Jennifer Kayle
Assistant Professor, Modern Dance
Graduate Program Associate Director
Honors Program Director
View Jennifer Kayle's image slideshow.
Jennifer Kayle is Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Associate Director & Recruiter, teaching contemporary techniques, choreography, improvisation, and co-teaching with grad advisor Rebekah Kowal, “The Contemporary Scene,” a course in the theories and practices of postmodern dance. Kayle presents her work nationally and internationally as a choreographer and improviser. In 2008, Jennifer premiered her first season in both New York City (Joyce SoHo) and Chicago (Links Hall). Her work for the recently formed Kayle + Company often includes movable sets, original text, and speaking directly to the audience via recordings, megaphones, and microphones. Kayle’s own dancing has been referred to as having “muscular presence” (Dance Source Houston), while her work has been called “inventive, tightly crafted” (Vox Fringe), “distinct… affecting scenes, looping and episodic,” (Hampshire Gazette). Recent works include commissions for The Dance COLEctive in Chicago, New ARTiculations in Tuscon, and teaching and presenting work in Helsinki, Finland, St. Petersburg, Russia, and The Dominican Republic. Improvisation is at the root of Jennifer’s artistic practice. She traces her dance heritage to Judith Dunn/Bill Dixon who developed a unique improvisology for dancers and musicians at Bennington College. Together with The Architects, she is founder of MICI: Movement Intensive in Compositional Improvisation, a professional laboratory dedicated to performance improvisation, and to expanding the range of compositional possibilities. In summer 2009, Jennifer will teach her first season at Bates Dance Festival/Young Dancers Workshop. With a B.A from Middlebury College and M.F.A. from Smith College, she has taught, choreographed, and improvised extensively in venues including Jacob's Pillow’s Inside/Out, New York Improvistion Festival/Judson Church, Merce Cunningham Studio, One Arm Red (Brooklyn), Big Range Dance Festival (TX), Minnesota Fringe Festival, Discover Jazz Festival, Burlington, VT, Dance/USA, and ADF/Acts to Follow: Immediate Theatre. Jennifer’s work has been chosen for Regional & National GALA concerts, and for grants including an NEA/CBE project to investigate improvisational methods for choreography.
Phone: (319) 335-2187
Fax: (319) 335-3246
Office: W124 HH
jennifer-kayle@uiowa.edu
