IQUAIL SHAHEED

Iquail Shaheed is the founder and executive artistic director of DANCE IQUAIL!. A native of Philadelphia, Iquail trained at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and Philadelphia Dance Company’s (PHILADANCO) “Training & Instruction” program. While at PHILADANCO, he became a senior member of Danco II, under the tutelage of Donald T. Lunsford II.

Shaheed 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. As a professional dancer, Iquail has worked with internationally acclaimed companies such as Compagnie Thor (Brussels), The Sean Curran Company, Ronald K Brown/ Evidence, The Fred Benjamin Dance Company, and various Broadway productions. Shaheed is on faculty at The Ailey School, Steps on Broadway, and Harlem School for the Arts.

Shaheed founded DANCE IQUAIL! to create dance projects that tell stories not frequently heard in the performing arts, and to engage directly with audiences drawn from Mantua, the West Philadelphia neighborhood where he grew up. His work has been recognized with Lower Manhattan Cultural Council grant awards, The Caroline H. Newhouse Award, The Philadelphia Dance Award (Rocky), The Marion D. Cuyjet Award, and the NAACP ACT-SO National Silver Medal among others.