She enjoyed an extensive professional dance career dancing with Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project, Twyla Tharp Dance, Eliot Feld Ballet, Lucinda Childs Dance Company, Douglas Dunn + Dancers, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, and Sarah Michelson. Jennifer originated roles in several new works by Twyla Tharp, including Sweet Fields and Diabelli, and performed in Tharp’s iconic The Fugue. While a member of White Oak Dance Project, Jennifer was a part of the acclaimed Past/Forward, a retrospective and celebration of the Judson Dance Theater.Ìý

Jennifer performed nationally and internationally at renowned venues and festivals including Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Théâtre de la Ville, Sadler’s Wells, Caesarea Amphitheater in Israel, Sydney Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, Venice Biennale, Edinburgh Festival, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.Ìý

She has also served as rehearsal director for works by choreographers including Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, and Maria Konrad. In 2005, she collaborated with MacArthur Fellow Sarah Michelson to create Love is Everything for the Lyon Opera Ballet.Ìý

Following her stage career, Jennifer has dedicated herself to training dancers, serving as Artistic Director of the St. Paul’s School Ballet Program in Concord, NH; Director of Summer Programs at Colorado Conservatory of Dance; Teaching Artist with Jacques d’Amboise’s National Dance Institute (NDI) in New York; Ballet Faculty at Denver School of the Arts; and Managing Director of Celebrate the Beat, the Colorado affiliate of NDI.Ìý

Jennifer was the Dance Program Manager and a faculty member at Next Generation Ballet in Tampa. There, she led national recruitment, coached classical and contemporary solos for YAGP, and taught ballet and pointe for the pre-professional Trainee Program. Her former students have gone on to dance with companies including Houston Ballet, Staatsballett Berlin, Kansas City Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Ballet West II, and to study at The John Cranko School, National Ballet School of Canada, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre, and European School of Ballet.Ìý

She subsequently joined the faculty at Colorado Ballet, and Jennifer is now thrilled to join the Joffrey Ballet School as Artistic Director of the Children’s and Youth Program, where she looks forward to inspiring and mentoring young dancers. She lives in Brooklyn with herÌý

husband and their dog, Remi. Their daughter, an aspiring dancer, attends the Pôle National Supérieur de Danse Rosella Hightower in Mougins, France.Ìý

BFA-UNCG Dance Education and Choreography

My name is Amanda Nelson and I am thrilled to give you an amazing experience in Native Dance and Heritage!

Originally from New York, but coming to you from North Carolina this summer!Ìý ÌýI have been dancing for 36 years and teaching professionally for 18 of those beautiful years of movement, light, and guidance to our youth.Ìý Dance collaboration between multiple genres such as Contemporary and Ballet and other World Cultures are incredible!

Nariah trained at , where she performed in the restaging of by . During her time there, she worked under the direction of and and was selected as a featured soloist and pas de deux dancer in the work. She also performed in original creations, including Cryptic Tongues: Scorched Earth by Davon W. Doane.

Originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, Nariah grew up as a competitive dancer, earning recognition at a national level for her performance and artistry. She is a YoungArts Winner in Modern/Contemporary (2025) for a self-choreographed solo and the first recipient of the Chita Rivera Legacy Scholarship. She was also named Distinguished Young Woman of Tennessee and first runner-up for Distinguished Young Woman of America, and is a recipient of the Mugler Creator Scholarship for excellence in dance.

In addition to her performance career, Nariah has developed a strong voice in choreography and education, creating numerous solo works and teaching and mentoring young dancers from an early age. She is currently on faculty at Rock Center for Dance in Las Vegas.

A former summer intensive student with , Nariah is especially honored and excited to return as faculty, bringing her journey full circle. She is passionate about inspiring the next generation of artists and sharing her experience with young dancers.

A dancer with the Ballet of the Grand Théâtre de Genève from 2013 to 2026, he collaborates with leading choreographers and participates in large-scale stage productions. His experience also extends to film, with appearances in The Line by Adrien Ouaki and Résister by Tarek Aït Meddour, as well as musical theatre (Mozart l’Opéra Rock, Grease). He has also performed at events for various brands and artistic productions.

Alongside his career as a performer, Geoffrey Van Dyck pursues his own choreographic work. His creations have been presented in recognized institutions and structures, notably in collaboration with Soloist Academy. He has created works for independent dancers and international schools such as the Swedish National School and the Danish National School, developing a choreographic language that is at once physical, musical, and emotional.

With a background in video and color grading, he expands his practice through a cross-disciplinary approach to image and movement. His artistic universe is defined by a search for authenticity, precision of gesture, and a strong human dimension.