CO-DIRECTORS & FOUNDER

E. LEON EVANS, II, FOUNDER

Leon began to develop his great talent as a dancer and choreographer during his years at the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA. In 1978, he began to build his repertoire based upon philosophies he formed during his extensive experiences in both theatrics and dance with the Playward Bus Theater Company and dance master, John Hines. In 1980, he co-directed a company that flourished and eventually became Eleone Dance Theatre.

Leon, as he is affectionately known, worked as an entertainer, choreographer, performer, composer and educator in programs sponsored by the Institute of Arts and Education, Wanamaker Middle School Theater Arts Program, the Christina Cultural Arts Center, The American Music Theater Festival and many others.

In addition to being mentored by and working with Maurice Hines, Leon also worked with greats such as Chita Rivera, Donald O’Connor, the Boston Pops, Dee Dee Sharp, Roberta Flack and Tachina Arnold. His most enduring engagements were with “Browser,” the notable performer from the Group Sha Na Na.

Leon received a special citation from the City Council of Philadelphia and the Bright Hope Baptist Church to honor his generosity and commitment to elevating the artistic programs of the church to new levels of excellence. He was also given the Imhotep Award from the Christina Cultural Arts Center and featured in the February 1997 “50 Rising Stars” article in Seven Arts Magazine.

MS. SHEILA A. WARD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CO-DIRECTOR

Sheila A. Ward is presently a tenured Professor in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Exercise Science at Norfolk State University.  She is Co-Director of and performs professionally with Eleone Dance Theatre of Philadelphia, PA. She holds a B.S. in Physical Education with an emphasis in Dance from Indiana University and an M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from Temple University. Dr. Ward also earned a Masters of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology from Eastern Virginia Medical School/Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA.  Integration of her degrees in exercise physiology, epidemiology/public health, and dance has served as the foundation to promote, ‘Health Empowerment through Cultural Awareness,’ the guiding principle from which she conducts scholarly activities related to chronic disease prevention and management. She is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and a Certified Instructor for both the Umfundalai African Dance Technique and the Katherine Dunham Technique. She was Publications Chair of the National Dance Association and served on the Editorial Board of JOPERD (2006-2009).  She was the Math/Science Coordinator for the National Youth Sports Program – Temple University for 13 years where she designed and conducted a Fitness and Sports Science Program to introduce math and science to summer student campers 10-16 years of age.  She is currently on the Editorial Board of the Physician and Sportsmedicine, a reviewer for JOPERD, and Chair of Grants & Research for Black Women in Sport Foundation.  She is the Project Director for the NSU Health and Wellness Initiative for Women and a Roster Artist for the Virginia Arts in Education Residency Program.

Ms. Ward has successfully received state, federal, and private funding for research and program implementation including authoring and implementing twelve (12) dance-related grants, such as $40,000 from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through Dance Advance Award for the reconstruction of “Americana,” a signature work of the legendary Ms. Katherine Dunham and $96,000 to acquire and present a new work by Dianne McIntyre.  Her presentations and publications on the international, national, state, and local levels are extensive and varied such as the publications of African-centered Dance:  An Intervention Tool for HIV/AIDS Prevention, Health and the Power of Dance, and African Dance Aesthetics in a K-12 Dance Setting:  From History to Social Justice.  She is the recipient of Norfolk State University’s 2009 Distinguished Faculty Award for Scholarship and is currently the recipient of two Virginia Department Health/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grants.

She has conducted over 31 dance arts-in-education k-12 residencies throughout the states of Virginia and Delaware, and the City of Philadelphia, PA.  She performed and trained with The Philadelphia Company (Philadanco) and Philadanco II.  At Indiana University, she was a member of the African American Dance Company and the IU Dance Theater.  She is co-director of Eleone Connection, a pre-professional youth dance ensemble, and executive consultant to Eleone Dance Unlimited Dance School.  Dr. Ward was featured in the magazines, Dance Teacher Now (2009), which highlighted multiple careers of dancers, and Upscale Magazine (2009), which highlighted the use of African Dance for health.   She was a 2011 Honoree of the Virginia Peninsula ACT-SO Program, sponsored by the Newport News NAACP, for outstanding achievement in the field of Dance and the recipient of 2008 and 2011 Mayoral Citations from the City of Philadelphia for her contributions to the Philadelphia arts community.  Dr. Ward is the 2014 Herman C. Hudson Alumni Award Recipient, African American Arts Institute, Indiana University for her “outstanding career as a dance artist, educator and scholar.”

Our Partners

Website Design by Emerge