Thea Barnes

Thea Nerissa Barnes (1952–2018) was a dancer, choreographer, and teacher born in Columbus, Georgia on February 2, 1952. She grew up on Chicago's South Side, where she attended Calumet High School and developed an early interest in dance. After relocating to New York, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in dance from the Juilliard School and a Master's degree in Dance Education from Columbia Teachers College. Her training extended to Arthur Mitchell's Dance Theatre of Harlem, where she studied on scholarship, and she worked with practitioners including Igor Schwezoff and Chuck Davis, the founder of DanceAfrica.

Barnes launched her professional career with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1972. She subsequently became a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1979, a position she held for ten years. Throughout her performing career she also appeared as a soloist and guest performer with the Julian Swain Inner City Dance Theatre in Chicago, and she performed at venues including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Palais Garnier in Paris, touring worldwide with various companies.

Her Broadway work included appearances in Treemonisha and The Wiz, both in 1975. Beyond the stage, Barnes performed in film and on television as well.

In 1992 Barnes moved to London to teach at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance. She later joined Phoenix Dance Theatre, becoming its artistic director in 1997. From 2001 until her death she served as resident dance supervisor for the West End production of The Lion King. Barnes died on December 28, 2018, in Chicago.