Saleemah E. Knight

Saleemah E. Knight is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary artist in the concert and commercial dance realms, TV-personality, choreographer, television host, lifestyle influencer and professional dancer. She is currently a professor of dance and an original founding faculty at the highly-acclaimed University of Southern California, Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Saleemah graduated Magna Cum Laude, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Arizona, School of Dance. As a graduate fellowship recipient, she also received a Master of Fine Arts Degree in dance from the University of California, Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts. Knight's performance credits include: Disney's The Lion King Broadway Musical, Beyoncé Live at the Billboard Music Awards, Chris Brown and many other internationally recognized choreographers, artists and televised productions. As a featured dancer with The Lion King, Saleemah also performed on The Daytime Emmys, ABC's Dancing with the Stars, and ABC's Live! with Regis and Kelly (presently ABC's Live! with Kelly and Ryan). Knight is a concert and commercial choreographer and performer whose background includes training in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Tap, Modern, and Hip-Hop Dance from outstanding private schools and dance masters throughout the United States. They include, yet are not limited to: Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, River North Chicago, Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, The Edge Performing Arts Center, Millennium Dance Complex, Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio, and Broadway Dance Center. Saleemah's performance credits include many well-known choreographers and entertainers. As an adolescent, Knight was selected to perform the work of celebrated concert dance choreographer Donald Byrd in the World Premiere of "The Harlem Nutcracker". The premiere garnered nation-wide attention and a highly publicized television debut on the PBS Network. As a trainee of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company Saleemah also danced the iconic works of choreographers such as Bill T. Jones, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Bebe Miller. Knight has danced the politically charged work of UCLA faculty Victoria Marks, entitled "Not About Iraq" and also performed the work of Contemporary Ballet choreographer Jodie Gates, honoring the Rite of Spring, entitled the "Sacre Project". In addition to her concert dance experience Saleemah has also performed commercially with The Pussycat Dolls, Tatu, and Matisyahu at the MTV Movie Awards. She is featured on the Jillian Michaels Fitness DVD series entitled, "No More Trouble Zones" and "Banish the Fat, Boost Your Metabolism", currently sold in stores worldwide. Saleemah danced lead with Chris Brown in Ludacris' music video, "I Know What Them Girls Like" and made a guest appearance in Jamie Foxx's "Blame It On the Alcohol" music video. She was also featured on Gatorade's Mission G Episode 3 of "Leave It On the Floor" featuring well-known artist, Will.I.Am of The Black Eyed Peas. Knight has choreographed fashion shows for Christian Audigier's Ed Hardy apparel line, which featured America's Next Top Model winner, Whitney Thompson. She has also danced on tour with actor and recording artist Tyrese for the Transformers and The Fast and the Furious movie premieres. Saleemah has appeared on Country Music Television (CMT) as a featured dance instructor for the television series, "MADE". Her performance abilities have deemed her recipient of The University of Arizona's Medici Fine Arts Scholarship, the Brian Friedman Millennium Dance Scholarship, the Gus Giordano Scholarship, Coca Cola's Leadership Scholarship, as well as fellowships and awards at the University of California, Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts. In addition, Knight is a past selected company member for Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II and Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago II. Saleemah's choreographic expertise has grabbed the attention of entertainers worldwide. She has been the selected choreographer for various performers, ranging from MTV Asia, to The Bay to the A Tour, featuring well-known recording artists Bosko Kante, E-40, Rick Ross, Lil' Jon and Busta Rhymes and has done artist development for Akon's former singing sensation, Tami Chynn. Saleemah's Contemporary Dance work entitled "The Drowning" was also performed at the American Cancer Society Benefit Concert located in Beverly Hills, California, benefiting cancer patients across the United States. Saleemah provided movement coaching and artistic direction for Latin rap artist Daddy Yankee's "Limbo" music video and was the choreographer for his "La Noche de Los Dos" music video, both directed by Jessy Terrero of Cinema Giants (formerly known as Terrero Films). Knight was also commissioned by Cinema Giants to choreograph the "Que Viva La Vida" music video for international Puerto Rican pop artist, Wisin (formerly of Wisin y Yandel) as well as the "La Malquerida" music video for Latin pop princess, Chiquis Rivera. Saleemah has provided movement coaching for recording artist Wiz Khalifa as well as created choreography for Jan and Dean's legendary hit "Surf City" on behalf of the Cigna Healthcare memorial gala. As an instructor, dance educator and master teacher Saleemah offers repertoire and technical development to students in the concert dance realm as well as movement coaching for recording artists. She provides discussion workshops regarding the pursuit of the arts in the concert, commercial and academic realms. During the academic season, she has provided undergraduate dance courses at the University of California, Irvine and Santa Ana College in Jazz, Modern and Hip Hop Dance. She has also taught Modern and Jazz Dance technique as a guest instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and as a graduate associate at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been an invited guest speaker and Jazz master class instructor at Loyola Marymount University, Complexions Contemporary Ballet's pre-professional summer trainee program, Tremaine Dance Convention, CLI Studios, Laguna Dance Festival, Ballet Plus Miami, New Century Dance Project, Dance Teacher Magazine's Dance Teacher Summit, hosted by Break the Floor, as well as Break the Floor's JUMP Dance Convention and Dancer-Palooza events. Knight was recently an international guest master teacher and choreographer for St. Petersburg, Russia's DAR Jazz Festival in January 2020 and also a speaker for Rihanna's "Ladies Night" women's empowerment event sponsored by Fenty x Rihanna and Shiekh Shoes. Saleemah is a recurring guest instructor and choreographer at the prestigious Debbie Allen Dance Academy. In the spirit of providing arts accessibility for low-income communities, Knight also offers dance outreach classes to inner city youth. Saleemah E. Knight currently teaches Jazz Dance technique as well as theory courses in the areas of world studies, Jazz Dance history and popular culture on faculty at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, choreographs live productions and music videos and teaches master classes worldwide. She is also the artistic inspiration behind Shop Saleemah, a shoppable Instagram-based store featuring ready-to-wear fashion and dancewear. Knight is known for her outstanding instruction and choreography in Jazz and Contemporary Jazz; she was recently featured in Dance Teacher Magazine as a leading university professor in the field of Jazz Dance. Saleemah is currently featured as a dance historian and narrator on UPROOTED: The Journey of Jazz Dance, an international award-winning film and Jazz Dance documentary alongside dance legends such as Debbie Allen and Chita Rivera, notable choreographers such as Mandy Moore and Josh Bergasse, and renowned scholars such as Thomas F. DeFrantz. She continues to bring her academic expertise, professional and vibrant attitude to recording artists, dance programs, performing companies and academic universities worldwide.