Shabaz Ujima , formerly Hershel Deondre Horner, first studied dance at Nashville School of the Arts and Nashville Ballet. He continued his training at New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL. Shabaz had the the delight to dance with Nashville Ballet’s Second Company, Graham II, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, and the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. He is the founder of shackled feet DANCE Nashville’s Black dance company.
Mr. Ujima has performed works by choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Donald McKayle, Milton Myers, Matt Maddox, Susanna Linke, Jose Limon and Paul Vasterling, Ronen Koresh, Ray Mercer, and Christopher Huggins.
Upon his professional dance retirement in 2014 he has explored the world of choreography and created works on the Franklin School of the Performing Arts, the School of Nashville Ballet and Sankofa Drum and Dance Ensemble. He choreographed Carly Simon’s Opera “Romulus Hunt” (Nashville Opera) as well the musicals Hairspray (Martin Luther King High School) and The Wiz (Fisk University) and was chosen to be on the Nashville Ballet’s 2017 Emergence Program.
He now teaches Graham based Modern and Contemporary dance full-time at The School of Nashville Ballet and adjunct at Belmont University. He also serves as a teaching artist for Nashville Ballet and the Global Education Center, where he teaches yoga in the juvenile detention center. “I GIVE because I have been given so much.”
