Thea N. Jones is a Nashville native, a seasoned performing artist, educator, and cultural curator dedicated to building and nurturing communities through the arts. She earned a BFA in Dance from Howard University in Washington DC and MS.Ed in Elementary education from Mercy College in New York City.
While at Howard, under the tutelage of Dr. Sherrill Berryman-Johnson, she performed works by esteemed choreographers like Hope Boykin, Louis Johnson, Debbie Blunden-Diggs, Ronald K. Brown, Assane Kante, Kim Greer, Mickey Davison, and Kevin Iega Jeff. Thea then spent nearly a decade in New York City, performing with celebrated companies, including the Rod Rodgers Dance Company, with whom she received recognition from the New York Times, Mirashayama Traditional Lindy Hop Company, Def Dance Jam Workshop, Kayoko Sakoh Dance Company, and Nommo Contemporary Dance Company. She has shared the stage with cultural icons like Gil Scott Heron and Ntosake Shange in venues such as Henry Street Settlement, La Mama, the Theatre at Riverside Church, the Hudson Guild Theatre, and Theatre for the New City.
Once returning back home to Nashville, Thea continued to contribute to the local arts landscape by creating and performing with Vyrgo Music, Windship Boyd, Dave Ragland, Rod McGaha, Shabaz Ujima, Shades of Black Theatre, TN Playwrights, Kindling Arts Festival, Brave New Works, Sankofa African Drum and Dance, and various other notable artists. She also collaborates with local organizations like Willow Oak Arts/ Springfield TN Arts Festival, the United Methodist Annual Conference Liturgical Ministry, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, AfroKokoRoot World Peace Festival, Deep Culture/ Deep Tropics, Nashville Ballet, The Jefferson Street Alliance, and Infinity Performing Arts Academy, contributing to missions, visions, and multi-part and multidisciplinary projects.
In 2017, she became co- artistic director of shackled feet DANCE! with Shabaz Ujima, the city’s only multi-generational, multi-abled modern dance company, and in 2018, she established Skylark Creative Alliance, an arts and culture advisory consultancy. Her passion for creative collaboration led her to develop and execute the internationally recognized “Intimate. See: An Interdisciplinary Women’s Project,” which culminated in a historic all-women’s ensemble performance at the international dance festival Time2Dance in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
Recognized as a “Hidden Gem” by Nashville Voyager Magazine in 2022, noted for her performances in works like “THAT WOMAN”, “FREEDOM RISING,” and “STEEL AWAY, and praised for her multi-partner execution of LITTLE AMAL| THE WALK Nashville in 2023, Thea N. Jones believes in the power of the arts to build and nurture communities and, most proudly, continues to encourage cross-continental conversation, perspective exploration, and meaningful and impactful creative exchanges.
Thea is THRILLED to join the creative team at the Nashville Children’s Theatre and looks forward to the MAGIC!
