Tobin James

Tobin James has enjoyed a career in performance, dance education, and arts administration for over 25 years, providing technical training to aspiring artists, and collaborative leadership to arts organizations. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of the Arts, and both Master of Arts and Doctor of Education degrees in Education Administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). A graduate of the Training Program for the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, Tobin received instruction from Pearl Lang, Peggy Lyman, Thea Nerissa Barnes, and David Hochoy, and now specializes in teaching the Martha Graham Technique to students at the intermediate through professional levels.

Her professional dance experience includes the Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO), performing works by Louis Johnson, Gene Hill Sagan, and Saeko Ichinohe, while being taught by Pearl Primus, Denise Jefferson, Dolores Brown-Abelson, Pat Thomas, Milton Myers, and James Truitte. As a full scholarship recipient to the Martha Graham Center, Tobin was invited to join the Martha Graham Ensemble (Graham 2), under the direction of Yuriko Kikuchi. There she performed roles from Acts of Light, Heretic, Appalachian Spring, and Diversion of Angels. As a dance contributor to the Gospel music industry, she toured the country as a dancer and choreographer with The Young Messiah and Emmanuel tours, and was featured in video projects for artists such as Cece Winans, Ron Kenoly, and the Mississippi Mas Choir. Tobin joined Störling Dance Theater, performing as a soloist, principal dancer, and choreographic collaborator with Artistic Director, Mona Störling-Enna. Tobin has choreographed for such companies as Ballet Magnificat, Störling Dance Theater, Kansas City Youth Ballet, and Ballet 5:8. She has enjoyed choreographing musical theater productions for Sight and Sound Theaters, The Culture House Conservatory of the Arts, and the Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s annual production of A Christmas Carole.

Tobin served in an administrative capacity as the dance coordinator for Proper Management’s Young Messiah and Emmanuel National Tours, the associate artistic director of Störling Dance Theater, and the associate producer/Co choreographer for Störling’s long running production, Underground. Her commitment to excellence carries over to her role as an educator, where she has contributed to the technical and artistic development of dance artists for the Kansas City Ballet School, The Culture House Dance Academy, and as an adjunct professor of modern dance for the UMKC Conservatory. As a scholar-practitioner, Tobin (Dr. James) is the author of a doctoral dissertation on the history of dance activism in academia and peer-reviewed journal articles published in the Journal of Dance Education examining disability, and cultural humility in dance.