SHOSHANA WASSERMAN
Shoshana Wasserman
Shoshana Wasserman, a Native American
from the Muskogee and Seminole tribes, resides in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma. She has been the Artistic Director for the Great
American Indian Dancers since 1987. In addition to her artistic
duties with the company, she also serves as public relations and
marketing director for the City Arts Center of Oklahoma City.
Shoshana began her performing career at the Lyric Theatre in
Oklahoma City. She then continued her studies at Cameron
University in Lawton, Oklahoma on a theater scholarship. While
attending Cameron, she performed in a variety of stage shows at
the University Theater and with Cameron University
Children’s Theater Company. In 1988, Shoshana graduated from
the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Science Degree in
elementary education, specializing in minority research. She is
currently working on a Master’s Degree in public relations
at the University of Oklahoma.
Since her performances with the University Theater, she has
performed in the Oklahoma Children’s Theater show entitled:
KIOWA STORIES FROM THE EARTH. She has also done appearances in
numerous industrial films as a part of the Fullerton Modeling and
Acting Agency. In addition, she helped design and perform in a
national educational video which targets young Native American
students in the prevention of Diabetes.
As Artistic Director for the company, Shoshana has combined her
educational and theater background in designing the Great
American Indian Dancers Children’s Concert and Workshop
Series. These products combine sound educational principles with
theatrical techniques to create both an entertaining and
educational experience. For her efforts, she was recognized at
the National Indian Education Conference in Anchorage, Alaska as
a leader in implementing Native American dance in school
cirriculum.
She currently serves as the chairman of the Oklahoma State
Commission of Indian Affair’s "Cultural Arts Promotion
Society" and as a cultural advisor for the Joseph Harp
Correctional Facility in Lexington, Oklahoma. She is active in
promoting young Indian women through her involvement in local and
state pageants. She has served as head women dancer for many
Native American gatherings and has won numerous awards in Indian
women’s dance competition.
Shoshana is a well balanced performer and arts manager with a
combination of classical theater, educational and traditional
Native American teachings that enables her to design and
choreograph performances for a wide variety of audiences. Her
travels with the company have taken her throughout the United
States, Mexico and Europe.