Producing Dancers Strong in
Body, Mind and Spirit for 80+ Years!
Colby Shinn
Eastern Shore Director
Colby Shinn is a vibrant and versatile artist. He is from a 3rd generation professional dance family and has gone on to work with award winning choreographers for Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With The Stars, World of Dance and more! He has been awarded the Nappie Award for “Best Dancer” and “Best Dance Performance of the Year” for his piece, “The Opus.” At the young age of 16, he was already a National Award Winning Choreographer, with his work being nationally awarded by Chita Rivera, Paula Abdul and Mitzi Gaynor.
He most recently worked as the choreographer & a dancing / acting role for the hit film, About My Father, performing alongside Robert De Niro, Sebastian Maniscalco, Leslie Bibb and Kim Catrall.
He performed as a Principal Dancer in the Bazzi / Camila Cabello hit music video, Beautiful & also performed in The Receipt, a National Commercial for Walmart directed by Seth Rogen & choreographed by Tricia Miranda which debuted at The Oscars. Additional projects include choreography for New York Fashion Week, choreography featured on NBC’s The Today Show and performing in 29th Annual Gypsy Awards in Hollywood, honoring Paula Abdul & Dick Van Dyke. He was the choreographer of the World War II film, USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage starring Nicolas Cage & Matt Lanter. Other recent projects include being featured in Almost Friends working alongside Freddie Highmore & Haley Joel Osment, choreographing the Two Way Crossing music video, Car Trouble, choreographing & starring in The George Twins’ hit music video, Diana, and he was featured in the Bruce Willis film, Vice. In recent years, he performed with LeAnn Rimes on CMA Country Christmas airing on ABC, choreography featured on Britney Spears’ official website for her #1 hit single Hold It Against Me, and performed in a tribute to Screen Legend, Ann-Margret.
Colby’s re-staged work of Janet Jackson’s iconic Rhythm Nation was recently featured on Janet’s social media and praised by her original choreographer, Anthony Thomas. He has choreographed and performed for the National Distinguished Young Women Organization including their Rock The Runway fashion benefit. His national award winning choreography for Major Universities, including the University of Alabama, has been featured on the UDA National Championships airing on ESPN. He has appeared in Dance Studio Life Magazine and awarded “Best Choreography” by Dance Spirit Magazine for recording artist, Lauren Hildebrandt. Stage credits include the 22nd Annual Gypsy Awards in Hollywood honoring TV / Film Icon, Mary Tyler Moore, the “Oscars of Fashion”, The Michael Awards, in New York, and the Jazz Dance World Congress. Other television credits include performing with Paula Abdul on ESPN, E! News, the America’s Junior Miss National Finals on TNN / PAX and Studio 10 on FOX.
In his competitive days, he was a Seven-Time National Title Winner, including winning Debbie Allen’s National FAMEUS Challenge, chosen by Raven Symone and being the first ever, 3-time “National Dancer of the Year” with Tremaine Dance Conventions, from which he became a Faculty member for nearly 10 years. Colby assisted and was mentored by the legendary Joe Tremaine and the late, great, Doug Caldwell. He has also toured with JUMP Dance Convention and The Dance Awards. Colby’s tremendous energy and emphasis on technique and style has put him in demand as an International Master Teacher and Choreographer, where he has recently worked in Canada, Mexico, the All You Can Dance Festival in Austria, and the Jazz Dance Fest Costa Rica.