My advice for my young self would probably be to pay attention to the process of choreography. Spend more time looking at the styles of my different instructors and take more notes on it. My advice for new dancers is to just be open to all different styles and not box themselves into one style.”
Basics:
2009 Graduate of Milford High School
2013 Graduate of the University of Tampa
KBDS Roots:
Shaniqua started dancing at KBDS at the age of eight. The first class she ever took was jazz, which immediately sparked her deep love and appreciation for dance. From then on, Shani began studying modern, lyrical, musical theatre, hip hop and ballet in addition to jazz. Shani joined the Kathy Blake Dance Company and was a member for many years, traveling to Dance Excellence and performing many styles with the Company. One of Shani’s favorite things about KBDS was performing at local venues and community shows. Shani also spent many summers in open summer classes at KBDS.
Beyond the Studio:
Although most of Shani’s life during high school was dedicated to KBDS, she also participated in theater at Andy’s Summer Playhouse. After graduating from KBDS in 2009, Shani went on to study Business Management as her major at the University of Tampa. However, Shani also continued her dance training by pursuing a minor in Applied Dance. From there, Shani auditioned to be a dancer for the Tampa Bay Storm indoor football team, and secured a spot on the squad. Today, Shani works as a dance instructor at the Dance Theatre of New Bern in North Carolina, teaching Jazz, Lyrical and Hip Hop. She is also working as a choreographer for the New Bern Civic Theatre’s production of Evita.