Vedra Chandler

Vedra Della Chandler (born 1980) is a singer and dancer from Camden, New Jersey.

Early life and education

Chandler attended Westfield Friends School where she received an education grounded in the spiritual teachings of the Quaker religion. Following Friends school Vedra choose to attend Haddonfield Memorial High School in Haddonfield, New Jersey,^[1] where she was captain of the tennis team, Student Council President and Homecoming Queen. She was accepted to Harvard University and graduated in 2002 with a degree in Government. Early on she pursued a career in business as a warehouse supervisor.

Career

Vedra began dancing when she was four years old at the Marcia Hyland Dance and Arts Center in Mt Laurel, NJ. She performed in high school musicals and while at Harvard she danced with the Harvard Crimson Dance Team which earned 5th and 4th rankings at the NDA National Cheerleading and Dance Competitions in 2001 and 2002 respectively. She continued performing while working in the business world, dancing for Bon Joviʼs Philadelphia Soul arena football team. In 2005 she joined the touring company of “Hairspray!”, the hit Broadway Musical.

Later she performed in multiple theater projects around the world. These included productions of Aida, All Shook Up!, High School Musical,^[2] and a national tour of The Wizard of Oz. In 2010 she accepted the role of Soul Singer on Cirque Du Soleil's big top touring show, Kooza.

In 2010 Chandler joined Cirque Du Soleil to perform the role of the Soul Singer on Kooza. Her last show was on 5 April 2015 in Bern, Switzerland.

After 10 years on the road performing with musicals and circus, Vedra returned to her hometown of Camden, NJ where she serves as the Associate Director at The Neighborhood Center, Inc. She oversees programming designed to enrich the lives of children and families living in the South Camden neighborhoods.

Vedra currently performs with local theater companies and with local musicians including the Stan Maltz Orchestra and her own band, CamdenPopRock, based in Camden, NJ.

Memberships

Chandler is a member of the National Association of Negro Musicians and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

References

^ Eblen, Shannon. "Camden native wants to expand kids' horizons", Courier-Post, June 22, 2016. Accessed February 17, 2020. "Because of the Chandlers’ concerns about the Camden school system, they decided it was worth it to pay for her to go to Westfield Friends in Cinnaminson.... At her parents' insistence, she went to Haddonfield Memorial High."
^ Hetrick, Adam (April 9, 2008). "Bet On It: Disney Plans Fourth "High School Musical"". Playbill. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
^ Wilkens, Sasha (2015-02-19). "A Day In the Life: Singer and dancer Vedra Chandler of Cirque de Soleil". LibertyLondonGirl. Retrieved 2015-03-07.