Adjunct Artistic Staff
School Faculty
Phillip Fobbs – Site Assoc/Stretch/Hip-Hop Faculty – Phillip Fobbs joined Dissonance Dance Theatre in 2016. Phillip is a native of the Washington, DC area. He began his training Dance Dimensions dance studio. He relocated to Lithia, FL in 2014, and continued training under Victoria’s School of Dance. Fobbs also attended Ngoma Center for Dance’s Summer DanceLab. Phillip was a member of Dance Dimensions’s Professional Dance Company from 2010 to 2013. Fobbs was the original soloist in Short’s Ben (2017), original cast in Short’s Lose Yourself (2017).
Tisa Huff, BFA – Education Associate – Ballet/Modern Faculty – Tisa was a member of Dissonance Dance Theatre from 2008-2013. A solid performer with beautiful stage sensibility, Tisa was a pillar in DDT’s ranks. She is the original female soloist in Short’s spiritual-inspired work Utopia Fallen in 2008. She performed Short’s solo in his legato-themed work Reflect Movement #1 recorded by PBS in 2012. A native Washingtonian, her pre-professional art-training started at Duke Ellington School of the Arts, a pre-professional arts training in Washington, D.C. Tisa trained under the direction of Charles Augins, Sandra Fortune-Green, Katherine Smith, Treanna Alexander, and Kikki Sutton. Mrs. Huff has worked with notable choreographers: Louis Johnson, Christopher Huggins, Kevin Malone, Bill Evans and Garth Fagan. She received her BFA in Dance from New World School of the Arts.
Anthony Spivey, BFA – Site Assoc.– Modern/Jazz Faculty – Anthony joined Dissonance in 2017. Originally from Mississippi, Anthony began his dance training at Mississippi’s School of Arts and moved to Montgomery, AL to study on scholarship at Alabama State University. Graduating with high honors, he received his BFA in dance from ASU. Within his matriculation, he had the privilege of training with artists and choreographers such as Roger C. Jeffrey, Thang Dao, Yin Yue, and Alonzo King of Lines Ballet. Company credit includes performances with the Montgomery Ballet.
Shawn Short, MFA – Ballet Faculty – Founding Director, Dissonance Dance Theatre, Ngoma Center for Dance
Southern roots with DC-area rearing, Shawn has studied with nationally and internationally acclaimed artists including faculty and dancers from Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Lines Ballet, Washington Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dance Institute of Washington, Dance Alloy, Philadanco, Towson University, Baltimore and Duke Ellington School of Performing Arts. As a student of ballet pedagogy, Shawn studied with John White, Margarita De Saa and the former Washington School of Ballet Director Kee Juan Han. His performance credits include work with K2 Dance, Adrian Bolton Dance, El Teatro de Danza Contemporanea El Salvador, and Bolton/Smith. He has also served as a guest artist with Dance Alloy in Pennsylvania. Mr. Short is a Founding Faculty member of the Washington Ballet@THEARC. Read more…
Southern roots with DC-area rearing, Shawn has studied with nationally and internationally acclaimed artists including faculty and dancers from Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Lines Ballet, Washington Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dance Institute of Washington, Dance Alloy, Philadanco, Towson University, Baltimore and Duke Ellington School of Performing Arts. As a student of ballet pedagogy, Shawn studied with John White, Margarita De Saa and the former Washington School of Ballet Director Kee Juan Han. His performance credits include work with K2 Dance, Adrian Bolton Dance, El Teatro de Danza Contemporanea El Salvador, and Bolton/Smith. He has also served as a guest artist with Dance Alloy in Pennsylvania. Mr. Short is a Founding Faculty member of the Washington Ballet@THEARC. Read more…
Tony Thomas, BS – Jazz Faculty – New York-based artist, Tony has toured, performed, and worked as a professional entertainer and designer, scoping a range of television, film, stage, and architecture. In performance, he was featured as Joseph in Theatre Alliance’s production of Black Nativity, in the Olney Theatre Center’s production of Guys & Dolls, and the Fringe Festival where he was honored to star as Renell Gonsalves, alongside renowned jazz saxophonist, David Yarborough, in Paul Gonsalves on the Road. After completing the national tour of West Side Story, Tony was featured in A Chorus Line as Richie at the Olney Theatre Center, where the cast won the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Musical. As a choreographer, Tony was nominated for his work by the Helen Hayes Awards, for Outstanding Choreography in a Play – Word Becomes Flesh. Expanding his opportunity even further, he was honored with the opportunity to work alongside celebrated director Psalmayene24 in his children’s hip-hop story, The Freshest Snow Whyte at Imagination Stage and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown with theatre master, Aaron Posner. Other local guest artist, workshop, and choreography credits include, Studio Theatre, Forum Theatre, Mosaic Theatre, Anacostia Playhouse, Signature Theatre, and Constellation Theatre.