TOMMIE-WAHEED EVANS
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Tommie-Waheed Evans is a proud recipient of a 2020-2021 fellowship from the Center for Ballet and Arts at NYU. Born and raised in Los Angeles, began his formal training with Michelle Blossom at the Dance Connection. He continued his studies under the mentorship of Andrea Calomee and Karen McDonald at Hamilton High School before receiving a fellowship at the Ailey School, and a Master of Fine Arts in Choreography from Jacksonville University. His professional appearances include the popular sitcom "The Parkers", the Emmy Awards, HopeBoykinDance, Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Lula Washington Dance Theater, The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO) and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. He has created works for BalletX, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, PHILADANCO, Verb Ballets, Ballet Memphis, The University of the Arts, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Lula Washington Dance Theatre, Louisville Ballet, among others. He is currently working on a new production “HOME” to be presented by the Philadelphia Dance Project. In 2006 Tommie founded his Philadelphia-based company, waheedworks.
He has received accolades and honors including a 2019 Princess Grace Honoria Award in Choreography, Dance/USA Philadelphia Rocky Award, Billy Penn: Who Next Arts, Howard Gilman Foundation Fellowship Winner, The Tribune’s 2017 Most Influential African Americans, 10 people Under 40, BalletX 2017 Ballet Choreographic Fellowship, Joffrey Ballet Winning Works 2019, Ballet Memphis New American Dance Residency 2019, and was selected nationally as an emerging leader by Dance/USA. Tommie is currently the Artist-in-Residence at PHILADANCO and on faculty at the University of the Arts.
“ He has that PHILADANCO! standard in a certain way—a quality of performance, but he takes on very challenging scores musically. He takes on interesting texts and the work is really relevant,”
Terry Fox, director of Philadelphia Dance Projects
waheedworks
Philadelphia based company, waheedworks, was established in 2006 by the artistic director Tommie-Waheed Evans. Working collaboratively with the company, Evans has led waheedworks in creating an extensive repertoire that propels new contemporary movement work into the next era. waheed works has also collaborated with composers Greg Smith, Darryl Hoffman, and the poet Gregory Smith and has received generous support from the New Music USA project grant, Center of Ballet and the Arts at NYU, and Dance/USA. The company has also had the pleasure of being presented by SummerStage NYC, The Painted Bride Arts Center, Plays and Players Theatre, Long Island Theatre, the Dance Boom Festival, the Coming Together Festival, The International Association of Blacks in Dance, and Philadelphia Dance Projects.
