Who Is Akira Armstrong? Her Age, Married, Height, Dance 100

Get to know Akira Armstrong, one of the contestants of Netflix’s Dance 100. Find out details about her age, family, if she is married, and other additional details.

So, tag along and learn more as you scroll down this article.

Akira Armstrong On Netflix’s Dance 100

On March 17, 2023, a brand-new reality TV program called Dance 100 premiered. The format of this competition is very different from the dancing competitions that viewers are accustomed to watching. The competition will pit eight of the best dancers against one another for the chance to win a sizable cash prize.

The show’s artists have shared the stage with well-known musicians like Lizzo, Cardi B, Kelly Clarkson, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, and Jennifer Lopez. The difference is that instead of performing, these dancers will be in charge of choreographing a show for a crowd of spectators, pushing their skills to the ultimate maximum.

Ally Love, a Peloton trainer, hosts the program and manages the contest. Due to the fact that the dancers will eventually determine the fate of the choreographers, each round is significant and the stakes keep going up. More dancers will appear on stage as the rounds go, and there will finally be 100 of them present for the grand finale, where the winner will get $100,000 and the title.

Among the confirmed eight contestants is Akira Armstrong.

Akira Armstrong Career

Akira Armstrong is the CEO/Founder of the plus-size/full-figured dance company Pretty BIG Movement specializes in various dance genres such as hip-hop, jazz, African, modern, and more, a Webby Award Winner celebrity MUA, and a pro dancer. She founded the company in 2008 which is here to change the notion that dancers have to be thin, petite beings to be captivating.

Akira requested her mother remove her from Catholic school and enroll her in a performing arts school by the sixth grade. She participated in a professional performing arts audition at the esteemed The Ailey School in Brooklyn, which is where three-fourths of the current Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater members received their training.

“When they were doing the auditions it was ballet. And I couldn’t stand ballet. Just could not. Like, I had to wear the leotard and the tights and, you know, always being a chubby girl I didn’t like how I looked. But I did an amazing job in the audition and I got accepted into the school,” she said, “where I learned ballet, modern, jazz, and West African—hip hop came later on for me.”

“I wanted to get representation from a dance agency so I could book more jobs and no one would represent me because of my size,” Armstrong said in a video for The Scene. “I want to be the pioneer for plus-size women.”

She told Essence that she’s always had confidence and loved to dance so she put her skills to the test–despite her size and society’s attitude toward it.

Akira started dancing at the age of eight. She told the article, “My mom put me in a dance school in the Bronx, and I just fell in love with it and it has been my passion since.” Her love of dance has given her the courage to face her worries and achieve great things, like performing with Beyoncé.

“In 2007, Beyoncé held auditions at the city center for her tour at the time. I said, ‘you know what it’s not going to kill me to go.’ I was already big and I didn’t care about that, I know I can dance. I always had confidence. So I went and of course, I didn’t get chosen for the tour but she was working on her B-Day album and they chose me to be one of her personal dancers in her videos as one of the plus-sized mamas,” Akira added. “And from there I just was like you know what, nobody wants to represent me, nobody wants to give me a chance, I’m going to create my own path.”

For 12 years now, Pretty Big Movement has offered dance workshops to plus-size people around the world, striving to create a “no-judgment environment where individuals can feel comfortable dancing.”

In terms of schooling, she went to Utica College and Professional Performing Arts School. She attended competitions, participated in theater productions, planned events, and put on talent showcases as the head of the dance company Africa in Motion and a member of the Black Student Union. She returned to New York after graduating in 2005 but was unable to sign with a talent agency and had few job options in the professional dance world.

Fun Fact: Tina Mabry is directing a movie for HBO Max called Pretty Big based on the life of Akira and Pretty Big Movement.

What Is Akira Armstrong Age?

Born in 1983, Akira Armstrong turned 40 years old in 2022.

Akira Armstrong Family

Akira Armstrong was raised by her single mother Deborah Foster. Her mom after putting her in dance class after she turned 8 helped her make costumes and traveled with her daughter to performances. Deborah is currently 73 years old.

“She’s been my number one fan since I started this journey,” Akira reflected on how her mom would gather the whole family to attend her recitals in the Bronx with flowers and balloons. “But there were also some family members that were like, ‘Well, she just needs to lose weight.’ You know, like, ‘Deborah, she’s too big. You’ve got to get on top of her about that.’ And that was hurtful because it was coming from family members.”

Deborah also has a brother named Aaron Armstrong who is 43. He studied Graphic Arts and Art Illustration at Bronx Community College and is currently self-employed.