Pioneers > “MENTORING
Pioneers > “MENTORING IQUAIL over the past six years, as he has grown into a dance scholar, has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my job,” said Rosemary Candelario, director of TWU’s dance program. “Iquail’s dissertation has the potential to shift how the field thinks about Black men in American concert dance.” > IQUAIL SHAHEED ’22 Dancer, choreographer, instructor THE RIGHT MOVES New Stage Broadway dancer Iquail Shaheed ’22 adds Ph.D. to his artistic accolades BROADWAY DANCER, choreographer, entrepreneur and new TWU Ph.D. dance grad Iquail Shaheed ’22 has studied at some of the most illustrious dance programs in the country including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Philadanco and the Juilliard School. Today he’s the founder and artistic director of DANCE IQUAIL!, which has earned prestigious grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other funding agencies. He also starred in Broadway productions of The Lion King, Hot Feet and Super Fly. Shaheed’s path to a doctorate in dance was made possible by TWU’s lowresidency program, which enables mid-career students to pursue a Ph.D. without taking time off from work. Celebrating its 65th year in 2022, the TWU Ph.D. dance program is the longest running of its kind and one of only five in the country. Its flexibility allowed Shaheed to maintain his active schedule as a professional performer and dance instructor in Maryland at Goucher College, a former women’s college. Shaheed’s Ph.D. is an asset in many ways. It denotes expertise in the scholarship of dance, and it sets the stage for becoming a sought-after author and thought leader. “A lot of the work we do is social-justice focused and brings attention to voices that often aren’t heard,” he said. “The Ph.D. gives me the tools to bring those voices to light in my instruction and practice.” 20 TEXAS WOMAN’S
ASHLEY DAME ’12 AND NATHAN DAME ’11 Award-winning choir directors > KELLI CONNELL ’03 Photographer and Guggenheim honoree EYE ON THE PRIZE Guggenheim awarded to alumna WHEN ASHLEY DELANEY visited TWU to check out its music education programs, she fell in love with the graduate curriculum — and eventually a student pianist she met that day. There, in the office of Professor and Music Education Coordinator Vicki Baker, she first met Nathan Dame ’11. “He was sitting on her piano bench as they wrapped up his individual instrument training,” Ashley recalls. She decided to enroll, because the flexible course options allowed her to balance her day job with her graduate preparation. “It’s an attractive program for MUSIC EDUCATION A DUET THAT WORKS Ashley ’12 and Nathan Dame ’11 found love and award-winning careers at TWU practicing educators,” she says. But the best part was the hands-on training with real music teachers. After Ashley graduated in 2012, she and Nathan stayed in touch, even as he pursued a Ph.D. in Kansas. “We love music, so we mailed each other CD mixes,” Nathan said. Today the two are not only married, but also fellow choir directors at Wylie East High School in Wylie, Texas. Under the Dames’ watch, the school’s choir program has tripled in size to 320 students, and both directors have won multiple awards. Ashley won the 2021 Texas Choral Directors Association Innovative Programming Award, and Nathan was named one of Yamaha’s Top 40 Under 40 Music Educators in the United States in 2022. Both credit TWU with their success. “TWU’s program was so practical. You could easily take what you learned and apply it in the classroom the next day and witness a positive impact on the kids,” Nathan said. “TWU wasn’t just the place that we met,” says Ashley. “It was the place that trained us to be the music educators we are today.” FOR THE last eight years, artist Kelli Connell ’03 has retraced the life of Charis Wilson, best known as a model and the former wife of famed modernist photographer Edward Weston. Connell explores the artist-sitter relationship by photographing her own partner in the same locations where Weston depicted his then-wife. This year, Connell won a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship for her project “Pictures for Charis.” She plans to produce a book and three museum exhibitions of her work in 2024. “Having work recognized by the Guggenheim Foundation is a tremendous honor,” Connell said. “I will use the 2022 fellowship year to continue making work for the project ‘Pictures for Charis.’ I feel a wealth of gratitude for this opportunity, and for everyone who has supported the project along the way.” Connell credits TWU, especially Susan kae Grant, Cornaro Professor of Visual Arts Emerita, with shaping her career. “Working with Susan was such a gift,” said Connell, now a professor and graduate program director of the Photography department at Columbia College Chicago. “Susan organized her classes by creating a sense of community where everyone had an equal voice, and she really influenced how I teach my courses today.” “TWU is a place that encourages students to work diligently on their fine art practices and to become confident in who they are as artists,” Connell said. TEXAS WOMAN’S 21
