shabaz ujima

contemporary Faculty

BIO
Shabaz Ujima first studied dance at Nashville School of the Arts (1995-1996) and Nashville Ballet (1996-1999). He continued his training at New World School of the Arts (1999-2001) in Miami, Fla. and went on to dance in Nashville Ballet’s Second Company (2002-2003) before enjoying a successful career in contemporary dance with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble (2003-2007) and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (2008-2014) under his stage name, Hershel Deondre Horner III. Mr. Ujima has performed works by choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Donald McKayle, Milton Myers, Matt Maddox, Susanna Linke, Jose Limon and Christopher Huggins. Upon his professional dance retirement in 2014, Mr. Ujima returned to Nashville Ballet. He is currently a full-time faculty member in modern and contemporary dance at School of Nashville Ballet. Mr. Ujima is also a teaching artist for Nashville Ballet’s Community Engagement Program, which introduces the art of dance to 40,000 community members each year through visits to schools, libraries and more. Outside of his work at Nashville Ballet, he teaches mindfulness and yoga to local youth and in the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center.