Eden Duncan-Smith
Making her Broadway debut as the character Raynell Maxon in 2010 revival of August Wilson’s Fences featuring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in which she was nominated for Best Performance in Live Theater at 32nd Annual Young Artist Award (Actress). Now as Young Nala in Disney’s Broadway production of Lion King, Eden Sanaa Duncan-Smith continues to wow audiences and seems to have been born to take the stage. Already at the tender age of 11, she has established herself as a triple threat in the New York artistic community.
Her dance career began at the age of 2 at the renowned ballet school, Dance Theatre of Harlem where she studied under its founder Arthur Mitchell for five years. She left the Dance Theatre of Harlem after being offered a scholarship to the American Ballet Theatre and Purelements: An Evolution in Dance in 2006. Since then, she has been asked to be a featured dancer for many professional dance companies and productions including Lakai Worrell’s “Fitnah” at the Thelma Hill Performing Arts
Center, The Neville Dance Company’s “Nutcracker” and the St. Paul Community Baptist Church urban nativity story, “Unto Us A Child ”and “The MAAFA Suite”.
She is also a member of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, where she takes lessons with Matthew Brady and Michelle Rosen. It was there when she fell in love with the stage and took steps towards Broadway.
Eden is an accomplished poet and artist. She has written poetry that has been shared with deaf children in Australia in an exchange program with her school, written songs for her school band and also the 826 NYC program with the New York City Department of Education and was a featured visual artist at the South Oxford Arts Exchange with Al Johnson. The Obama Art Report also acknowledged her art portrait of President Barack Obama entitled “A Brand New Day” during the 2008 Presidential Campaign. This same portrait was featured in the 2008 book entitled “Something Deeper Happened: Young Voices and the 2008 Election.”
In 2009, she enrolled in Bucks Rock Performing Arts Camp and started training in music theatre. Though she had the vocal and dance experience, it was her acting that caught the attention of Obie winner Jesse Wooten, Jr. and Tony winner Aubrey Lynch, who have taken Little Miss Duncan-Smith under their wings as students.
In July of 2010, Eden received the Emerging Artists Award from Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated at their national convention’s Signature Gala.
Currently, Eden is a dance major and honor roll student at the Mark Twain School for The Gifted and Talented. Before Mark Twain, she was an honors student at The American School for Sign Language and English
where she participated in several school shows as an interpreter and principal actor: Free to Be Me, FAME, and Grease. Eden is a proud member of Actors’ Equity and Broadway Kids Care where she is mentored by Kenny Ortega and Kelly Gonda.
She also is a tween Lifestyle Contributor to her mentor Rhonesha Byng’s web-magazine Society, Life and Style and co-star on Aunt Jewel’s Bedtime Stories radio program. Eden wants to either be a Supreme Court Justice, Chemist, Actor or Princess when she grows up. This dynamic young lady can do whatever she puts her mind to.
Represented by Shirley Faison at the Carson Adler Agency (theatrical) and Barbara Coleman at Innovative Talent Agency (commercial), Eden hopes that her star shines bright for many years.