Few artists have made as broad of an impact on Nashville as Shabaz Ujima. You've seen his work on stages at OZ Arts Nashville, Nashville Ballet, Nashville Rep, Shades of Black Theatre Festival, and of course Kindling Arts Festival. In fact, Shabaz danced in the very first Kindling Arts Festival in 2018!  

Shabaz is a native Nashvillian who began his formal dance training at the Nashville School of the Arts and the School of Nashville Ballet. After attending college at New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL, his professional dance career spanned over a decade, dancing with NB2 (Nashville Ballet 2nd Company), Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Jeanne Ruddy Dance, and Graham II (Martha Graham Dance Company’s 2nd company) in New York. Shabaz also worked with many notable choreographers including Ronald K. Brown and Paul Vasterling, and he has performed the works of Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, and Jose Limon. He later expanded into teaching company class for the Dayton Contemporary Dance, launching his passion for sharing and teaching. He is currently a full-time faculty member in modern and contemporary dance at School of Nashville Ballet. He founded with Thea Jones Shackled Feet DANCE, a Nashville Black Dance Company in 2017.