Dance Iquail! Returns With Premieres By Von Howard & Iquail this Month

Dance Iquail!, the Philadelphia-based company founded and directed by Dr. Iquail Shaheed, returns to the Ailey Citigroup Theater with a program of New York premieres by choreographers Christian von Howard and Shaheed, April 19 & 20 at 7:30 PM.
The Saturday April 20th matinee at 3 PM is the Company's Community Program, featuring their youth performing group from Orange, N.J. Entitled "Concepts-in-Choreography," that program will also feature Dance Iquail in an excerpt from "Rain: A Psalm for JHM."
Dr. Shaheed (the first Black male to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Texas Women's University), is pleased to share the programs with and exceptional dancemaker, Christian von Howard, remarking "I am always proud to present new choreographers to audiences".

Christian von Howard is the Artistic Director of the Von Howard Project.  Von Howard's choreographic work tends to be extremely athletic, yet infused with layered moments of subtle detail and sinuous control. An international artist, von Howard has worked with many dance artists, including Fred Benjamin, Fernando Bujones, and Daniel Gwirtzman, and with organizations including the American Dance Festival, Dance Masters of America, and Iliev Dance Arts Foundation to name a few.  His choreographic work has been produced in venues across the globe including Europe, South America, Asia, and throughout the US. Christian is an Associate Professor at Montclair State University, part of the teaching faculty at the Alvin Ailey School, and served as the Northeast Regional Director of the American College Dance Association (2016-2023). He holds advanced degrees from the School of Classical and Contemporary Dance at Texas Christian University and Tisch School of the Arts, NYU and as a Fulbright Specialist (2019-2021) for the United States.

The final piece is a brand new DANCE IQUAIL!  work called Rain, choreographed by company founder 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.

Dr. Shaheed has worked with internationally acclaimed companies such as Philadanco, Compagnie Thor (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 Super Fly. 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 promotion to associate professor at Goucher College in their inception in 1889  Among his many honors are grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Black Art Future Fund, New England Foundation for the Arts, MAP Fund, National Performance Network, the Philadelphia Dance Award – “The Rocky,” and the Marion D. Cuyjet Award. 

Dr. 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 received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ballet performance from the University of the Arts, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Choreography from Purchase College. Dr. Shaheed is also the first Black Male to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Texas Woman's University. 

He proudly serves on the board of directors for the International Association of Blacks in Dance, where he was the elected board treasurer. He is a board member with Dance/USA and the Stockton Bartol Rush Foundation.

About DANCE IQUAIL! 

DANCE IQUAIL!   is a 21st century cutting edge dance company that was born to not only educate and empower talented dancers and the audience alike, but also to bring positive influence to inner city youth through education and community awareness. DANCE IQUAIL! seeks to enhance the level of appreciation of dance in a spirit of excellence by embracing and pushing the talents of deserving, yet under-recognized dance artists. Founder Iquail Shaheed experienced the injustice and politics in dance during his youth, and decided to make a stand by forming a company that would not only break such cultural and ethnic barriers, but also provide a window of countless opportunities for aspiring dancers to be employed in a stable and secure environment.

Steering inner city youth in a positive direction is DANCE IQUAIL's  most passionate pursuit. The company offers a place of purity and nurturing for inspiring young dancers to be taught not only the fundamentals of dance, but instills discipline and other virtues possessed by model citizens. This process is accomplished with the multi-talented teachers and choreographers that work within this organization. DANCE IQUAIL!  shows these youth how to channel the negativity that surrounds them daily, into a world of innovation and creativity through thought-provoking performances. DANCE IQUAIL!  gives the inner city youth a true voice through the art of dance. DANCE IQUAIL! is very fortunate to have such a creative and passionate founder at the helm.

Performance Details

Friday & Saturday, April 19 & 20 at 7:30 PM. Saturday matinee at 3 PM - Youth Performing Group.

There will be a post-performance reception on Friday.

Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 West 55 Street

Tickets: $33; $15 for students

Reservations: Brown Paper Tickets  

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