Dr. Ashley Mushamba is the founder/executive director of Dancing Through the Curriculum.  Dr. Mushamba received her B.A. from Fisk University in Political Scence with a minor in Dance.  Afterwards, she received her M.A. from Trevecca Nazarene University and Ed.D from Lipscomb University in Educational Leadership.  Dr. Mushamba is currently a dance professor at Tennessee State University, with over 8 years of experience working as a certified teacher for grades K-12 in Nashville public schools, and over 20 years of dance training in jazz, ballet, tap, and tumbling.

As a member of organizations such as Tennesseans for the Arts, Americans for the Arts, National Dance and Eduction Organization, and the International Association for Blacks in Dance, she advocates for the importance of dance in education and across color lines.  She believes in the power of dance to increase the cognitive, psychomotor, and social emotional skills of individuals.  Thus, Dancing Through the Curriculum (DTC) was created for girls of color to use the medium of dance to increase academic performance and develop self-appreciation through exposure to the art of dance.  

Founder Executive Director

     Chaz is a dancer and choreographer from Nashville, TN. He began dancing at the age of 16 while attending Nashville School of the Arts where he trained in Modern, Jazz, West African, Hip Hop, and Choreography. Those few years of training inspired him to pursue a career in the art of dance. Upon graduating from high school, he began dancing in Found Movement Group under the direction of the brilliant Stacie Flood-Popp.

       During his time with the company, he was selected to be a lead dancer in three of the company’s most popular shows. After graduating from college, he moved to Los Angeles, California. It was there that he trained under the likes of Mykell Wilson, Brian & Scott Nicholson, JaQuel Knight, WillDaBeast, Kenya Clay, and countless others. His heavy work ethic has led him to opportunities to work under Travis Payne, Andre Fuentes, Robert Hoffman, and Shotyme.

        Not just a dancer, he has taught at several studios across Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama. He has also choreographed for The Money Team artist K.O. McKoy, and has directed a his own company by the name of #Snatched.

    In addition to dancing and choreographing, he also loves to share his gift of dance through teaching. He has taught at several studios across the South. As a teacher, he hopes to give quality training and pure inspiration.

Contemporary/ Hip Hop Instructor

Bio Coming Soon! 

Master Teacher (Preschool, Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, & Tumbling)

Bio Coming Soon! 

Preschool Program

Albanus Thierry, Nashville Native, gre up with a love and hunger for all things art.  He began his journey with movement at Nashville School of the Arts, under the training of Stacie-Flood-Popp and Danika Myles.  Immediately following graduation he signed as a member of the boy band "Contagious," and explored the world through music and movement touring in Central America, Japan, and all throughout the U.S. After having the privledge of spending 3 years together, the group dismantled and Albanus began to put in work as a solo artist as well as teaching, creating and dancing, specializing in Hip-Hop, Lyrical, and Contemporary.  He's worked with Eric Paisley, Rascal Flatts, and Toby Mac to name, and is an up and growing artist himself with his music available in virtual stores all throughout the world. He states, "What I love most about the things I'm able to create are the people I've met along the way.  I'm constantly being inspired by us. We are pretty incredible creatures."  

Guest Artist Contemporary

Bio Coming Soon!

Tumbling Coach

Shabaz Ujima first studied dance at Nashville School of the Arts (1995-1996) and Nashville Ballet (1996-1999). He continued his training at New World School of the Arts (1999-2001) in Miami, Fla. and went on to dance in Nashville Ballet’s Second Company (2002-2003) before enjoying a successful career in contemporary dance with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble (2003-2007) and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (2008-2014) under his stage name, Hershel Deondre Horner III. Mr. Ujima has performed works by choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Donald McKayle, Milton Myers, Matt Maddox, Susanna Linke, Jose Limon and Christopher Huggins. Upon his professional dance retirement in 2014, Mr. Ujima returned to Nashville. He is currently a full-time faculty member in modern and contemporary dance at School of Nashville Ballet. Mr. Ujima is also a teaching artist for Nashville Ballet’s Community Engagement Program, which introduces the art of dance to 40,000 community members each year through visits to schools, libraries and more. Outside of his work at Nashville Ballet, he teaches mindfulness and yoga to local youth and in the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center

Guest Artist - Modern

Having pursued a professional career as a dancer in Los Angeles, Courtney has an unlimited amount of experience in the entertainment and commercial industry. Aside from the role of a dancer, Courtney has assisted, choreographed, directed, and been a part of many non-profits or dance related administration work. Expanding into the health and fitness world, she has grown her knowledge and expertise beyond choreography and performance. Courtney’s passion has become her everyday healthy, active lifestyle. Courtney’s diverse collection of opportunities allows her to be a well-rounded teacher and artist. It excites her to be in the position to share and influence her students and build a professional relationship where she can challenge and support them

Jazz/ Competition Coach

Bio Coming Soon! 

Majorette