Meet Loren Holmes | Dance Artist, Choreographer and Creative Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Loren Holmes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Loren, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
When I first chose to pursue dance as a profession, I had a lot of flexibility because I wasn’t a parent so it was pretty easy for me to travel, pick up gigs and create often. Now, as a parent, I feel like I’m finally in a place where I’m figuring how to balance being a mother and being an artist. Since starting, I’ve created a business, Hearts in Motion Hou LLC. I got into film making about 2 years ago working on a documentary about single mothers and more recently, I have a preview showing of that film coming up in December. With that, a lot of my time is having to be split between my tasks and my daughters schedule. I’m exhausted at the end of much of my days, but learning to say no to things that will exhaust me even more is something I’ve had to learn to do. You can’t be everywhere all the time, so just stop trying. I’m leaning more into delegating tasks to people I trust and giving myself some grace when I don’t get it all done. That has helped me find what my balance is for my career and my life as a mother.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a dance artist that has more recently gotten into film. I don’t purposely do things to try to set myself apart from others, but I do believe that it is important to do what is put on your heart to do and the art that I create, most times is really something that was put on my heart to do and not necessarily being done to be set apart from others.

I’m most excited about the documentary film that I began working on in 2022 and that film is called “Mother, may I” and it captures the stories of different black and brown women here in Houston, Texas as well as Beaumont and I have to say that that work is what I’m most recently proud of. We have a preview showing for that in two weeks and from putting together a film to the show to helping with the soundtrack. All of these things have been a little new for me and so I’m just very proud of myself that I’ve been able to get these things done and get them done at a different level of excellence that I can be proud of.

Getting to this stage in my life has not been easy. When I graduated high school and moved here in 2008, I didn’t really have any plans for what my life would look like as a human being let alone an artist. My professional career really kicked off once I joined Sonkiss’d Dance Theater in 2015 and that’s when things started to really move. In 2018, I created my first showcase and now we’re in 2023 where I am creating my first solo show and making a film.

There have been trials and things along the way I became a mother in 2019 and being a single mother means I am 100% responsible for my child. So has been easy? No, but has been worth it.

I want the world to know that I am an artist who believes in being transparent and really also getting the stories out of women, in particular women of color. Our stories are important and while many of them that are being told, many are not being told. I decided to use the art of dance and now film to really get those stories out. I’ve learned that not everyone will think that your ideas are good ideas. Not everyone will think that your ideas are logical. Not everyone will agree with your ideas and that’s OK because whatever is put on your heart to do you have to do it and you can’t care about what other people think of what you’re doing.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Houston has a lot of really dope places to eat and have a good time. Some things that I would suggest doing would definitely be going to the museum district. MFAH has beautiful installations from artists that are there that I really enjoy going to see. We are definitely a food city so any type of food that you can think of, you have it at your disposal. I am a southern girl, so I enjoy soul food. Being from Beaumont, I heavily enjoy seafood, so any place that I would suggest would be of those options. I also enjoy Mexican and Asian food so I will suggest some places that have that type of food as well.

I find happiness spending time outside. There are different parks in the city that offer a beautiful landscape and backdrop of the city, like Buffalo Bayou Park is a really good one to be outside and relax. The nightlife in Houston is also extremely popping. There are a few different hidden away bars that I would have them try out. I’m really bad with remembering names of places, but Houston has so much that a person could literally just come here and Google ‘what to do in Houston’ all these options will pop up. I don’t really plan itineraries I just kinda go with the flow of the day especially if I’m on vacation but I will definitely have them you know just use Google. Whatever you may want to do, Houston has it.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
God, first and foremost. Without Him, this gift wouldn’t even exist. Without my mother throwing me in dance class, I wouldn’t even have had the opportunity to begin training at the age of 7. My father has always been so supportive and if I told him I was leaving to go dance on Mt. Everest he would ask how he could help me get there. Miss Lisa, she is the most beautiful and kind human being and really helped to shape and transform my views on dance and how I can apply what I learned in the studio to everyday life. Then there are the many individuals who were a huge help to my career when I moved to Houston. Shani Sterling, Chris Thomas, Glenda Brown and Harrison Guy…just to name a few.

Most importantly, my daughter. She is the reason that I took what I’m doing to a new level and have gotten into other art forms and sharing the stories that I choose to share as an artist.

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Image Credits
Lynn Lane, Carter Images, Jasmine Williams