BEST THEATER DIRECTOR NOMINEE
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NEW YORK UNIVERSITY BLACK PORTRAITURES FELLOW
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ACTORS' EQUITY . ASCAP
A Barre Study
I am my happiest when I create.
A Barre Study at The Red Clay Dance Studios, Chicago
Music by Matthew Halsall
BEST STAGE DIRECTORÂ NOMINEE
The 2023 Chicago Reader Awards
Weléla Mar Kindred has been nominated by The Chicago Reader for Best Stage Director for "Elastic Mind." "Elastic Mind" has also been nominated for Best Play, Best Tech Design and Best Playwright - Christian Alexander.
BLVCK LOVE
A MIXED-MEDIA SERIES
BY WELÉLA MAR KINDRED
For private showings + sales ~ admin@tishunltd.com
This series is a rebirth of pleasure for our folk.
Hand-dipped in coffee, gold and rose petals.
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RÉPUBLIQUE
A short film by The LVMB Collective and Jah Cuba / A modern comment by Weléla Mar Kindred on body politics, James Baldwin theory and marginalized culture. Shot in Paris, FR
THE L V M B COLLECTIVE
Say: L A M B
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Artists make the worst slaves! ®
The L V M B Collective (pronounced L A M B) believes in an ever-evolving market of contemporary dance, tech spaces, global brands and culture. The possibility to disrupt, inspire, innovate and tell a different story - keeps LVMB at the creative forefront of dance, tech, theater, cinema and sustainability.
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kneeling under a table of rain / secrets told / earth is learned / animals meditate
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L V M B
their souls constituted / a freedom of dried fragrances / prayer language
TECH X CREATIVE DIRECTION
We are a collective of artists x directors who embrace creativity. Our conceptual sensibility and design capabilities - offers human relationship before demographics, courage before culture and storytelling as a new social sanctuary.
CHOREOGRAPHY
Performance pieces using movement are not just about dance, but how you feel while creating it. Skin to skin, body to body - each work, or experience we create is one of imagination, collaboration and a sense of surrender.
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Each work has made an impact on our clients - every project we ensure details are seamless, all aspects are imaginative and handled in a timely manner. Whenever you work with L V M B you can be sure your project will be radical, profound and honest.
FEATURED COMMERCIAL
Please tap Balenciaga to view
Client: Matthew Rolston Studios
Director: Mei Dong
Choreographer: L V M B
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CLIENTS
adidas
Bronzeville Winery
The Silver Room
Cannes Film Festival
Aveda
Paul Mitchell
MTV
Matthew Rolston Studio
Francis Lawrence
Puma
Alvin Ailey Dance Theater
Ford Models
Le Tigre Yoga Paris
Sony Paris
Acote + Cotelac Paris
Art Africa Journal South Africa
Contemporary Art of Ghana
Chale Wote Festival
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ARTISTS
Past Collaborators:
Poet: Ladan Osman
Artist: Krista Franklin
Artist: Abdullah Khan
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Guest dancers invited upon request.
PARTNERS
In Support: The James Baldwin Estate {New York}, Le Collectif James Baldwin de Paris.
Centre National de la Danse
Menagerie de Verre
Red Clay Dance
Le Centquatre
Micadanses
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Artistic Grant Support:
The International Association of Blacks in Dance
The Dance Resource Center
The Tides Foundation
Fractured Atlas
STUDIO HOURS
By Appointment Only
Mon - Thur: 8am - 6pm
Fri: 8am - 2pm
Sat - Sun: Closed
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GET IN TOUCH
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FOUNDER
Weléla Mar Kindred is an American artist, who uses rich creative language to express humanity through dance, tech, cinema, stage and wellness.
W E L É L A M A R K I N D R E D
Short - Formal Bio:
Definition: lamb noun /’lam/ : a young sheep : lamb of God : an innocent or gentle person
Examples of lamb : She’s as gentle as a lamb.
Synonyms of lamb : angel : dove : innocent
Antonym of lamb : wolf
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IN THE BEGINNING
Weléla Mar Kindred was born and raised between Oakland and Southern California and was inspired by art and sound at home very early on. Her mother was born and raised in Oakland, connected to the Black Panthers and worked on the popular sitcom - "What's Happening." Her mother was also a prominent math educator for over 30 years and violinist who inspired Weléla to play piano early on and hone the gift of music and dance. Her father was born and raised in Gary, IN and was also rooted in photography, math and science. As a retired biologist, entrepreneur and self-taught photographer, he introduced Weléla to his record collection, photography and love of science.
