Shawn Welling

About Shawn Welling

Welling's career began in dance, before his rise in the indie film world. Soon after, he opened the dance studio Planet Funk Academy in Houston, TX.His career as a dancer saw him performing & choreographing for the NBA World Championship games for the Houston Rockets in 1994 and continued with NFL & NHL half-time shows, Cirque du Soleil (Dralion), Good Morning America, where Diane Sawyer heralded Planet Funk as "legendary."Welling was selected to represent the United States in 2009 by the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce to bring his dance team and choreography under Planet Funk Team U.S.A. to perform at the 2009 inauguration of the RasGas facility in Qatar. Contacted by Nina Ridge of BUSACC, Welling and his team performed about five decades of American dance styles for sheikhs and dignitaries in the middle of the Qatar.Welling has also produced a variety of successful master classes for clients such as Disney's "The Lion King" dancers and the cast for the Broadway hit "Oliver!" He has also worked with well-known dance stars, Phillip Chebeeb, Brian Friedman, I.aM.mE, Les Twins, and many more. Welling's still photography work has been used by top dancers and models and was featured on the cover of Adobe Photoshop Users magazine.In 2008, a Houston Chronicle reporter described Welling as "a walking encyclopedia of dance history.Welling's work was the cover story of the April/May 2011 issue of Photoshop User Magazine. The magazine, covering Adobe's product, was interested in his "prestigious" work.In addition, Sony Music made use of his talents in 2012, "to capture the amazing motion of famed dancers Les Twins."French scientific journal Futura-Sciences also used Welling's photographs of the dancing duo to illustrate a story on twin phenotypes.His non-dance-related photography also appears as high quality stock photography in many publications.America's Next Top Model contestant Hannah Kat Jones used Welling's services for a professional photoshoot. After Welling's working with her, Jones landed a recurring role on the Disney Channel's Austin & Ally as Carrie, a romantic interest for one of the major characters, played by Calum Worthy.Shawn has, over the years, also become a much sought-after public speaker, due to his knowledgeability and engaging stage presence in film. He has spoken at colleges and universities across the country, as well as film festivals, and literary conventions.Welling has spoken at institutions of learning as varied and prestigious as Texas A&M and California Polytechnic State University.In 2015, Welling was a featured panelist at The International Wizard of Oz Club OzCon, for the West Coast Premiere of his short docudrama, "Beyond the Yellow Brick Road."The convention, mentioned in the film itself under the former name of Winkie Con, invited Welling and his screenwriter to speak at the popular and historic event in San Diego, CA.That same year Welling won one of the most prestigious film awards to date. The World of Dance industry award for best film work in dance received Avalon Hollywood theatre.As a film director, Shawn Welling's first film, "House of Dreams", won a gold and a platinum Remi at the Worldfest International Film Festival. Welling's second film, "The Messenger: 360 days of bolivar," was released at Landmark, AMC, and Angelika Theaters to sold out screenings, and was awarded best feature film of 2009 by Houston Press. In 2011, Welling premiered his third feature film, also based on a true story, ...

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