Full Resume/CV | Jayne Bernasconi

Full Resume/Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION

1986 M.A. Dance in Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY

1983 B.A. Dance Performance, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

1978-81 Northern Vermont University, Johnson, Vermont

PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE (Teaching and Directorship)

2000 - present Towson University, Towson, MD

Adjunct Professor, Department of Dance, teaching all levels of Modern Dance, Composition I, II, III & IV, Introduction to Dance: The American Experience, Introduction to Dance: Overview; Fundamentals of Movement, Yoga, Aerial Technique, Modern (Aerial) Dance Repertory, Dance for Special Needs Children, Drumming and Dance for People on the Autism Spectrum

2010 – present Yoga On York (co-owner) Baltimore, MD www.yogaonyork.net

Classes include: aerial yoga, traditional yoga, men’s yoga, meditation, gentle yoga, yoga nidra, yin yoga, vinyasa, mom & tots yoga, chair yoga,

2000 – 2011 Gerstung Baltimore, MD

Aerial Dance Instructor, teaching all levels of low-flying single point trapeze, aerial fabric, hoops, spanish web

2000 – present Air Dance Bernasconi, Inc., Baltimore, MD

Founder and Artistic Director of non-profit aerial dance company.

Responsibilities include all aspects of running a professional dance company: booking performances, writing grants, organizing rehearsals, choreographing concerts, fundraising, auditioning and training dancers, publicity/public relations.

1999 – present, Aerial Dance Festival, Boulder, CO

Two-week international workshop held annually for 2 weeks in August.

Teaching intermediate/advanced aerial dance, aesthetics and choreography, aerial yoga, mixed ability aerial dance, and contact improvisation.

2008 – 2013 East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN

Master Teacher of a one week intensive Aerial Dance Workshop. Responsibilities include: designing curriculum, brochure, national marketing, and hiring instructors. Teaching single point trapeze, aerial fabric, hoops and composition.

1992-1999 Forces Of Ability, Burlington. VT and Boulder, CO

Founder and Artistic Director, FOA was designed to bridge movement with abled and differently-abled populations. Initial workshop was developed with Steve Paxton, inventor of Contact Improvisation. Responsibilities included teaching weekly classes, running a professional dance company, choreographing and organizing performances, workshops, lecture demonstrations, recruiting dancers, writing grants, advertising, publicity/public relations, educating the public on disability awareness.

1995-1999 Forces of Ability (FOA) In The Schools, Boulder, CO

Bringing FOA Dance Company into public and private schools to educate students about dance and disabilities. Responsibilities include: writing and overseeing curriculum, scheduling schools; teaching residencies (K-8) organizing teacher training workshops to integrate school curriculum, producing school assemblies and informal presentations.

1995-1999 Artsability, Burlington, Vermont and Boulder, CO

Founder and Artistic Director, a weekly project that brings dance and poetry/storytelling to children with and without disabilities and chronic illness. (Originally partnered with Parent to Parent of Vermont, an organization that connects parents with children with disabilities). Responsibilities included: teaching weekly classes, leading teacher training seminars, writing grants, hiring leaders, publicity, writing assessments and evaluations.

1992 Fleming Museum, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont

A nine-week solo dance residency program designed to combine movement with visual arts for university students, K-12 classes, senior centers, and people with developmental disabilities.

1992-1999 Very Special Arts Vermont and Colorado

Teaching on-going dance workshops to people with physical and developmental disabilities in both Burlington, VT and Boulder, CO; facilitating teacher training workshops on “How to Include Art in the lives of people with Disabilities; guest teacher, at the University of Denver’s adaptive PE program for a 4 week special topics class on teaching dance to developmentally disabled adults. Also worked as a guest artist for Special Olympics at Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort (1996, 1997) teaching creative movement and theatre games to the athletes.

1993 Essex Town District School, Essex, Vermont

A nine week dance residency (K-8) integrating movement with their curriculum studies of: endangered species, oceans, folk and fairy tales and an after school dance project “Unsheltered Lives” based on homeless people.

