SHEILA ROHAN

Sheila Rohan was born and raised on Staten Island. Her mother alone, after the death of her father, raised Sheila as one of eight daughters. Shelia’s parents came as immigrants from St. Martin, and in the United States continued to stress the importance of their African American Culture. At a young age, Sheila contracted polio and was told she needed more exercise to gain strength. It was then that Sheila began to dance. With only a High School education Shelia began taking dance classes in Manhattan, focusing on ballet. Shelia then become a ballerina for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, taught at Alvin Ailey, and danced with many other modern companies. After performing for many years, Shelia is now one of the few women to hold administrative positions in the dance world. Shelia, after the death of her sister, is currently taking charge of the Nanette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theatre. This is a non profit company who performs many ethnic dances at educational schools and also has created its own dance school for children. Sheila is currently working on a piece called, “On the Block�, which is a reenactment of a painting by her brother-in-law Romare Bearden. This piece is a musical about ethnic neighborhoods.