Tobin James is an adjunct professor of modern dance for the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Conservatory, and on the modern dance faculty of the Kansas City Ballet School. She holds a BFA in modern dance from the University of the Arts, an MA in higher education administration from UMKC, and a certification from the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance. Tobin is a former member of the Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO), the Martha Graham Ensemble (Graham 2), and principal dancer and associate artistic director of Störling Dance Theater.
Tobin has performed works by notable choreographers Gene Hill Sagan, Louis Johnson, Yung Yung Tsuai, Pearl Lang, and Martha Graham. She toured the U.S. for five seasons as the choreographer/featured dance artist with The Young Messiah Tour, appeared in concert video productions for gospel artists Ron Kenoly, Cece Winans, and choreographed the Emmanuel Tour. Tobin is credited as co-choreographer and associate producer for Störling Dance Theater’s Underground, and has choreographed for Philadanco, Sight and Sound Theaters, Ballet Magnificat, Störling Dance Theater, Kansas City Youth Ballet, and the Kansas City Repertory Theatre. In 2020 Tobin launched The Pendleton Dance Project–a social issues-based dance initiative, and is a contributing author to the Journal of Dance Education’s Special Issue on Race and Dance Education.
