• “Supermom” short film on Sesame Street—directed, written and composed by Lourds

    “Supermom” short film on Sesame Street—directed, written and composed by Lourds

    Moms, they hold you super tight and read to you at night. Moms do a lot of things! Sing about why your mom is a super mom.

  • Lourds Playbill

    Lourds Playbill

    Check Out ‘Stronger Now’ From the Musical SuperYou, Featuring Kennedy Caughell and More
    BY DAN MEYER
    MAY 27, 2020

     

    The powerhouse female cast members of SuperYou have come together virtually to sing the finale of the musical on the eve of what had been the planned spring production at the Daryl Roth Theatre beginning May 27. Check out stage favorites Kennedy Caughell (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical national tour; Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812), LaVon Fisher Wilson (Chicago, Newsies), Nicolette Hart (Legally Blonde, Rent), and MiMi Ryder (Matilda, Frozen) performing “Stronger Now” above.

    The modern rock musical features a book and score by Lourds Lane, telling the story of a woman who learns to love herself when her superhero creations come to life. “Stronger Now” is a message of hope and inner strength—a deeply resonant tune in these pandemic times.

    “Our show has outrageous, colorful, over-the-top superheroine costumes, but the heart of our show and the video we created is about celebrating the superhero that is already inside of each of us—raw, real, and resilient,” said Lane, who can be seen jumping on her bed and playing the violin in the video.

    Serving on the SuperYou creative team are director-choreographer JoAnn Hunter (School of Rock—The Musical), music supervisor Wendy Bobbitt Cavett (Come From Away), Tony-nominated set designer Anna Louizos (In the Heights), and Tony-winning sound designer Brian Ronan (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical).

  • Lourds Lane delivers SuperYou empowerment around the world

    Lourds Lane delivers SuperYou empowerment around the world

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  • Ideagen Global Leadership Award

    During Lourds’ acceptance speech for the Ideagen Global Leadership Award, Lourds jumped onto a table at the Harvard Club

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  • Music video of “Unstoppable” performed by Lourds Lane

    Music video of “Unstoppable” performed by Lourds Lane

    Stream “Unstoppable” on your favorite streaming platforms here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/lou…

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  • Forbes -Lourds is uncrushable

    Forbes: “Lourds is uncrushable, especially in her mission to help others find their inner superhero”
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/deniserestauri/2016/01/17/millennial-success-secret-your-best-ideas-come-from-the-silence-in-your-head

     

    Millennial Success Secret: Your Best Ideas Come From The Silence In Your Head

    Outside of my music world, I don’t always have the same flow. When I’m up against deadlines, my instincts are to work harder, longer, and drop everything to get the tasks done. But no matter how much is accomplished, there’s always more to do.

    4:36 AM.  I’m deliriously exhausted and panicked. Do I stay up and write an outline now? Music comes so naturally. Why can’t I have that same ease with everything else?

    With music, I know that overthinking limits the process. Working endless hours is inefficient. There’s a deep intelligence that goes beyond logical and strategic thought that holds all the answers. It’s that same place which allows us to act with quick precision to handle a crisis we’ve never dealt with before or gives us a spontaneous solution to a nagging problem. This place of boundless insight never fails us. All we need to do is know that this intelligence exists and choose to partner with it.

    4:45 AM.  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes until I felt connected to the endless space before thoughts… where I confidently know ideas are born, words flow, and understanding and communication happen effortlessly. This is where the music lives.

    I felt calm and clear. In that silence, I understood that I had worked so hard for so long and that I was already prepared. From this place of confidence came two of the most engaging, interactive, and intelligent presentations I have ever given.

    The secret to productivity, innovation, leadership, creativity, and communication is not to work oneself into the ground. It’s to stop. And listen. Everyone can find their own music. It’s in the silence.

    Mentoring Moments Series

    #1: What I Did When My Boss Threw A Stapler At My Head is here

    #2: How To Break The Rules, Spread A Little Mischief And Make A Mint is here

    #3: Do You Need A Shrink Or A Mentor? And What’s The Difference is here.

    #4: Best Way To Deal With A Mean Girl Boss? One Woman’s Powerful Answer is here.

    #5: Why Women Need To Stop Worrying About Being Liked is here.

