Shayma trained under Mahraj Ghulam Husain Kathak for over seven years in Lahore, starting at age six in the year that General Zia's dictatorship began. Moving to Karachi in the mid-80s she continued Kathak under Nighat Chaodhry and Odissi under Sheema Kermani. In the first public dance performance by women in over a decade, the night Benazir Bhutto first addressed the nation as PM (December 1988), Shayma performed with Kermani’s group at the Arts Council of Pakistan. Shortly after democracy’s restoration Shayma left for Grinnell where she studied under B. G. Voertman, danced and choreographed for the Grinnell Dance Troupe and subsequently continued Modern Dance at Barnard College (while pursuing an MIA at Columbia University), American Dance Festival (NC), Dance New Amsterdam (NY), Dance Place (DC), etc.

Shayma has given acclaimed performances in Pakistan, USA, UK, and Canada, and continued Kathak training under the masters. She has written on Pakistan for the International Encyclopedia of Dance (Oxford University Press-USA), interviewed Pakistani dancers at leading public forums, and taught science through dance at Karachi’s Children’s Literature Festival. Cirque du Soleil invited her to apply as “Principal Dancer” (Oceane) for Dralion’s  European tour, but prior commitments prevented it.