1990 -1991 Dance Arts Studio, Waterbury, Vermont

Director of a private dance studio that included children and adult dance classes. Responsibilities included: recruitment of students, publicity and press releases, designing curriculum, producing Spring concert, teaching classes in modern dance for adults and children, ballet, jazz, creative movement for children

1988-1989 Wellness Center for Dance, Madison, New Jersey

Director of a preschool dance program. Responsibilities included: designing curriculum, teaching creative movement dance classes for children ages 3-5, organizing informal performance

1984-1986 Morningside Dance Program, Columbia University, New York, NY

Coordinator of a community dance program within CU. Responsibilities included: recruitment of students, submitting budget plans and payroll, designing brochures and programs, publicity, press releases, fundraising, organizing student performances

PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE (Performer)

2000 - present Air Dance Bernasconi, Inc.

Choreographing and performing in solo, duet and group works using low-flying trapeze, aerial fabric, hoops and Spanish web, bungee, rope and harness.

2007 “Sorcerer” choreographed by Alwin Nikolais, presented at the Art of the Solo, Baltimore Museum of Art Baltimore, Maryland

1995-1999 Frequent Flyers Productions, Inc. an aerial dance company based in Boulder, CO. Full scale performances that toured around the state of Colorado; outreach community lecture demonstrations and workshops.

1992-1999 Forces of Ability, Burlington, VT and Boulder, CO

Performing contact improvisation at gala showcases with Steve Paxton, Felice Wolfzan and Sarah Brutzman. Also, performed various solos, duet and group works with company members and guest artists throughout the years.

1991-1995 Jayne Bernaconi and Friends, Burlington, VT

A pick-up modern dance company that performed annually at various festivals throughout Vermont such as Midsummer, Montpelier and First Night in Burlington, VT.

1991 Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Flynn Theatre, Burlington, VT

Performer and dance liason for Mr. Jones and local dancers in The Last Supper At Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

1989-1991 Those Dancers From Burlington, Burlington, VT

A collective of dancers and choreographers collaborating with jazz composers to present live works at the annual Burlington Jazz Festival.

1987-88 Ann Vachon/Dance Conduit, Philadelphia, PA

A modern dance company performing at various venues throughout Philadelphia

1984 Stephen Petronio Dance Company, New York, NY

A post-modern dance company for one season at St. Marks Church

1984 - 1986 Abiogenesis, New York, NY

An improvisational dance company performing in showcases, museums and schools throughout New York City

1983 – 1984 Impulse Theatre and Dance Company, New York, NY

An improvisational and modern dance company

DANCE TRAINING

1979 - Kei Tekei’s Moving Earth – 6-week summer dance festival, Northern Vermont University

1980 – Libby Nye (Limon) Lance Westergaurd (Ballet) Adrienne Ramm (Duncan) – 6-week summer dance festival, Northern Vermont University

1981 – Merideth Monk – Sound and Movement 1 week workshop, Johnson State College, VT

1981 – summer modern dance classes with artist-in-residence, The Yard, Martha’s Vineyard, MA

1982 – Intensive one week workshop with Eiko and Koma at Peabody School, Baltimore Maryland

1981-1983 - Training at University of Maryland, College Park: Ethel Butler (Graham), Mark Rider (Graham). Ann Warren (Limon, Labanotation) Alvin Mayes (Cunninghan and Ethnic) Sandra Perez and Sylvia Druker (Ballet), Meriam Rosen (Improvisation and Hawkins) Glenna Batson (kinesiology)

NYC Training:

1984-1986 MA Dance Education training: Irene Dowd (Kinesiology), Anita Feldman (Movement Education Concepts), Thias Barry, (Teaching Dance Concepts) Karen Bamonte (Choreography)

1983-1985: Nikolais Louis Dance Lab with Alwin Nikolais, Murray Louis and Hanya Holm

1984-1988, Angela Wolff, Christopher Pilafian (Trisler Dance Company, Peridance Center, Zena Rommett Floor Barre, Dan Wagner, Bill T. Jones, Arnie Zane, Joan Skinner, Finis Jhung and Robert Ellis Dunn (composition)

