Priya Lisa Gonsalves

As Ladies of Hip-Hop continues to grow our community connections around the world, we meet women building strong hip-hop communities in every corner of the earth. We are excited about our fist international feature…. We would like to introduce you to Priya Lisa Gonsalves is in many ways the first female freestyle street/hip hop dancer in India, having practiced the art of freestyle dance mainly through dancing at night clubs around her city of Mumbai from the age of 16. Now 27 yrs old, She has been an active figure in the Street Dance Community and continues to do so. She is India’s first female Waacker and House dancer as well and has created India’s First All Girl Street Dance group called URBANISTA. Priya has been quoted by Time Out magazine Mumbai as being “One of Mumbai’s best known Hip Hop dancers,” and has been featured in articles in BBC World News, Asian Age, HindustanTimes, Time Out etc and appeared in several television/documentary based interviews on Hip Hop and House Dance. She also organises a weekly party for the Street Dance Community which is the first of its kind along with Prosenjit Guy Kundu called BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE. She is also partner creator of Syntheskillz Urban Dance Company/Community with Prosenjit Guy Kundu in India www.syntheskillz.com Connect with Priya!     Email: Priya280@gmail.com

Eliza David

Photo: Melanie Fidler

The first little lady to rock the Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival stage. Eliza performed her amazing solo piece, “Whip My Hair” for our 2012 festival. Eliza is an energetic and vibrant 9-year old who loves to dance.  She’s been dancing since she was 5 years old at the A Step in Time Dance Center in Sayreville, NJ.   Eliza has won various dance awards at several dance competitions, including 1st place overall for her hiphop solo “Whip My Hair” (choreographed by Charlene “Chichi” Smith).   This past summer, she performed the opening number at the Ladies of HipHop festival in July 2011.  Most recently, after auditioning with over 300 kids, Eliza was one of 17 kids selected to be on the NJ NETS Kids Dance Team for the 2011-2012 season.

On the days she’s not dancing, Eliza plays soccer – she plays midfield for the Sayreville Shooting Stars travel soccer team.  Eliza is a straight A 4th grade student at the Samsel Upper Elementary School in Sayreville, NJ, and plans to be a professional dancer, professional soccer player and marine biologist when she grows up. Eliza is a gifted dancer and an amazing spirit.

WATCH HER IN ACTION!

Amanda Adams-Louis

Born in the United States but reared Latin America, Europe and Africa, Lafotographeuse (née Amanda Adams-Louis) is a photographer, teaching artist and creative producer. She received a BFA in Photography from Pratt Institute in 2008 and is an MA candidate in Visual Arts and Arts Administration at New York University.

Amanda’s photographs have been included in exhibitions at Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art, Corridor Gallery and Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute in New York and Deep Side Center in Paris. Lafotographeuse has curated visual art exhibitions at Brooklyn Academy of Music and New York University and co-produced live art installations in Paris. Her past clients include: Brooklyn Museum, Levi’s, Urban World Film Festival, and Giant Step. Recently she  participated in the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program.

Amanda has photographed Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival providing us with some of the most amazing images of women in hip-hop dance culture. Amanda will continue her photo documentation of Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival in July of 2012.

Facebook

 www.lafotographeuse.com

We have a site for the new year! Ladies of Hip-Hop is expanding in so many ways and we want to keep you up-to-date with everything. Take a look around the new site. We will have daily updates, new videos, auditions, and class information. Keep checking back for new photos and video. Share the new website and let us know what you think about our new look!

-Michele