Shawn Welling

Shawn S. Welling (born December 12, 1964) is an American film director, producing films through his company Welling Films which is currently filming Shawn's fourth film, the feature length thriller The Legend of DarkHorse County. Shawn is also known for owning Planet Funk Dance Academy, whose dance crews have toured globally.

Early work
Shawn Welling is not only the owner of Planet Funk Dance Academy, he has also choreographed, taught, and performed with the crews worldwide. In 2009, the crew from Planet Funk was invited by the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce to perform at the inauguration of Ras Gas in Qatar. Welling and his crews have also performed for festivals, such as Dance Houston's second annual Urban Dance Festival, Winter Formal in 2008. Other notable performances include Good Morning America; shows for the Houston Rockets, NFL, and NHL; work with Cirque du Soleil; and perfomances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Deborah Duncan, and Great Day Houston.

Film
Welling's venture into film started when he was fighting the city of Houston to keep his studio Planet Funk. He decided to film the proceedings and, in turn, developed the footage into the documentary House of Dreams to help his cause. House of Dreams earned Welling a Platinum Remi Award from Worldfest - Houston International Film Festival in 2007. His docu-drama The Messenger: 360 Days of Bolivar was released in 2009, screening to a sold out crowd. The Messenger chronicles the life of four men living on the Bolivar Peninsula during the year leading up to the devastation of Hurricane Ike. He earned the Best Local Filmmaker Award in 2011 from the Houston Press after making his feature film Project Aether, a sci-fi/thriller which also received such awards as the Critic's Choice award for Best Feature, Best Actor (Joy Willard), and Best Overall World Premier by the Houston Film Critics Society. Shawn then began work on a series of short films titled AXI: Avengers of Xtreme Illusions featuring the famed I.aM.mE dance crew. From his work with Olivia "Chachi" Gonzales, Welling decided to use her in his fourth film The Legend of DarkHorse County, which he began filming in 2011.