Bio
A Detroit native, Demetrius Shields demonstrated promise in the performing arts from a young age: by age 7, he had performed for then President Bill Clinton. In his adolescence, he excelled in simultaneous studies at The Marvin L. Winans Academy of Performing Arts and Detroit Windsor Dance Academy. He went on to graduate summa cum laude from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, from which he earned a B.F.A. in Dance Education and received The Promising Artist Scholarship. Most recently, Demetrius earned his MS in Arts Administration from Drexel University. His formal education was supplemented with training from such institutions as The Ailey School, American Ballet Theater, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and The Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensives --- all of which awarded him full tuition scholarships.
Demetrius has had the privilege of working with choreographers Donald Byrd, Liz Lerman, Christopher Huggins, Louis Johnson, Ray Mercer, Cornelius Carter, Anthony Burrell, Kim Bears- Bailey and William Forsythe, among others. He has performed for Princess Cruises, with whom he mastered thirteen shows over the course of a one-year voyage that took him to over 50 countries worldwide, from Australia to Central America. He has also performed as a Cagelle in the Theater By The Seas production of Le Cage Aux Follies. Demetrius has also performed for 4 seasons in the ensemble of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at the world famous Radio City Music Hall in Rockefeller Center NYC.
Demetrius has strong passions for teaching and community service. He teaches various styles of Ballet, Jazz, Horton, and Hip-Hop; and he has previously instructed courses on Creative Movement to students aged 8-17 at The Neibenger Elementary School in Philadelphia, as well as Ballet and Hip-Hop at the Pennsylvania Dance Institute. He has also collaborated with the Cass Tech High School Dance Workshop and the Renaissance High School Dance Company. His work has been shown in the galas of both The International Association of Black in Dance Conference and The National High School Dance Festival. Currently, he is on faculty at the Detroit School of Arts.
In addition to performing, Demetrius has worked with Elisa Monte Dance as their Administrative Associate and at Culture For One (NYC) as the Development and Executive Assistant. Demetrius is deeply passionate about communities of color and being a light of hope for POC and individuals in the LGBTQ community and is excited to use his knowledge of nonprofit landscapes to bolster the Michigan nonprofit arts community.
He is deeply appreciative of and motivated by the tremendous support of his family and friends.