Susan Shields, recipient of the 2006 Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography, has created dances on several professional companies and universities.  Her work appears in the repertories of Ballet West, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, The Washington Ballet, Richmond Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, Boston Ballet II, and City Dance Ensemble.  She has also created work for Harvard University, George Mason University, University of Richmond, and Shenandoah University.  In 2005, Ms. Shields was given a generous commission from the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts to create a ballet for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre which premiered at the Filene Center that summer.

She performed nationally and internationally, most recently as a member of Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project.  In addition to performing the works of numerous contemporary choreographers, she was partnered with Baryshnikov in Mark Morris’ acclaimed dance, The Argument.  She was also a member of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company for eight years, performing a substantial part of his repertory worldwide.  In addition to performing, she assisted Lubovitch in setting his work on American Ballet Theatre and had numerous roles created on her.  She performed with the Mark Morris Dance Group in The Hard Nut, and has performed with Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians, Eliot Feld Ballet New York and The Washington Ballet, where she received her training. Shields has taught extensively at major universities throughout the world, most recently in China, Korea, and Poland.  She currently serves on the advisory board of Dance/Metro DC.

She holds a B.A. in Philosophy from SUNY Empire State and an M.F.A. from George Mason University, where she is a professor in the School of Dance.

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