5 Performance + 4 UArts Degrees = 1 Talented Family

You could say that UArts is not just an alma mater for the Taylors—it was the staging ground for their future. Arthur Taylor BFA ’90 (Theater) and his wife Shawnta Smith-Taylor BFA ’94 (Modern Dance) first met during Shawnta’s freshman year. Both alumni of Duke Ellington High School in Washington, D.C., they were matched at UArts through an incoming student mentorship program. 

“I was four years older, so I didn’t know her,” Arthur said. “Later, we realized I had actually seen Shawnta perform a Janet Jackson impersonation at a high school talent show. But we officially met in Philadelphia, and that’s when Cupid’s arrow struck.”

That first meeting led to a beautiful friendship, romance, marriage, parenthood, and creative partnership. The Taylors eventually co-founded Imagine Dance Theatre, a highlight in their respectively distinguished arts careers. (When their children were old enough, they performed as a family at the Kennedy Center.) 

Through it all, UArts has remained an important foundation and a touchpoint. 

“At UArts, we got to study with pioneers like Walter Dallas and dancers who had performed with Alvin Ailey and Philadanco,” Shawnta said. “At one point, I was offered the chance to dance with Alvin Ailey myself, but I decided to stay at UArts and finish my degree. I am so glad I did and had that background, so I could later teach.” 

Today, the Taylors’ three daughters—Rhapsody BFA ’20 (Dance), Viola BFA ’23 (Dance) and Brazil—are performing artists, too. Rhapsody and Viola followed in their parents’ footsteps to UArts, and to their delight, studied with some of the same faculty members who taught their parents.

Rhapsody said her parents never pressured them to go into the arts, but simply being immersed in their world and watching them perform and teach inspired her to follow a similar path. 

“It’s about much more than dance—it’s about Black excellence, and that has motivated me to keep going,” Rhapsody said. She currently lives in Los Angeles, where she is pursuing a multi-hyphenate career as a choreographer, dancer, actor, and model. 

Viola, now dancing with Contemporary West Dance Theater in Las Vegas, chose UArts on the strength of its ballet program and after seeing firsthand her sister’s inspiring performances on campus. 

“Hearing about my parents’ and sister’s experiences at UArts held nothing but positivity,” Viola said. 

Now artist educators working in New Jersey, the Taylors still return to campus whenever they can—not just to see their children, but also to cheer on their high school students who enrolled at UArts and teach master classes. They continue to stay connected with faculty and fellow alumni, both professionally and personally. And, they look forward to seeing where their children’s careers take them. 

“We gave our kids everything we had, but you don’t choose this path because your parents did,” Shawnta said. “You have to do this because you love it, because you have a passion for it. And we all do.”