Ebonee Arielle, (AKA Coach Ebonee), is a Los Angeles based dancer, choreographer and instructor, often referred to as “Coach Ebonee”. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Ebonee got her start as a competitive gymnast and figure skater, and even made a name for herself as a recording artist and songwriter before relocating to Los Angeles with her mom and unexpectedly pursuing a career in dance. “I didn’t choose dance. Dance chose me”, she explains. After being home schooled and deciding to attend Beverly Hills High School, Ebonee quickly made a name for herself in the community as a dancer and an instructor, at only 17-years-old, teaching classes, choreographing teams and performing at Beverly Hills High School, creating dance programs and directing performances with the LA School of Gymnastics, Beverly Hills Sports Club and many local schools, before eventually taking on a job which would change her life and career path. At 18 she became a Dance Coach / Program Director working with underserved youth in Los Angeles. Ebonee would ride two buses every day from her full-time dance major student duties at Santa Monica College, to Virgil Middle School in central Los Angeles, where she where she learned how to develop youth programming and multiplied the after school attendance with her dance teams which grew in popularity and had competitive success. Even when she became pregnant, Ebonee continued training in college and teaching dance up until being 40-weeks pregnant.
During this time, Ebonee received numerous awards and scholarships for dance, choreography and coaching, including the American Dance Festival scholarship where she trained and performed at Duke University. She was also awarded the first “Coach of the Year” Award by Up2Us Sports & Coach Across America for her dedication to the youth and community through dance, fitness and nutrition, working with various nonprofit organizations coaching dance at many schools and programs in LA’s inner cities. She made her acceptance speech after athletic greats, Kareem Abdul Jabar & Tony Hawk, and encouraged everyone to invest their time and resources to youth programming which keeps children active, healthy and motivated.
Coach Ebonee transferred to studied dance at Loyola Marymount University, but put her studies on hold, as her dance career flourished after she signed with Clear Talent Group, and she went on tour with Nicki Minaj as a specialty artist and soloist. Some of Ebonee's other professional credits include: Britney Spears, Billboard Music Awards & Femme Fatale Tour, Ne-yo, Mercedes Benz USA, corporate entertainment for McDonalds, Coca Cola, Microsoft, Walmart & IBM to name a few. You may have seen her on your TV screens as Coach Ebonee was a Las Vegas Contestant on So You Think You Can Dance Season 9, was direct cast to live auditions of America's Got Talent Season 10 (with her crew, the @ShowOffDolls), was featured on MTV’s America's Best Dance Crew Season 8 (performing with the first and only all female crew to win the show, We Are Heroes Crew), and most recently was assistant choreographer on Dancing with the Stars Juniors - her choreography earning the contestants a perfect score of straight 10’s. As a choreographer, Ebonee has recently created shows for Paramount + & Pandora, opening for John Mayer at the Hollywood Palladium, and choreographed for legendary 90’s artists: C+C Music Factory, Taylor Dayne, Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) & Montell Jordan! Currently, Coach Ebonee is the choreographer for the WNBA LA Sparks dance team, Ole’ School Crew, having worked with the franchise’s dance teams as a guest choreographer since 2016.
Coach Ebonee also travels the world judging events and performing with various companies and crews as a professional dancer and acrobat. While in LA, Ebonee is busy training coaches and teaching all ages and levels of students from pre school beginners to professional adults at many schools and studios, while still committing to youth by running an after school dance program and directing and coaching multiple dance teams and crews.
Coach Ebonee started @showoffdance & @showoffdolls in 2011 because many of her middle school students who graduated from her after school program needed a place to continue their training. She wanted to create a safe space for them to continue pursuing dance, and to give her students industry level training & performance opportunities. #ShowOffDance is now a one-of-a-kind program in Los Angeles, and the most versatile training program for dancers in LA, offering a variety of programs and styles. SODC continues to grow, having offered virtual programming, school PE & performing arts programs, weekday studio classes, dance teams and performing gigs and events as a company. Coach Ebonee’s students have gone on to pursue professional careers in dance, become teachers and coaches themselves and even big Tik Tok stars. Her training program starts dancers younger than ever through #SODCAfterSchool and @ShowOffDanceCheer programs. Coach Ebonee started the elementary division of her program for kids, so her daughter could also participate on the team, and now she is excited to train the next generation of young Show Offs.
When Ebonee is not traveling, teaching, performing or coaching, she is spending time with her daughter and cat. Coach Ebonee’s daughter, Naima, dances hip hop on SODC's JR/SR SODC teams, baile folklorico at her school and is a certified black belt, and student teacher at her taekwondo studio! Wow! Work ethic runs in the DNA.
Fun Facts about Coach Ebonee:
- Born on Michael Jackson’s birthday
- Born only 2lbs 2oz, premature
- Favorite Color - Yellow / Gold
- Doesn’t drink coffee
- Has a pet cat named Bear
- 5’0 tall
Follow Ebonee’s dance life on IG @EboneeArielle.
