EP 78 IQUAIL SHAEED

Dr. Iquail Shaheed - Hailed in reviews as "a perfect example of his generation of male dancers... Technically superb and artistically infallible," Dr. Iquail Shaheed is a Philadelphia-based artist, activist and the executive artistic director of DANCE IQUAIL! through which he creates new works and programs that centers on Blackness, Justice and Joy. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Ballet Performance from the University of the Arts, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Purchase College – SUNY and In 2022, He became the first Black male to earn a PhD in dance at Texas Woman's University.

Iquail has worked with internationally acclaimed companies such as Philadanco, Compagnie Thor (in Brussels), Sean Curran Company, Ronald K Brown/ Evidence, and the Fred Benjamin Dance Company. He has also appeared in various Broadway productions including The Lion King, Hot Feet and SuperFly. As an educator, Iquail preserves the Horton Technique by serving on faculty at The Ailey School, NAISDA Dance College in Australia, and is the second Black man to receive tenure and promoted to associate professor at Goucher College in their 137-year-history. 

Among his many honors are grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Andrew W Mellon Foundation, New England foundation for the Arts, MAP Fund, National Performance Network, the Philadelphia Dance Award - “The Rocky,” and the Marion D. Cuyjet Award. 

Mr. Shaheed received his training as a scholarship student at many prestigious schools including the Philadelphia Dance Company - PhilaDANCO, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, The Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance, Paul Taylor School, The Juilliard School and Pennsylvania Ballet, among many others. He proudly serves on the board of directors for the International Association of Blacks in Dance, where he was the elected board treasurer, and is a board member with Dance USA and the Stockton Bartol Rush Foundation.

CHECK OUT INTERVIEW VIDEO HERE