Shannel Resto is an internationally based artist, who recently relocated to Atlanta from New York City as a photographer, choreographer, dancer, and artist activist. Resto grew up in Boston, MA, where she graduated from high school as a dance major at Boston Arts Academy, and graduated with her BFA in dance at Rutgers University from Mason Gross School of the Arts. She has also trained at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire for dance and choreography in London. Shannel is currently a rehearsal director and dancer for an Afro-Fusion modern dance company- Nyane Khosi Dance Theater. When she isn’t dancing and teaching, she is running her photography company SJR Photography, founded in 2013. Resto has collided her professions as a performing artist with her photography. Her work has been described as eclectic, storytelling, and detailed in both of her mediums. Resto’s choreography has developed into a unique style, and borrows from ranges of modern techniques. She has performed her work at Rutgers University, Triskelion Arts, Earl Mosley Institute of the Arts, Trinity Laban, Pentacle NY, and more. She has also worked with Matthew Bourne, Kevin Wynn, Ronald K. Brown, Randy James, Paul Ocampo, Fernadina Chan, Kieth Thompson etc. The message she communicates through her art is the freedom to explore the possibilities of the impossible. Shannel hopes to broaden different communities’ minds through going back to teaching and helping others explore their artistry.
