User talk:Lisapanagos

Lisa Marie Panagos is a vibrant entertainer, recording artist and songwriter, whose music transcends universal themes.

Mystical Greek Goddesses were alluring forms of aesthetic beauty moved by the muses to recite inspirational poetry or sing in pure golden tones that reﬂected the essence of sound. In a reminiscent gleam of these mystical characters, LISA PANAGOS, reﬂects golden tones in her music. Already an acclaimed actress and dancer who has appeared on Broadway, LISA is also a vibrant recording artist and songwriter whose music heats the soul and crosses many genres.

Born in Marylandʼs horse country, Lisa grew up riding horses, playing all sorts of team sports and playing the piano. She loved being in nature most of the time and that always inspired her to write and practice her piano skills. Lisa loved horseback riding, but after a terrible riding accident, she decided to trade her horse boots and riding hat for dancing shoes and a top hat. It turned out to be a great decision. Lisa was a natural and excelled in many forms of dance, including ballet, jazz and tap. She won an Honorable Mention Award in dance from the National Foundation for the Arts for exceptional achievement in the arts. Soon after, she began singing, acting and modeling and loved it all.

Lisa began honing her craft in her hometown of Potomac, Maryland, when she was accepted into Katherine Mizell’s Modeling Moppetts. This lead to Lisa landing her ﬁrst TV commercial at the age of 10 which lead to other professional modeling and print jobs. A manager for children, Coral Leigh, took Lisa under her wing and began submitting her for professional jobs and encouraging her to do more acting. Lisa then began to study at the Art Linkletter Dance studios and met Jazz and tap teacher Mr. Jay who pushed Lisa rapidly into higher levels with kids much older than she was. Her ﬁrst professional Dance show was at Wolf Trap in Virginia at the age of 12. She also began to work closely with Ballet teacher Liliana Andreu, owner of the Potomac Dance Centre in Potomac Maryland. Lisa, at the age of 16, was a featured soloist with Liliana’s group invited to dance with Ballet Folklorico de Mexico. She was also encouraged by Liliana to train at the North Carolina School of the Arts, invitation only, summer program. She followed her direction and soon after was accepted into the Washington School of Ballet, again, with the help of Liliana Andreu. Lisa was honored to study with Mary Day and the other fantastic teachers at the school. Apparently Shirley MacClaine also studied with Mary Day at the Washington School of Ballet, which impressed Lisa since she is one of Lisaʼs favorite entertainers in show business besides Ann Margaret. At the age of 17, Lisa entered an Arts Recognition and Talent Search contest and won an Honorable Mention award in the areas of Ballet, Jazz and Tap which recognized Lisa for exceptional achievement in the Arts.

No stranger to acting, Lisa studied at various local acting schools as early as 5. She loved to imitate voices and accents she heard on TV and often said “Iʼm going to be on there”. She began to take acting seriously in high school and played many lead roles in Productions at Connelly School of the Holy Child and Georgetown Prep. Lisa was then accepted into Syracuse University and simultaneously was accepted into the dance department at Tisch Performing Arts and she had a very tough decision. Her parents were concerned about Lisa being in NYC at 17 so she said she would opt for Syracuse if they would allow her to study in NYC in the summer time. Her parents said yes so she was lucky enough to go to NYC to train with legends such as Lee Theodore of the American Dance Machine, Luigi, Phil Black, Zena Rommett and many others. After graduating from Syracuse in 3yrs and receiving a BFA in Acting, Music and Dance, Lisa decided to come back home to gain some credits before pursuing her dream of working in NYC. She worked with acclaimed Sportscaster Johnny Holliday when she performed her ﬁrst Lead role, Peggy Sawyer, in 42nd Street at the Harlequin Dinner Theatre. She also landed a job in Sugar Babies at the same Theatre. She began earning more credits by landing some voice over work in the area and felt it was finally time to head to the Big Apple.

A lucky star followed her there, as she was spotted in a dance class at Broadway Dance Center in NYC, by Jacquelyn Bird. Jacquelyn asked Lisa if she tapped and sang and began teaching Lisa some steps in the hallway. After seeing that Lisa could tap dance, she then sent Lisa to Director Claudia Asbury to sing and audition for “Sophisticated Ladies,” starring the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Lisa landed the job and was honored to have the opportunity to work with Mercer Ellington and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. When she played the role of the Soubrette; the head of the costume department allowed Lisa to wear one of Leslie Uggamsʼ dresses while singing Mood Indigo.

