Norwegian Cruise Line

In the past, Jess worked as a dancer and aerialist for the Norwegian Jewel (December 2016-June 2017) touring the Panama Canal, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Columbia, Mexico, Alaska and Canada. Jess performed seven different productions for a total of nine shows a week. These shows were under the direction of Ricky Whitfield and Jenn Rapp Pearl, and included Band on The Run and Le Cirque Bijou.

Freelance

After her return from NCL in 2017, she performed her own 2017-2018 solo work throughout Philadelphia venues like the Trocadero Theatre, Koresh Dance and Philadelphia’s Community Education Center. As a freelance artist, she performed for Kevan Sullivan & Dancers and Jim Bunting Dance Company at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in November 2019 for the annual Koresh Come Together Dance Festival. She also performed her own aerial/dance show for a private party event in October 2019.

Jess collaborated with Tyger B on a dance film in the summer of 2020. Most recently, she danced for singer Matthew Schuler’s (contestant on Season Five of The Voice) music video for his newest song, We Rule The Night, in October 2020.

Teaching

Since 2010, she has choreographed and taught a variety of dance classes at studios including but not limited to 12th Street Gym, Releve Dance Academy, Edge Dance Company, Stars Studio of Dance & Performing Arts, Dance with Celeste and Dance Dynamics. She teaches master classes, & workshops/intensives for other local dance studios. She explores her own acrobatic, contemporary-fusion movement and continues to choreograph her own projects and performances in hopes of expanding her knowledge of movement and being a versatile performer/choreographer.

Over the summer of 2020, Jess attended Broadway Dance Center’s Dance Teacher Workshop for Jazz & Contemporary and continues to take classes and educate herself to improve her teaching skills.

Jess teaches weekly All-Level Handstands and Strength & Mobility classes with Almanac, as well as adult dance classes with Project Moshen. She also works as an instructor and choreographer at the Institute of Dance Artistry, Diverse Dance Company, Dance Arts Collaborative and Rising Star Dance Academy. She teaches a wide range of classes such as acrobatics, jazz, contemporary, ballet, hip-hop, street jazz, improvisation/choreography, as well as strength, conditioning, and mobility classes. She teaches children, teens and adults! You can sign up for private lessons, too!

Choreography

Jess performed her solo dance choreography “Un-Numbing” again in May 2018 for ETC Performance Series at the Community Education Center. This piece first premiered in October 2017 when Jess performed for RAW: Philadelphia's Savor at The Trocadero and for the Koresh Artist Showcase at Koresh Dance. In October 2018 Jess performed her aerial sling act “Magic Me” in Chestnut Hill for the annual Wizards and Witches Festival and in June 2018 she performed her solo dance trapeze act “Lights” at Secret Circus. Jess choreographs and performs for independent projects including bar mitzvahs, weddings, film and more.

Education

Jess graduated with a BFA in Dance from The University of the Arts (UArts) in Philadelphia on scholarship with honors in May of 2016. During her time at UArts, Jess worked with and performed choreography by Sidra Bell, Jesse Zaritt, Robert Battle, Ronen Koresh, Shen Wei, Dinita and Kyle Clark, Wayne St. David, Tommie Waheed-Evans, Gary Jeter, and Netta Yerushalmy. In the Spring of 2016, she was honored to perform excerpts from Douglas Becker's Vile Parody and Katie Swords Thurman's Casting into The Void in Lille, France and Brussels, Belgium as one of thirteen dancers chosen for the UArts’ Touring Europe Ensemble. Jess presented her senior thesis work ”Subluxation“ at UArts in the Winter of 2015.

Additional Training

During the summer of 2015 she attended The School at Jacob’s Pillow on scholarship for the Social Dances: Jazz to Hip Hop intensive. There she attended social dance workshops and performed works by the program directors, Camille A. Brown and Eric Moncell E. Durden, and guest artists, Francine Ott and Adesola Osakalumi. Jess was invited to attend the Augusta Heritage Festival of 2015 at Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, WV on scholarship, studying American vernacular dance. 

Since June 2017, Jess has flown into aerial work at Secret Circus in East Falls. She seeks an additional performance passion in aerial trapeze, silks, rope, sling, and lyra, while working independently as a dancer and choreographer. Jess continues her education and training in movement by taking aerial, dance, yoga, pole, cycling and gymnastics classes in addition to her company training/rehearsals and regular weight-training/workouts.