more and more to the West Coast.

“I think everyone is keyed into the fact that dance music is what’s happening right now,” Arnold said, pointing to the overwhelming successes in recent years with countless dance and rap artists, including such mainstream acts as Madonna.

“Dance music has always been pop music,” Arnold added. “You can’t really say that Janet Jackson and Madonna aren’t dance artists. Unlike rap, it isn’t an instantly identifiable genre, but I think people are going to see that just like rock, dance music has become a total entity unto itself. It’s always been seen as a real throwaway kind of pop music, and I think it’s really become more than that.”

Though the expo is expected to draw a crowd of musicians, radio and record company executives, and fans, the gathering focuses in large part on the role of the deejay. And Arnold said that role is best epitomized by Jellybean, often regarded as the first celebrity deejay to gain positive recognition as a producer and recording artist.

“He was sort of a pioneer,” Arnold said.

The producer of such artists as Madonna and Whitney Houston, Jellybean is to perform Thursday night at the Palladium in Hollywood, probably focusing on cuts from his new “Spillin’ the Beans” album on Atlantic Records.

Other entertainment is to be presented at the Vertigo downtown Tuesday night, and at the Arena in Hollywood.

“It’s going to be a real big mix of people,” Arnold added last week, talking from his New York office. “It is a sort of a carnival atmosphere, with all these lights going on and music being blasted from these new sound systems.

“Of course, everyone will be trying to be discovered, as far as hooking up with the right person that can take them to the next level.”

Speaking of the Expo, Ferreira said, “In this business you have to network, to get contacts, to use them properly. You can’t leave any stone unturned.”

The International DJ Expo West is presented Tuesday through Thursday at the Sheraton Universal in Universal City. Admission is $215 for the entire Expo, or $85 on Tuesday, $90 on Wednesday, and $60 on Thursday. Also, tickets are available at $25 per day for exhibits only. Entertainment at various local clubs. For more information, call (818) 980-1212.