WRITING
With her early studies in dance, the sciences and photography, (she wanted a microscope and camera very early on), and music - this creative environment guided her to discover her talents early on. She was always in dance class since 4 years old, but she also loved writing poetry in grade school and kept journals. Her favorite writer at that time was Shakespeare.
THE DARKROOM
While in Jr. High, she was enrolled in photography + darkroom courses for 3 years by age 12. She discovered a new world and blended her course work, with her yearbook class as well. Learning the art of layouts and developing film from shooting, using an enlarger to creating a finished photo was magical. This sparked a new found passion for black and white photography and the darkroom process which lasts to this day.
BLACK ART SCENE
Both of her parents were involved in the Black art scene in Los Angeles and were collectors of works by fellow friends such as Ernie Barnes and Charles Dickson from Watts. As the home was full of contemporary Black art of the time and soul music played at late night parties - her creative path began to unfold. From the church space to the dance studio, she learned very quickly the beauty of being a disruptor, a Black artist, the creative process and Black artistic freedom.
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BLACK DANCE
Weléla is a dancer. She saw The Dance Theater of Harlem perform with beautiful Black women adorned in red sequins costumes and wiggling their bodies with Geoffrey Holder very early on. She never knew a day without going to the studio. Her studio practice began so young, that dance is apart of her DNA. At the age of four years old Weléla began her studio practice by studying Dunham, Horton, modern, west African, ballet, jazz, tap and musical theater everyday excepts for Sundays. She began choreographing very early on, and found a home in her body. Her dream was to become a professional dancer for Black theatrical productions.
BLACK THEATER
She auditioned for Santa Monica Playhouse and was the youngest company member. She was signed to a talent agent and manager by age 5. After her run with SMP she joined The Orange County Black Actors Theatre Company under the direction of Adeline Hunter & Zondra Ann Marshall. She continued with her dance studies and performed and traveled with them as well as with their youth theater company - The Lorraine Hansberry Players. As a result of this work she began booking with NBC Studios doing television. She was featured in "Call to Glory" starring Craig T. Nelson. As her dance practice grew she joined The St. Joseph Ballet Company. She studied ballet and worked with them for four years. The entire company was a Black and Brown ballet company.
TRACK & FIELD
She later graduated high school, was awarded a track scholarship to attend Cal Poly Pomona - but she decided to drop out and become a pro - dancer. During this time she had a severe hamstring injury, but she still studied at The Edge Dance Studios taking class every day. She was signed to Bobby Ball Talent Agency, and was shooting photography on the side in the Los Angeles hip-hop scene. She began shooting musical stars in the early 90s like Outkast and Helter Skelter. Her injury worsened.
ART SCHOOL
During her undergraduate studies, she realized that her injury was getting bad, so she applied to art school to give her body a rest and relocated to Chicago. She was rewarded the Dean's scholarship to study Cinema, Photography and Performance Art at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. While studying, she returned to dance and joined Joel Hall Dance Center and Homer Bryant Ballet Chicago. She was able to balance both her studies at SAIC and her dance studio practice simultaneously.
NYC
Later she resided in New York, where she continued working as a dancer with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, signed with Clear Talent Dance NYC and was awarded the Dance New Amsterdam Choreographer Lab Artist in Residence. Her career in dance was beginning to take off - working with Busta Rhymes, MTV and various hip - hop artists.
PARIS
By 2009, she got a flat in Paris and lived and worked in contemporary danse for seven years. The new artistic landscape of the city of lights was new, and she found herself immersed French, Afro-Contemporary dance, Afro-Parisian art + music, racial body political research, historical photography archives and French architecture.
She was commissioned to choreograph original danse pieces. Her work was featured in the FRASQ Festival, Sony France, Nuit Blanche and many other festivals and short films. She continued to research at the Centre National de la Dance Bibliotheque meeting with Katherine Dunham's daughter. While in Paris she was also invited to perform at Chale Woté Global Arts Festival in Accra, Ghana. Her body of work was growing, her injury was healed, and she credits the healing through her strong yoga practice. She began her yogic journey in 2000, so while in Paris she became a certified yoga teacher and began teaching at the infamous Le Tigre Yoga Studio.
NYU FELLOW
After returning to the states in 2016, she received an NYU and Harvard Fellowship for her research on Black body politics. Her paper was featured at The University of Johannesburg, and were featured in Art Africa.
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IN CLOSING
As a multi-hyphenate artist, writer, actor, director and producer - Weléla moves the pulse of creativity through cultural interaction. She is passionate about building projects that not only affect the culture, but create a powerful social impact.
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She is a member of the Actors' Equity Association, ASCAP as a songwriter and her global rep is Le Casting Parisien.
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THANK YOU
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