After the run of Sophisticated Ladies, Lisa returned to NYC and studied voice with some legendary teachers and coaches; Carlo Menotti(Judy Garland, Laura Brannigan), Barry Levitt, Rona Leslie and many more who prepared her for NY auditions. She also was encouraged and mentored by Jackie Patterson, an acclaimed Broadway actor, singer and dancer who was the first to bring Lisa into the recording studio and always encouraged her to reach beyond her limits as an artist. Soon after this work, Lisa began landing more roles in theater, TV and ﬁlm and knew this was the path she would follow. Lisa came to experience a dry period in her career where it was difficult to get work and Lisa was not sure what to focus on. When she met manager Myrna Post she was encouraged to try out for more lead roles, study with some legendary acting and voice teachers and reach for her dreams! Eventually, she went to LA to pursue her TV, Film and Music career, and worked with numerous theatrical and commercial agents, which helped her to gain knowledge, contacts, and more credits.

Lisa has performed around the world to audiences of 50 to 50,000 with her original music, musical reviews and book shows. She performed on Broadway with Reba McEntire and Tom Wopat in “Annie Get Your Gun” at the Marquis Theatre, and did the ﬁrst national tour of the same show starring Marilu Henner and Rex Smith. Other credits include, “Sophisticated Ladies,” starring the Duke Ellington Orchestra, “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Camelot” to name a few. She was a featured singer and “Sporting Doll” at the legendary Monte Carlo Sporting Club where she performed for the Royal family and with a host of international stars, such as, The Gypsy Kings, Donna Summer, Tony Bennett and Shirley MacClaine. Some TV and ﬁlm credits include “Yes Dear,” “Law and Order,” “Donnie Brasco,” and numerous independent ﬁlms.

Her hit single “Mindʼs Eye” was top ﬁve on the DJ charts and has gotten people dancing across the globe. For the Record Magazine had this to say. “Lisa Panagos gets rather commercially pop with ʻMindʼs Eyeʼ on the Formaldehyde label. Studio 54 lends a tremendous disco mix with tons of sophisticated horn sections and jazzy synths. The original vocals are very mid tempo with a techno edge……nice to listen to and a sure ﬁre ﬂoor ﬁller”

Lisa has been inﬂuenced musically by her mediterranean roots and her parentsʼ love for the classics, such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Lionel Hampton. Her father, John Panagos, was a pioneer in his ﬁeld, starting one of the ﬁrst African American radio stations in the Washington DC area, Wook radio where he hired Lionel Hampton as his Musical Director. John helped relaunch the careers of some of the greatest jazz legends of his time, including Lionel Hampton, Leslie Uggams, Lena Horn and Nat King Cole to name a few. He also started one of the ﬁrst Hispanic radio stations in the area, WFAN, popular for its dance music. He then branched off and began the ﬁrst UHF station in the Washington DC/Maryland area and also was the owner and Founder of the Gaithersburg Gazette. Lisaʼs mother, Mary Ann Panagos, was an exceptionally giifted sketch artist and painter. She graduated from the Corcoran Art School in Washington, DC and followed a career in commercial art and advertising before marrying John and having 5 children.

When if comes to music and recording, Lisa is an avid collaborator and has worked with some of the best producers, remixers, writers and arrangers in the music industry; including Mac Quayle {Beyonce, Madonna, Lindsay Lohan), hit songwriter Alex Forbes, Ed Goldson(Jay Z, Eve), Dave Bianco (Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Tom Petty) and Tommy James(Duke Ellington Orchestra).

For a showcase of LISAʼs extraordinary performing ability check out her short ﬁlm featured on the home page of her website www.lisapanagos.com. More information about Lisaʼs acting career can be found at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2166116/

Lisa has a catalogue of over 60 songs and tracks ranging from R&B to Pop to Dance that are available for licensing, TV, ﬁlm, commercials, new media etc.

For More information Contact:

Panagos Global Entertainment 9812 Falls Rd. Suite 114-332 Potomac, Maryland 20854

e-mail: info@lisapanagos.com