1984-1989: Spent 6 summers as a student at the White Mountains Summer Dance Festival with Laura Glenn (Limon/Laban/Bartenieff), Martha Eddy (Body Mind Centering, Laban Movement Analysis), Jim Lapore (Modern and Improvisation), Ketul (Kripalu Yoga)

1989 – The Endocrine System – 2-week workshop Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen (Body Mind Centering)

1992 – Lisa Nelson & Nancy Stark Smith (Contact Improvisation)

1989 -2001 – participant of weekly Contact Jams held in Burlington Vermont, Boulder, Co & DC

2001 - Martin Keogh – Contact Improvisation

1995 - present – classes with various aerial pioneers such as Terry Sendgraff, Nancy Smith, Robert Davidson, David Clarkson (aerial stilts), Fred Deb (silks), Elsie and Serenity Smith (static trapeze)

YOGA

1988 – present: Yoga practice with various teachers including Ketul (Kripalu), Richard Friedman (Ashtanga), Sean Korn (Astanga) Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen (Yoga and BMC) and 9 forty hour trainings with Rod Stryker (Parayoga).

BOOK PUBLICATIONS:

Book/DVD

Contact Improvisation: An Introduction to a Vitalizing Dance Form by Cheryl Pallant –McFarland Co. (2 page essay on teaching aerial dance through contact improvisation for Pallant’s book)

Yoga At TU with Jayne Bernasconi (Backyard Publishing) c. 2013

Articles

Low Flying Aircraft: A Report From the Aerial Dance Festival 2000 and an Interview with Terry Sendgraff, Contact Quarterly, Vol. 1 Fall/Winter 2002

Fluid Pregnancy: Contact Quarterly, Vol 2, Spring 1991

GRANTS AND AWARDS (Artistic and Academic)

2009 - 2022 $7,500 - Private Fundraising campaigns for Air Dance Bernasconi performances

2008 $12,500 – Seed funding to develop summer Aerial Dance Workshop at East Tenn State University 2006 $1,200 - Towson University Faculty Development Grant for research on my book/DVD “Aerial Dance”

2004 $1,300 - Sophia Morton Foundation for support for Air Dance Bernasconi, Inc.

2003 $3,800 - Private donations for Air Dance Bernasconi, Inc.

2003 $28,000 - Private donation from West Bronlow for Air Dance Bernasconi, Inc.

1999 $1,200 - Human Resource Commission, Boulder, CO to support Forces of Ability

1999 $2,000. - Colorado Council on the Arts to support Forces of Ability

1999 $1,500 - Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) of Boulder County to support Forces of Ability In The Schools 1999 $1,500 - Boulder Arts Commission to support Forces of Ability and Forces of Ability in the Schools

1998 $5,600 - The Theresa Foundation to support Artsability

1998 $2,300 - Boulder Arts Commission to support Forces of Ability and Forces of Ability in the Schools

1997 $1,000 - The Theresa Foundation to support Artsability

1997 $1,200 - Boulder Arts Commission to support Forces of Ability

1996 $2,000 - The Theresa Foundation to support Artsability

1996 $ 400 - The Arts and Humanities Assembly of Boulder to support Artsability

1995 $ 300 - The Vermont Council on the Arts, an artistic development grant to produce a video of choreographic works 1995 $5,000. - National Endowment on the Arts “Voices of Youth” program to support Artsability designed for children with disabilities 1994 $6,500 - National Endowment on the Arts “Voices of Youth” grant for founding Artsability.

1992 $1,000 - Burlington City Arts to premiere Forces of Ability workshop

1992 $ 300 - Very Special Arts Vermont to support Forces of Ability workshop

1992 $ 300 - Vermont Council on the Arts, Artistic Development grant to bring Emery Blackwell, with cerebral palsy to lead Forces of Ability.

1991 $500 - Vermont Council on the Arts, Fellowship grant for choreographic achievements

1990-1995 Arts in Education Grant, Vermont Council on the Arts for matched funding for artists-in-residence

1990-1995 Touring Artist Grant, Vermont Council on the Arts to help promote Jayne Bernasconi and Friends

1986 Certified Performing Artist-In-The-Schools, New York, NY

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2022 Commencement Speaker for Baltimore Lab School