    #6: What’s Better Than A 50% Pay Increase? One Woman’s Expensive Lesson is here

    #7: A Millennial Stops Giving Excuses And Gets What She Wants is here.

    #8: Millennial, Mother Of 50: She’s Breaking The Rules And Saving Lives is here.

    #9: Nice Women Finish First When They Ask The Right Questions is here.

    #10: Millennials Beware: ‘You Can’t Let One Bad Guy Push You Out’ is here

    #12: Five Words That Turned This Self-Made Woman Into A Multi-Millionaire is here.

    #13: Two Things Great Leaders Do Every Day is here.

    #14: How An Entrepreneur Made A Choice She’ll Never Forget is here.

    #15: How This Entrepreneur Turned Her Ignorance Into A Huge Success is here.

    #16: Two Words That Made This Millennial’s Network Explode is here

    #17: When This Woman Changed Her Name, Her Career Took Off is here

    #18: How A Taxi Ride Drove This Self-Made Woman’s Career is here.

    #19: 6 You-Need-To-Know Lessons That Will Make Your Career Explode is here.

    #20: 3 Gritty Tips That Will Make You Way More Exciting And Successful is here.

    #21: 5 Words That Made This Millennial A CEO is here.

    #22: Can Success Be Dangerous? This Woman Found The Answer On A Starbucks Cup is here.

    #23: 7 Simple Words That Will Make Your Career Soar is here.

    #24: Why Women Need To Stop Being Afraid To Ask For Help is here.

    #25: 7 Powerful Lessons That Will Ignite Your Inner Fire And Your Career is here.

    #26: How a Homeless Woman Released From Prison Became ‘My Greatest Mentor’ is here

    #27:  To Find A Mentor Stop Asking ‘Can I Pick Your Brain?’ Do This Instead is here.

    #28: Her Boss Verbally Slapped Her – Now She Runs Her Own Show is here.

    #29: Top Poker Player Wins $11.6 Million And Goes To Work Thinking She’s A Loser is here.

    #30: How A Sex Ed Class Prepared This Woman For The Biggest Pitch Of Her Career is here.

    Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

    I am a storyteller, speaker, writer and connector. As the founder and CEO of GirlQuake, a Forbes Media contributor and host of the Forbes podcast, Mentoring Moments, I amplify the voices of females from multiple generations, redefining the notion of power. I’m the author of Their Roaring Thirties: Brutally Honest Career Talk From Women Who Beat The Youth Trap. I was the executive producer of the inaugural Forbes Women’s Summit. I’ve been at start-up, speed-up and stay #1 companies in both digital and traditional media. I serve on the boards of female-led organizations She’s the First and The Empowerment Plan. I’m a guest lecturer at Stanford University, an honorary professor at Glasgow Caledonian University, a Tribeca Disrupter Foundation Fellow, been named to numerous people to watch lists and have appeared on NBC Today, CBS Early Show, ABC News, CNN International and NPR. Follow me @deniserestauri

  • Pat Mitchell Blog

    Pat Mitchell Blog
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pat-mitchell-/tedwomen-update-lourds-la_b_11493938.html

     

    TEDWomen Update: Lourds Lane and SuperYou FUNdation

     

    In 2012, Lourds Lane charmed the TEDWomen audience playing her violin and sharing the story of her life from child musical prodigy to adult “superhero” self. Lourds recalled growing up in a small house in Jamaica, Queens, where there was a lot of fighting and screaming. At the age of three, she began playing classical violin and piano. She was regularly playing in front of large audiences before she was seven years old. Music was her salvation.

    Lourds was never really into superheroes as a child, but as she transitioned from classical music to electric violin playing rock star, she started to think of herself as one. She began performing her original music as the lead singer of her own rock band. Then, after graduating Harvard, she toured the country with her band for years until she found her true life’s calling — empowering youth to discover their superhero selves.

    Since her TEDTalk, where she first sang her original song, “I am a Superhero,” and inspired the TEDWomen audience to sing along, Lourds has been totally focused on the educational music and arts-based nonprofit she started, the SuperYou FUNdation. It’s “superhero curriculum” teaches youth how to connect with who they truly are. “I am a Superhero” is now the anthem for SuperYou students in over 100 schools nationally. The curriculum is currently empowering the largest special needs district in the world in NYC (25,000 students). Lourds tells me, “I just teach kids the things I wanted to hear as a child.”

