Shelby Williams / Biography

Shelby Williams received her BA in Dance (Graham Technique) and Cultural Anthropology from UC Berkeley in 1999. While dancing for the university she also was a member of the Kendra Kimbrough Dance Ensemble (KKDE) – a contemporary dance company with strong African and Afro-Caribbean influences. It was with KKDE that Shelby was first introduced to Rosangela Silvestre and Silvestre technique; a meeting that sparked her interest, and soon love, for Afro Brazilian dance and culture. While living in the Bay area, Shelby had the pleasure of being a guest artist with the Patricia Reedy dancers’, Robert Moses’ Kin and  the Joe Goode Performance group.

Upon graduation, Shelby was accepted into Alvin Ailey Dance Theater's Certificate program. Living and dancing in New York was a great experience – hard work and competitive; however, Shelby came to realize that striving to become an Ailey dancer was not what made her passionate about dance.

Returning to her native Los Angeles, Shelby quickly became a part of the small, yet strong, modern dance community. She has since danced with Lewitsky Dance Company veterans, Diana McNeil and Sean Green and was a member of Yolande Yorke Edgell’s Yorke Dance Project until they disbanded in 2005.

In 2006 Shelby joined Viver Brasil and was again reunited with Rosangela Silvestre and the Silvestre technique. While being a part of Viver Brasil, Shelby has been a part of a national tour as well as traveled to Salvador, Bahia to study with Master teachers Vera Passos and Jose Ricardo Sousa and Nildinha Fonseca of the Bale Folclorico da Bahia. Shelby is currently working with Rosangela Silvestre to become a teacher of Silvestre Technique and is currently incorporating the technique in her own work.