Lennora Esi is a performing artist and writer from Germany and the US, currently based in Ravensburg, Germany.
Acting
At the age of 11 Lennora starred in her first musical at Kelly Barracks in Stuttgart. From there on out she spent her teenage years performing in numerous musicals and theater productions and taking acting classes. After graduating from high school Lennora moved to Berlin and started acting school at the ETAGE. She later moved to Munich and completed her studies with honors at the International School for Acting In Theater and Film (ISSA).
She initially focused her acting career on stage performance and collaborated with other actors to put on original shows as well as performing in theater productions, such as the world premiere of The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden where she was cast as the Lead. After moving to Vancouver, BC in 2017 she decided to give camera acting a try and was cast for various short films, commercials and a TV appearance on the ABC show A Million Little Things. Lennora is currently working as a freelance actor in Germany for both theater and screen.
Music
From a young age Lennora was surrounded by music, her mother being a singer and her brother a guitarist. She started taking singing as well as piano lessons in her early teens and combined her love for acting and singing in the musical productions she took part in. She joined a local jazz group as front singer at 17 and continued singing in music bands after acting school, such as the Funk Trio Souldown and as background singer of the Reggae ensemble Kim Azas. She is currently working as a freelance vocalist performing in church services, private and public events, often accompanied by herself on the piano.
Dance
Lennora always loved to dance, but since she focused more on music and theater in her early years she didn't seriously get into dancing until the age of 19, when she started acting school in Berlin. She took Ballet and Modern/Contemporary classes at the ETAGE but it wasn't until she moved to Munich when she really fully immersed herself into the dance world. Her love for Hip Hop lead her to Afro which in turn led her to other earthy styles when she moved to Vancouver, such as Soca, Dancehall, Reggaetón and Afrobeats. She was part of the Afro Dance group Umoya in Munich and DanZa Pro Team in Vancouver and taught a variety of dance classes including Hip Hop, Traditional West African Dance and others. Lennora is currently working as a freelance dancer doing workshops and performing.
Writing
Even though the excitement and rush of the performing arts have been absolutely vital for Lennora's personal and artistic development she has found joy in writing as soon as she could put two words together on a page. At a very young age she started drafting her first short stories. Her love for the written word endured throughout her teens and early twenties. She has written a number of theater plays and scripts for short films and is currently working to become a script writer as well as continuing to explore the fields of short stories, poetry and prose.
Original Work
Das Klangfresserchen | 2014 | Children's Theater written in collaboration with Rebekka Gebert
Kommissar Kosinsky | 2015 | Children's Theater written in collaboration with Rebekka Gebert
Schokokinder | 2017 | Short Film and Theater targeting racism, homophobia and fat shaming
Reflections | 2019 | Dance Performance Piece
Phantom Pain | 2021 | One Woman Play
Awards and Scholarships
Manfred Rudolph Prize | 2014 | ISSA GmBH
Diploma With Honors | 2014 | ISSA Munich
creActor Scholaship | 2014
Publikumspreis für beste Gesamtleistung | 2017 | Burgfestspiele Jagsthausen
Derekt Awards for best Overseas Play Ed Festival Fringe | 2021