    Lourds believes there is a strong need for a curriculum that empowers youth, especially those with special needs, to find their unique voice and to figure out what they stand for in this world. Through critical thinking, writing, music, performance, technology and art, students connect to their real life “superpowers.” They choose superhero names, like “Tenacity Tiger” or “Joy Boy,” and become accountable for the superpowers they’ve chosen. Then, they create unique superhero costumes and in so doing, have fun at school, while seeing themselves as powerful at the same time.

    2016-08-26-1472228081-8189098-LourdsGCF.jpg

    Women And Power
    A weekly exploration of women and power.

    Lourds calls it “Common Core with a super hero mask.” The SuperYou Curriculum incorporates the Common Core Learning Standards with social emotional learning. So, instead of “comparing and contrasting” characters in literature, students compare and contrast characters in literature to themselves. This constant self-reflection creates a culture of kindness, anti-bullying and respect — something Lourds believes the world really needs right now.

    A partnership with UNESCO has seen Lourds’ superhero program go global. The organizations are working together to increase empathy in schools worldwide. This holiday season, Lourds is launching the superhero musical she wrote, “Chix 6,” off Broadway at La MaMa Theater. In this global-unifying production, young superheroes from around the world who have participated in the SuperYou program will be streamed into the theater to sing with the cast. According to Lourds, “Every child, and secretly, every adult, wants to let loose and feel like a rock star.” Lourds, herself, will also be onstage performing as the electric-violin playing superhero named Rise.

    2016-08-26-1472226929-287902-OurFounderSuperheroLourdsLane.jpg

    Says Lourds, “Schools teach youth how to become good test takers, but students don’t necessarily walk away knowing who they are or why their voice matters. When a child feels valued, they will feel inspired to add value to the world. The only way to stop the violence and bullying is to address the root cause of the problem… just love and empower the child.”

    If you feel inspired, please show your support to the SuperYou FUNdation here: https://www.crowdrise.com/superyoufun.

    * * * * *

    TEDWomen 2016 continues a journey that began in Washington, D.C., in 2010, the first major TED conference to focus on the ideas, stories and global narrative of women and girls. The response was overwhelming! Our speakers, both women and men, have come from many different backgrounds and experiences to share ideas and stories in TEDTalks that have been viewed more than 60 million times on TED.com.

    Our theme for TEDWomen 2016 is “It’s about time.” We will be exploring how time and attention shape our very lives. In theory, we’ve all got an equal amount of time — 24 precious hours in a day — and yet, our capacity to harness the most out of it is wildly different depending on our circumstances and state of mind. Together, we’ll plot how to push the tipping points even faster and move even slower when it comes to the things we most want to savor and care about.

    If you’re interested in being present for these TEDTalks and many more on this year’s theme, there are still a few spaces left to attend TEDWomen 2016. (After the theater is completely sold out, we will also offer some discounted tickets for simulcast viewing.) We will announce our speaker lineup next month — find out more and register at TED.com.

  • Lourds performing in Chix 6

    “MISFIT” excerpt from Chix 6 featuring creator, Lourds Lane

    Excerpt of “Misfit,” from “CHIX 6” at the Queens Theatre featuring Book/Music/Lyrics writer of the Broadway-bound musical, Lourds Lane, performing as the superhero, “Rise.”

    LOURDS LANE
    Book/Music/Lyrics writer of “CHIX 6”

  • Intimate singing with shy Ugandan girl

    Intimate singing with shy Ugandan girl

    This Ugandan girl is super shy and has low self-esteem. When Lourds Lane was at the Busoga School, she would always stand close to her but wouldn’t talk. At some point, Lourds heard her singing,”I am a superhero” under her breath. Lourds sat next to her. All she wanted was to sing with Lourds. Music brings children out of their shells and one step closer to finding their superpowers. #superyoufun #livetogive #musicmatters #riseandshine2017

  • Lourds in schools

    The SuperYou FUNdation visits the Special Needs Students of P224 in Queens