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PrintLula Washington
Founder/Artistic Director
Lula Washington Dance Theatre
Choreographer for AVATAR
Choreographer for Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID
& more!
Lula Washington grew up in the Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects in Los Angeles. She was a 22-year-old mother and newlywed when she decided to "start" her dance education at UCLA. She fought to get in, and went on to receive a Masters in Dance.
Dance Style
Stylistically, Lula fuses African and Afro-Haitian dance. She also incorporates gospel church, classical ballet, modern, street, theatrical, and hip-hop, all while drawing from various ideas and issues.
Lula is the founder and choreographer of the Lula Washington Dance Theatre (LWDT) which celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2010. At the LA-based studio, she teaches inner city kids in her program "I Do Dance, Not Drugs!" Her dancers have performed internationally with Madonna, Mary J. Blige, Cher, and in shows like The Lion King and Color Purple.
Lula danced in the movie "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Band" and with singers Cher and Al Green. She also danced in "Funny Lady" with Barbara Streisand; in the re-make of the film "King Kong" and many other shows. Lula also established the Black Dance Association at UCLA and brought artists of color to the UCLA campus.
AVATAR, THE LITTLE MERMAID, & NASA
In preparation for AVATAR, Director James Cameron asked Lula how his Na Vi people might greet each other. She suggested the "third eye-I See You" concept with one hand touching the center of the forehead, then extending away. This became a signature part. She also created cultural/ritual movements-war scenes, hunting, large dance sequences-for motion capture technology.
The song "Under the Sea", which Lula choreographed for Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID movie, won an Academy Award.
NASA selected Lula to choreograph for its Mars Millennium Project video that depicts a human colony on Mars. She was the first woman to earn the Minerva Award from the State of California and First Lady Maria Shriver plus works have been commissioned by major foundations and educational institutions.
For more information, on Lula Washington and her company, visit her website.