Meet Shatia Jones

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shatia Jones. 

Hi Shatia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I am a New Jersey native from a small town called Irvington. I’m a wife and have a 2-year-old daughter that is fully engaged in to arts as well. My passion for the arts begin once I went into foster care at the age of 6. Dance was always an outlet for me, once that music played, I could not stop moving or daydreaming of being on stage. Once my grandfather’s wife decided to take my sisters and I into custody she enrolled me into a dance school where I trained in all styles ballet, jazz, Hip-hop, lyrical, and theater. I understood what the arts did for me so I’ve always wanted to give back to other children who experienced similar trauma so I landed my first contracted choreography job with the city of Irvington at the age of 15 teaching Hip-hop to children within the inner city. Once I graduated, I migrated to Maryland for college at the University of Easter Shore “UMES” Hawk Pride! There I became the president over the campus dance team Ambiance Dance Company where I was able to connect with other creatives and build my vision on how I would run my choreography business. By age 18 I was booking jobs globally and was a choreographer full time outside of my studies. Once I graduated college, I moved to Baltimore City, and my urge to give back was still always my mission so I started providing free dance sessions at the Rec center just for fun. From there I 1 Star choreography LLC my brand was being created. I picked up contracts at dance studios, nonprofit organizations, and joined a mentor through dance program to give back to the youth. I am so passionate about giving back that I changed professional fields to working with the Y Head Start of Baltimore city, Anne Arundle County, and Baltimore County as the Senior Director of Education where many of my education plans encompass the arts as I am living proof that the arts can have a tremendous impact on children with traumatic backgrounds and still persevere using the arts as an outlet. Currently, my brand has grown tremendously I have had the pleasure to work with many celebrities and major TV networks. I also offer dance opportunities to aspiring dancers within the area helping many of them build a resume to support them with living out their dreams. While I feel very fur-filled my work with the youth is not done yet. I hope to connect with a larger scale of the youth in Baltimore city within the next 3 years. My goal is to connect as many hearts through creativity as possible. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It had not been a smooth road for my business. One of the challenges has been moving from NUC/NJ area and rebuilding here in Baltimore. I really did not know who to connect with or really where to start I just kept faith that I would cross the right people in my path. There are some dark paths within industry work learning who to trust is important. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am the Senior Director of the Y Head Start Baltimore County Program. My role within the organization is very substantial it is my job to make sure that I am providing high-quality learning to children and Families in low-income homes. I take pride in building a family up by first starting with the parent to help support the whole child and supporting the family become self-sufficient. In my professional role, I specialize in educational learning domains however to me I specialize in giving back. During the pandemic, we were all forced to pivot and mental health was at an all-time high. I am so proud that I was able to provide support to families and individuals professionally. Professionally I created a full virtual program and was able to support education within the homes I am most proud of the fact that I was awarded the cause-driven leadership award for driving these efforts in Leading operations at the Y of Central Maryland. Creative wise provided virtual sessions to adults and children that had workshops at the end where people were able to connect and just talk about challenging topics under my choreography brand. I would say what sets me apart from others is that I strive to make a difference with the focus on not just our youth but the parents. I do everything with love and passion. 

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I am the eldest of 8 and we all have the same parents. People are always shocked when I share this because I was adopted and they say that I look very young. 

Pricing:

• Dance/ Fitness workshops $12-$25 pp
• Choreography for schools/ non profits $50 hr
• Private Party Events $150-$600
• Video Shoots/ Creative Direction $200-$2,000
• Background Dancers live show $150-$300

Contact Info:

• Email: 1starchoreography@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.1starchoreo.com/
• Instagram: Only_1star & 1star.choreography