A native of Worcester, South Africa, Hisham Omardien has been a recognized member of Columbus’ artistic community for over two decades. Following his training at the Julie Hickman Academy of Dance and upon his graduation from the University of Cape Town Ballet School, Omardien danced with both the Cape Town City Ballet and State Theatre Ballet before joining BalletMet in 2000. A two-time recipient of the prestigious South African Balletomanes Award, Omardien also earned the Violetta Boft Memorial Award in 2004. His favorite performance roles were the lead in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, the title role in David Nixon’s Dracula and the role of Armand in Veronica Paeper’s Camille. Now retired as a dancer and Rehearsal Director, Omardien is married to fellow retired company dancer Olivia Clark, with whom he is raising daughter Safiyyah and son Zayn. He is the Movement Director of the Wheatstone Academy of Performing Arts (WAPA). Here he shares his knowledge of theatre and stage with the High School level students in their yearly play and musical. When he’s not engaged with the local artistic community on a project basis, Omardien and his family proudly operate Hisham’s Food Truck, featuring a unique and artistic blend of South African, Indian and American cuisines (HishamsFood.com).