MAC Maker Profiles: Christopher DeAngelo Gilbert

The MAC Makers program is a group of creative and connected thought leaders who our Club annually to elevate our Members’ experience by curating programming and further connecting with our community. These forward-thinkers deserve an introduction:

Name: Christopher DeAngelo Gilbert

Member since: 2023

Occupation: Motivational mover, choreographer, dancer, speaker

Resides in: Washington Heights, grew up on the North Side.

Family: His parents, older brother and sister, each with about a 10-year age gap

Hobbies: Writing, drawing, music

Claim to fame: Enlivening a space and bringing people together with his positive energy and incredible dance moves. Especially at a street party in Milwaukee in the summer. He also spent a lot of time doing this in dance clubs before he was 21, but he wouldn’t disclose which ones!

Drink of choice: Sprite

To say that Christopher Gilbert stands out in a crowd is an understatement. When you see him standing still, he catches your eye because of his funky, dapper style. (The man owns over 100 custom suits) But then he starts to move and it’s hard not to admire how nimble and joyful he is. I revealed that I caught sight of him at Brady Street Festival last summer and watched while he was in front of the stage, groovin’ to the rhythms of De la Buena and hyping up the crowd.

Christopher explains his philosophy: “I gotta go big every day because I don’t want my best dressed day to be in the casket. So it might be Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Pick N’ Save, but I‘ll be looking my best.”

He has always been incredibly focused, deliberate and ambitious. As early as age 8, he knew he wanted to be a father (specifically, a girl dad) and a forensic sketch artist.  He’s a firm believer of the idea of speaking things into existence.

Although Christopher was exposed to dance at an early age because his mother taught at Washington High School and he was “Attached to her hip,” art was really his primary interest. He was intrigued by the practice of movement and soon, her students embraced him. “I got to learn the choreography with them and perform when I was just 8 years old. That’s when I got a chance to see the power of being on stage,” says Christopher.

When he didn’t get into MPS High School of the Arts, he took it to heart and stopped drawing. He was plucked from the Northside to attend the mostly White Wisconsin Lutheran High School. He didn’t take dance seriously until his “Light-skinned brothers and sisters” urged him to do it.  Until he was 13, his whole life took place on the predominately Black Northside between church, home, school, and grandma’s house. Christopher also participated in drum-line in high school and later, performed African drumming with Ko Thi Dance Co.

At 21, he left Milwaukee for the first time to live in Los Angeles and dance with the Nickelodeon show “Yo Gabba Gabba.” "LA humbled me,” he admits. “LA put a lot into perspective. You have to be able to tap into what’s happening, but maintain your own self, which was hard.”

In 2013, he had his first professional speaking engagement in Green Bay in front of about 1,600 kids. To break the ice, he got everyone on their feet and began with some movement. The vibes had a ripple effect and it brought him pure bliss. That made him realize that his true calling is to motivate people to find their “Undeniable greatness” – whether it's through his movement or messages.

He’s filled with wisdom for a 33-year-old.  We talked a lot about finding balance and he made an analogy to a cardiogram, which happened to be just what I needed to hear at that moment. “You don’t want your life to be flat, because when it’s flat you’re dead. The peaks and the valleys of life mean you are alive, you’re living. All those ebbs and flows give you character, heart, purpose, and dedication,” he says.

One more fun fact about Christopher: he’s a self-described hopeless romantic and credits his parents – high school sweethearts – for modeling a loving marriage for almost 50 years.

Are you ready to experience Christopher’s motivational movement? Drop in to a Hip Hop dance class at the Salute Society on Tuesday night and look out for more programming from him right here at the MAC.