MSP 196: Jessica Gaynor

Release Date: 3.5.26

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Shaping a Life in Dance with Jessica Gaynor

Episode 192: Show Notes.

A lifelong devotion to movement can shape not just an artist’s career, but an entire community. Today, choreographer, educator, and Artistic Director Jessica Gaynor shares how her path began in gymnastics before finding her true calling in modern dance. From her early days studying with the legendary Alice Teirstein to becoming a mentor and leader in her own right, Jessica’s story is one of passion, resilience, and creativity. In our conversation, Jessica reflects on the freedom and self-expression she discovered through improvisation, her formative years studying dance at Brown and CalArts, and the drive that led her to form her own company back in New York. She recalls milestone performances, collaborations with composers, and the challenges of sustaining a company while teaching full-time. Today, her work as Artistic Director of the Young Dancemakers Company continues to empower teens to create original work in partnership with professional composers, carrying forward the legacy of her mentor. Tune in to hear how Jessica has built a multifaceted career in dance, and why she remains committed to creating, teaching, and inspiring the next generation.

Key Points From This Episode:

Jessica’s upbringing in NYC and her shift from gymnastics to ballet and modern dance.
How she found mentorship with Alice Teirstein at the Fieldston School.
Her love of dance as a form of freedom, self-expression, and community through movement.
Early influences on her dance career: Pilobolus and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company.
Studying at Brown, while doing an academic major, repertory works, choreography, and more.
Graduate training at CalArts, focusing on choreography, performance, and collaboration.
What it was like returning to NYC and forming a company with fellow dancers.
Creating evening-length works at Triskelion Arts and touring performances.
Collaborative works with composers, exploring structure and form.
Joining the Young Dancemakers Company (YDC) and becoming Artistic Director.
Leading YDC through the pandemic with Zoom dance films and outdoor shows.
Jessica’s love of teaching and helping teens create original work.
Rediscovering performance and collaborating with her musician husband.
Reflections on highlights and challenges while sustaining a career in dance.

Jessica Gaynor is a choreographer, performer and teacher, as well as Artistic Director of Jessica Gaynor Dance and the Young Dancemakers Company. Hailed for her “risk-laden” (DIY Dancer) choreography and “sophisticated approach to pure dance,” (The New Yorker), Jessica’s work utilizes kinetic physicality, intricate patterning, and formal structures in an exploration of the complexities of human experience.

Jessica has created more than forty works for her company and for schools and universities around the world. Her work has been performed at venues such as Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out, The Skirball Center/NYU, Danspace Project @ St. Mark’s Church, Ailey Citigroup Theater, The Kitchen, Peridance, Triskelion Arts, Dance Theater Workshop, The 92Y, Dixon Place, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, CPR, Hudson Guild Theater, LAKE Studios, Kühlspot, Errant Sounds, PAS Berlin, Interior to Beings Festival, Uferstudios, Berlin Dance Institute and many more.

Jessica’s repertory has been set on students at Brown University, Grand Canyon University, Berlin Dance Institute, the Fieldston School, the Brearley School and the Young Dancemakers Company. She has taught workshops at Peridance Capezio Center, Gibney Dance Center, Tanzfabrik, PAUL Studios and Insight Dance, was a guest choreographer for Amalgamate Dance Company’s Guest Artist Showcase, and directed the dance program at The Brearley School from 2007-2014.

Jessica holds an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from California Institute of the Arts, and a BA from Brown University, where upon graduation she received the Weston Award for excellence in dance. Recent grants include an O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation Grant, two New Music/USA Commissions, a Mertz Gilmore Late Stage Production Stipend and multiple Andrew W. Mellon Space Subsidies. Jessica Gaynor Dance was a Gotham Arts Exchange Emerging Artist in 2010 and a member of Pentacle’s (DanceWorks, Inc.) Gallery Roster from 2013-2015.

Since 2019, Jessica has proudly served as Artistic Director of the Young Dancemakers Company. Founded in 1996 by Alice Teirstein, Young Dancemakers Company (YDC) is rooted in the belief that teenagers have something essential to say to the world, and that they can say it through dance. YDC is a unique, tuition-free summer dance ensemble of NYC teens dedicated to creating their own original choreography and performing it in free touring concerts city-wide, for audiences of up to 2000 individuals each season. Company members, selected annually by audition, are drawn from throughout NYC public high schools. Through daily intensive training and rehearsal sessions, the company creates original choreography based on meaningful personal and social themes.

Young Dancemakers Company is made possible by the generous support of: Jody and John Arnhold | Arnhold Foundation, the Harkness Foundation for Dance, the Emily Davie and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation, the Richenthal Foundation, the Teirstein Family in honor of Alice, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, and individual contributors.