Shawnette Heard has blended her years as a dancer, choreographer and educator, to create a dynamic career as one of the most distinctive filmmaker/choreographers working today. Her clear leadership and style captures the rhythm and energy of dance to create music videos and commercials that have been called fluid, innovative and powerful. And though her resume as a performer sparkles with artistic collaborations with the likes of Janet Jackson, Madonna and Michael Jackson, Shawnette Heard is a director/choreographer who never forgets where she came from.
Shawnette Heard was born in Inglewood, California and was raised by a single mother. She became a “latch-key kid” at a very early age. Concerned about the perils of the street, her mother enrolled Shawnette into a free arts program; and it was there that the young girl from southern California was introduced to the world of dance by her first dance teacher “Ruth Ashton Blake”. Her early toe-tapping training not only kept her out of trouble, it ignited a passion that would significantly mold her personality and shape her dreams.
The flame of that passion carried Shawnette to Cal Arts University and Edge Performing Arts center where she trained extensively and excelled in ballet, jazz, hip-hop and modern dance. It was then that Shawnette started working professionally after established artists started recognizing her as a dancer of extraordinary talent and ability.
Janet Jackson was one of the first to see her brilliance when she hired the Cal Arts/Edge performing arts student to become part of her famous dance team. It was an artistic collaboration that would last for nine years, as Shawnette stepped her way up the ladder from dancer, to choreographer, to artistic director for Janet Jackson’s “All For You” Tour. Along the way, other artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna would see her talents and employ her to dance for their music video troupes.
Internationally, Shawnette’s reputation was spreading too. Shawnette choreographed the hit single “Can’t Eat, Can’t Sleep” for Japanese superstar Namie Amuro and worked with Egyptian superstar Amir Diab to choreograph his first music video produced in the states. After that Amr Diab, hired Shawnette to choreograph his stage performance for the 2007 World Music Awards in Monaco.
The Osaka School of Music brought her to Japan to create the premier dance opening for each of their universities—a gig she still continues to keep to this day. However, dancing alone would not contain Shawnette’s flourishing experience and her trek towards becoming a world-class director.
Spring boarding off of her dance choreography experience, Shawnette soon starting directing music videos for a varied array of musicians: established rappers like Romeo & Marques Houston; emerging artists such as Iman Jarrett (“Hot Damn!”) and Lady O (“Left Right”); gospel singers like Tonya Ware (“Songs of Consecration”); and international performers like Costa Rican artist Paco (“No Le Digan”). Shawnette also directed the Christmas Tour Show for the super popular teen girl group, The Cheetah Girls, and directed their cutting edge commercial style EPK as well.
Clients who employed her came to quickly recognize Shawnette as a filmmaker who loves telling a solid story but is unafraid to step outside of the box. Her visual and narrative skills are innovative and creative. She is a fearless force who is both tastefully risky and tantalizingly risqué. But most importantly, she is a director who always puts her client’s first. Although she urges them to push the envelope and think of music videos as more than vehicles for girls to simply shake that ass, her approach is always to direct an artist within the boundaries of their own artistic image and unique personality.
Through her work and dedication she not only plans to continue growing as a filmmaker, but she will continue to be an example for people who have dreams in the midst of hardships. Shawnette knows that when the sky is darkest, the stars do indeed shine brighter—and she is one star who continues to shine brighter, each and every day.
–written by Avery O Williams
