Jayne Bernasconi has been dancing and teaching professionally
throughout the United States and abroad for more than 15 years. Most recently,
995-1999, she taught classes and danced as a soloist with Frequent Flyers Productions,
Inc. a low-flying trapeze and aerial dance company in Boulder, Colorado, where
she was also the founder and artistic director of her own company “Forces
of Ability,” incorporating people of all abilities. The City of Boulder
recognized Jayne’s company by establishing a “People With Disabilities
Day” on May 21, 1999. Throughout her career, Jayne
has worked extensively with several leading post-modern choreographers including:
Bill T. Jones, Stephen Petronio, and David Gordon in New York. Her teaching
style has been strongly influenced by: LMA (Laban ovement Analysis), Irmgard
Bartenieff Fundamentals, and Joan Skinner and The Skinner Release Technique.
She has worked closely with Steve Paxton, inventor of contact improvisation,
to help shape the world of contact improvisation and people with disabilities.
Jayne has received numerous awards, fellowships and grants for her choreographic
and artistic achievement. She has a B.A. in dance from the University of Maryland
at College Park and an M.A. in Dance Education from Teachers College, Columbia
University. Jayne will be attending the Virginia Dance Festival at Virginia
Commonwealth University, May 19-20, 2001. She also attending the Aerial Dance
Festival 2001 in Boulder, Colorado. Jayne recently has an article published
in Contact Quarterly entitled “Lowflying Aircraft.
M.A.
Dance Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1986
B.A. Dance, University of Maryland at College Park, 1983