Shay Kuebler was born in 1984 and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. He began his artistic development at the age of 5 with dramatic arts and martial arts in Shito-Ryu Karate. His early artistic interests would lead him to dance, with a versatile background in Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary and Ballet. He continues to develop and further his artistic practice through travel and intensive study, which has included study in music, theatre, dance and martial arts in the USA, Brazil, Japan and China.
As a performer, he has worked in the fields of Tap, Hip Hop, Contemporary Dance, Circus Arts, Film and Theatre. He has performed for numerous companies across Canada, USA and The UK, including Kidd Pivot, Holy Body Tattoo, Pachimama Theatre, Line 1 and Company 605.
He has choreographed and directed works for The American Dance Festival, CitieBallet, Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, Moment Factory and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks.
In Vancouver, he was co-founder of The 605 Collective, and as the founder and Artistic Director of Shay Kuebler Radical System Art, he has produced and directed four full-evening dance works that have toured nationally and internationally: Karoshi, Glory, Telemetry, Feasting on Famine and Epilogos.
In 2010, he received the Holy Body Tattoo emerging artist award and in 2014 received The Mayor’s Arts Award for emerging dance artist from the City of Vancouver.