Thomas Ford | Photo courtesy of Ford

Thomas Ford, MFA, is an interdisciplinary contemporary dance artist and scholar. His research examines the mechanisms of identity and culture through an exploration of embodiment, choreography, and Black, queer, critical, and performance studies. Since 2016, he has collaborated with artistic partner—and husband—Steven Atwater. Using original sound scores, technology spanning mediated forms, and emergent movement vocabularies inspired by historically ostracized bodies and sci-fi folklore, they build worlds, where the social, political and cultural entangle with the aesthetics of their collective histories.

Ford’s choreographic work has appeared at the Joyce Theater, Symphony Space, Ailey Citigroup Theater and the Kaye Playhouse, and been presented at Next@Graham, the Peridance APEX Showcase, the Capezio A.C.E. Awards, the STEPS Performance Lab and the Joffrey Ballet School’s winter and summer concerts. His writing has appeared in ELLE, Dance Magazine, Movement Research Performance Journal, the Brooklyn Rail, Dance Spirit—where he served as a contributing editor—Dance Teacher, the Dance Enthusiast, and CultureBot. His writing is part of a forthcoming anthology, edited by Sherrie Barr and Karen Schupp, that will be published in 2024.

His performance credits include The Kennedy Center Honors, The Today Show (NBC), Debbie Allen’s “Dreams,” A Capitol Fourth (PBS), The Radio One Music Awards and performances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He has toured with Mike Minery’s “Tapaholics” and the renowned D.C.-based troupe, Tappers With Attitude. He has performed Darvejon Jones’ Afro-contemporary work at the Kraine Theater and La Mama Experimental Theatre Club in NYC.

Ford has taught at the Joffrey Ballet School (NY), Marymount Manhattan College and Hunter College/CUNY, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Dance Education (JoDE). The National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA/YoungArts) recognized him as a Presidential Scholar.

Ford holds a BA from Marymount Manhattan College and a MFA in dance from Hunter College/CUNY.