Jennifer Mack
Jennifer currently dances & choreographs locally with An Opera Theater (AOT), Christopher Watson Dance Company and teaches at St. Paul Ballet. She’s also the Ballet Program Director & an instructor for Danceworks Performing Arts Center. Besides appearing in and co-choreographing for MN Opera’s Anonymous Lover, she is also appearing in Jess Forest’s work for Right Here, Right Now Showcase at the Tek Box Theater at the Cowles Center February 24-27th. She was recently awarded a Cowles Center Generating Room Choreography Residency (2020-21), appeared in Offleash Area’s Mullier (2021) and choreographed MN Opera’s Flight (2020). Her 20+ year career includes working nationally and internationally in dance, theater, opera, music, commercials and film.
Her choreography has been performed in Hungary, Ireland, MN, NYC, and WI and typically includes collaboration with local bands, musicians & composers such as: Aby Wolf, Ada Jane, Alex Kaufman/Dichotomy, Matt Marka/Ada Jane, and Ben Siems. Previously she choreographed the first production with dance of the opera, The Consul, for Arbeit Opera in November 2018 and restaged it spring of 2019 at the University of MN-Twin Cities School of Music. She also premiered as a choreographer and dancer in a 2016 multi-disciplinary, immersive dance, theater opera production with singer, Justin Spenner, pianist, Jerrod Wendland and photographer Jeff Korte of A Winter Journey otherwise knows as the opera, Die Winterreise, to all sold out houses. Also in 2016-17 choreographed and danced in a music video ‘Give It All’ for singer/songwriter, Roszo. Her other choreographed works were selected for Harvest Contemporary Dance Festival in Chicago in 2013, several Rhythmically Speaking and Renovate Choreographer’s Evenings in Minneapolis, MN from 2005 to 2013, Gala selection for the Cathedral Dance Festival in 2016 & 2018, and awarded a Cultural Arts Grant through Eau Claire, WI in 2012, which she used to co-produce Movement Arts Day 2012 with fellow choreographer, Cheri Dostal. She was also a founding choreographer/producer of the 16 Feet Dance Festival Showcase from 2017-2019. She has had the pleasure of also setting work on Christopher Watson Dance Company, Cities Dance Ensemble, Minneapolis Ballet Dancers of Minnesota along with Ballet Arts Youth Ensemble of Ashley Ballet Arts Academy, Rochester Dance Company, Children’s Dance Theater and numerous competition schools and groups. As a dancer, she spent 6 seasons with Continental Ballet, 4 with St. Paul City Ballet/St. Paul Ballet, 4 also as a founding member of Alternative Motion Project, and a member of Collide Theatrical Dance Company for 2 in several notable Principal and Soloist roles. Role Highlights: Lilac Fairy, Mechanical Doll, Winter Fairy, Cinderella, Sugar Plum Fairy, Simone in Petite Moulin Rouge and several contemporary, choreographed for her roles. This includes time in Montreal, Hungary, Ireland, Colorado, New York, San Francisco, Wisconsin and Minneapolis/St. Paul as a guest artist with: Borealis Dance, Cathy Wright, Cities Classical Dance Ensemble, Curio Dance, Dance & Other Behaviors, Debra-Jinza Thayer’s Movement Architecture, Dwight Rhoden, Eclectic Edge Ensemble, James Sewell Ballet, Jagged Edges Ensemble, Jodi Melnick, Moving Arts Ensemble, Kim Robbard’s Dance Company, MN Opera, Offleash Area, Rainy Day Cabaret, Ray Terrill & Dancers, Rosy Simas Dance Project, Spandrel, Szeged National Ballet, Vanessa Voskuil, Vox Medusa Dance Company and other independent choreographers including commercial work for Aveda, Best Buy, Cost Cutters and Sherwin Williams Paint. Jennifer is trained in Progressing Ballet & Contemporary Technique (PBT & PCT, 2020) and also received her B.F.A in Dance Performance and B.S in Arts Administration and International Business (Magna Cum Laude) from UW- Stevens Point with minors in art, biology, & music in 2003. She originally trained at Rochester Ballet School and Janet Lang Dance Studio of Rochester, MN and spent summers at/with: Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Alvin Ailey, the Cunningham School, Steps, Broadway Dance Center, ODC & Robert Moses Kin. She lives with her inspirational fiancé’ and their 8 -year old daughter in North Minneapolis.