Hi Shelbie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m Shelbie Danielle, an artist from Inglewood, California with a dream of using my art to heal my community and shift narratives. To my parents, I’m “Princess” or “Bubbles”. To my friends, I’m “Shelbs”, “Shelbshawty”, “Bell”…the list of nicknames is long. I grew up in the theatre. Since I was a baby, I always accompanied my dad to his rehearsals. Witnessing the creative processes for the shows and feeling the energy that was created on and off the stage left me feeling inspired and overwhelmed in the best ways possible. The powerful impact that storytelling had on an audience filled me with a feeling at such a young age, that I wasn’t able to explain, but let me know I had to do it forever.
At age six, I hit the stage as a “Sophisticated Lady” dancer in the musical, “Bubbling Brown Sugar”, with Towne Street Theatre, a local theatre company. That experience introduced me to my love for performing but dance was the art that moved me the most. So, I went on to study liturgical, hip hop, and jazz dance. Ironically enough, at age ten, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I say it’s ironic because even though I have this chronic illness, performing arts is something that has actually helped me control it. God knew the perfect passion to bless me with because, without the arts, growing up would’ve been a lot tougher. Having diabetes made things more challenging, but I was not going to let it stop me. Eventually, I got back into musical theatre when I discovered the Amazing Grace Conservatory. This was a turning point for me because Amazing Grace helped me to expand my passion for the arts and led me to studying Theatre at the LA County High School for the Arts. Four years later, I attended San Francisco State University. I went in as a Speech Therapy Major and graduated as a Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts(BECA) major. I changed my major because although Speech Therapy aligned with one of my passions to help children with disabilities, I didn’t want to completely stray away from my passion for arts. BECA expanded my love for storytelling from the stage to creating them through film and television. Through studying film and television, I found the importance of representation and feeling seen and heard through the media. Growing up with an illness made me feel like I was an outcast and like my life didn’t really matter, especially because I didn’t really see too many people who had this illness and looked like me in the entertainment industry. So that’s why I do what I do. I want those who have felt overlooked, othered, or felt small based off of whatever life circumstances to feel seen and remind them that they deserve to take up space too.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Challenges are a part of the growing process so I’d be lying if I said it was a smooth road. Trusting my vision gets shaky at times because I am my own worst critic and I often battle myself more than anything else. Creating anything is a very vulnerable thing and sharing something so personal can be such a nerve wracking experience. I think the most challenging thing for me is obsessing over perfection. I want my creations to be exactly what I envisioned them to be but I have to always remind myself of my “why”. My reasoning behind why I’m doing what I am doing surpasses any doubts and fears I may have. I had to understand that there is always going to be something that comes along that will make you question why you’re even doing what you’re doing. But you gotta learn to trust God and yourself and let those negative thoughts pass through and just get back to work. You can really let yourself get in the way of your own success and I’m not going to do that.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
More recently, I’ve been acting, modeling and directing. I just did a short film called “Three of Swords” directed by Asha Bynoe-Berry and artistic directed the music video “Don’t Pretend” for the artist J. Norm. Since I graduated in May, I’ve been collabing with LA-based creatives on other independent projects such as brand photo and video shoots, as well as, artist profile videos. I think I’m most proud of the fact that within a year of me changing my major, I’ve been given the chance to exercise and sharpen my creative skills through different projects and mediums. Even though some things are still very new to me, I’ve been aligned with opportunities that let me know I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Christmas in Arizona. Just about, every year up until I went to college, my family in LA and Arizona would get together and have one big Christmas Celebration. Christmas is already my favorite holiday, but Christmas in Arizona always hits differently. All the younger cousins would get kicked out of the living room while all the adults wrapped presents. Me and my cousin, Shekinah, would perform a different Cheetah’s Girl song every year and get some money in our pocket for it too. It was always just laughs and a great time.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shelbshawtyy
Image Credits
Kori Hulse @itskori
