Thea Nerissa Barnes (1952–2018) was a dancer, choreographer and teacher.

Early life

Theo Nerissa Barnes was born in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

on 2 February 1952. She grew up on Chicago's South Side and attended Calumet High School. She showed an interest in dance from an early age.

Career

After moving to New York, she achieved a BA in dance from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

and a Masters in Dance Education from

Columbia Teachers College Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

. She studied at Arthur Mitchell's

Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served ...

after winning a scholarship and trained in a variety of techniques with practitioners in the field including Igor Schwezoff and DanceAfrica founder Chuck Davis. She began her professional career with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (1972) and later became a principal dancer with the

Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded by Martha Graham in 1926, is both the oldest dance company in the United States and the oldest integrated dance company. The company is critically acclaimed in the artistic world and has been recognized as " ...

from 1979; she stayed for ten years. She toured worldwide and during her career danced with a number of dance companies including the Julian Swain Inner City Dance Theatre in Chicago as a soloist and guest performer. She performed on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, in film and on television and venues included

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

and

Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...

in Paris. In 1992 she moved to London to teach at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance, transferring to

Phoenix Dance Theatre Phoenix Dance Theatre is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, that has grown from small beginnings in inner-city Leeds to be one of Britain’s leading contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of Concert dance, danc ...

and becoming its artistic director in 1997. Between 2001 and 2018 she was resident dance supervisor for the West End production of

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

. Described by Associate Newspapers as "a truly beautiful and expressive dancer", Barnes has been praised for inspiring and nurturing black performers both in the US and the UK. Meticulous and keen to get the best from her dancers she also considered their well-being a major priority. She died on 28 December 2018 in Chicago.

References

External links

Igor Schwezoff (1904-1982)Thea Barnes Legacy FundThea Nerissa BarnesThea Nerissa BarnesJulian Swain (1924-2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Thea Narissa 1952 births 2018 deaths American choreographers American dancers People from Columbus, Georgia American dance teachers