Alum in the Spotlight: Shawnée Warfield

The great choreographer Alvin Ailey famously said, “The creative process is not controlled by a switch you can simply turn on or off; it’s with you all the time.” LIHSA alum Shawnée Warfield embodies this quote and concept in her life where the arts and creativity are frontmost in everything she does.

Growing up on Long Island, Shawnée started dancing when she was five years old. Her home studio was the Venettes Cultural Workshop where she learned Ballet, Point, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, and African dance as well as modeling. In high school, she auditioned to attend LIHSA (then called the Cultural Arts Center) and attended for three years, graduating in 1991. Shawnée shares, “I remember everything. Ava Favara was the principal. We had live piano in the studio during ballet classes and it made you feel so alive. We were deeply immersed in dance forms, learned dance history, appreciation and technique. My teachers – Ho­­­­rtey (Loeb), Bunty (Helen “Bunty” Kelley), and Janice (Aguilera), and Janis will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Shawnée earned a scholarship to Broadway Dance Center where she studied with the legendary Frank Hatchett. There she also met a young Savion Glover who was also studying.

After graduating from high school, Shawnée went on to Hofstra University and earned her Bachelors in Communication and Broadcasting, concentrating on TV. She graduated in 1994 and went on to act in movies, television, and commercials, including acting roles in New York Undercover and The Preacher’s Wife. She also had a lead role in an off, off Broadway production. In that time, she also owned and ran the Good News Cultural Arts Dance Studio in Hempstead. She taught Liturgical Dance which she loved. She and her husband – who she met at Hofstra – also took up ballroom dancing for fun, learning new dance forms like the waltz, swing,tango, merengue, salsa, and fox trot. Shawnée loved all forms of dance and just kept exploring. “Dance has been interwoven into everything I have ever done,” she reflects.

After returning to Hofstra to earn her Masters in Education, Shawnée became a dance and physical education teacher in New York City. She went on to teach as a classroom teacher in an elementary school on Long Island where she integrated arts into her classrooms. “Lessons were always arts based,” she shared. “Whether it was poetry, spoken word, or dance. For example, we’d create a water cycle dance to learn science lessons.” She also taught Ballet, Jazz, and African Dance for 6th graders.

Shawnée later earned a second masters degree in Educational Administration, becoming an assistant principal and later a principal of an elementary school. Shawnée has kept arts deeply connected to her schools’ philosophy of learning. After seeing the documentary film Mad Hot Ballroom, she started advocating for the classroom ballroom dance program that was so successful in New York City to come to her school on Long Island. For many years she was told no, it was just a NYC program. But she persisted and in 2017, she connected with Dancing Classrooms and her school successfully implemented this wonderful program, with her students earning top places in area competitions. Dancing Classrooms of Long Island re-emerged as Artbeat LI and Shawnée sits on the board of that nonprofit organization.

You can add another area of art to Shawnée’s list of accomplishments and that is children’s book co-author! She began working with legendary Hip Hop Pioneer, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and Co-Founder of Run-DMC, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels (aka DMC), whom she met when he was a guest speaker when she was an elementary school teacher. When I became assistant principal, and principal, I continued to work with DMC to have him speak and uplift my school community. I was inspired by his words and his story. She shares, “He uplifted the students and the staff.” She suggested he turn his story into a children’s book. “I said that everyone knows you as a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. But your childhood story, facing difficulties and bullying – this should be a book.” After originally rejecting the idea, Shawnée got a call from him saying he couldn’t get the idea out of his mind, and that he was ready and wanted to write a children’s book, but he wanted Shawnée and her husband Johnny, (also an educator) to write it with him. Thus, Darryl’s Dream was born! They have recently collaborated on another children’s book for holidays. This newest title that is added to DMC children’s book series is called, Darryl’s Christmas in Hollis. See him speak about this book on the Today Show here.

When they can, Shawnée and her husband travel with Darryl to talk about the book and help inspire multi generational audiences of readers.

In June, Shawnée was honored to receive the 2026 New York State Senate “Educators Inspiring A Generation Award” for the innovative ways she infuses the Arts into her school community. This inspires her to continue her work, “I am looking forward to continuing to shine and grow.”

Among Shawnée’s growth includes a year under her belt in a Doctoral program at Molloy College (currently on pause since she’s also a principal, book author, wife, and mother of two), and in addition to being on the Board of Artbeat LI, she’s also on the Board of Portledge School in Locust Valley. She also loves basketball; she and her husband both played competitively in high school and college. They go to as many basketball games as they can. And, of course she continues to dance as well as attend as many arts and cultural events and performances as possible.

For current and future students, Shawnée offers, “Make your dreams as big as the sky. Beyond the sky! Just stay focused and nothing is impossible. Nothing. Dream BIG and work hard. And you don’t need to stay in one lane. If I had stayed in one lane doing just one thing, I wouldn’t have had all the amazing experiences I have had. Just find happiness and joy in what you do.”

Thank you, Shawnée, for bringing so much happiness, joy, art, creativity, and thoughtfulness into all you do!