JAEMA JOY BERRY is an independent choreographer in New York City.
She started dancing at the age of 5 in Traverse City, MI, when
she used to come home from kindergarten and cry because she couldn’t run like
the other kids. Fearing for her
future life as a hopelessly uncoordinated individual, her parents put her in a
ballet class (she also loved the
color pink, so it wasn’t much of a struggle). She hasn’t looked back since!
Jaema was a six-year member of the award-winning youth Company
Dance Traverse, and was honored to perform with the company throughout the
Midwest, and in Europe with Young
Tanzommer! She graduated from
Northwestern University in 2008 with a degree in Dance (and a degree in
Industrial Engineering, which she promises she did use when she wasn't dancing). While at Northwestern
she had the opportunity to work with Jan Bartoszek, Jeff Hancock, Joseph Mills,
Molly Shanahan, Billy Siegenfeld, Joel Valentin-Martinez, Laura Wade, and
others. She created work for
student shows and served as the Artistic Director of TONIK Tap, Northwestern’s
tap dance company from 2005-2008.
Jaema
began choreographing in the Chicago area while she
was at Northwestern, presenting work in Dance Chicago’s Dance Slam 2007,
which
was also included by audience vote in the Dance Slam Final evening,
ranked
seventh overall out of over thirty works.
She co-presented a Linkages program at Links Hall in June 2009. The
critically and popularly successful show, You Can’t Dance Out The Side
of Your Mouth was her first
full-length work. Northwestern University’s Dance Program presented
YCDOTSOYM in December 2009 on campus in
Evanston.
The
Way We Danced 'Til Three, her second full-length work, premiered in
August 2010. She trained at Visceral Dance Center and performed in
independent productions in Chicago until she moved to New York City in
the fall of 2010. Since moving to NYC she trains at Steps on Broadway
and continues to perform in independent productions. She presented an
excerpt of The Way We Danced 'Til Three at Manhattan's Dance New
Amsterdam in January.
Jaema strives to present creative work that is relevant, personal,
and that never takes itself too seriously!
