jessica rizzo-stafford

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        Jess Stafford is a native New Yorker and has her MA in Dance Education from NYU. Her double-concentration Master’s Degree includes PK-12 pedagogy and dance education within the higher-education discipline. She holds a BFA in dance performance from UMASS Amherst and is also a registered RYT-500 and R-PYT. Jess works extensively as teacher and choreographer and conducts national and international master-classes specializing in the genres of musical theatre, contemporary, improvisation, choreography-composition and yoga.

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       Jess’ national and international performance career includes: The National Tour of Guys & Dolls, The European Tour of Grease, West Side Story, Cabaret, Sweet Charity, Salute to Dudley Moore at Carnegie Hall, guest-dancer with the World Famous Pontani Sisters and IMPULSE Modern Dance Company. Jess has been a faculty member for the Perichild Program & Peridance Youth Ensemble & taught contemporary and jazz at the historic New Dance Group and 92nd Street Y in NYC. She was Company Director at the historic Steffi Nossen School of Dance/Dance in Education Fund and in 2008 traveled to Uganda where she taught creative-movement. The experience culminated with Jess being selected as a featured instructor at the Queen's Kampala Ballet & Modern Dance School. She has conducted workshops for the cast of LA REVE at the Wynn, Las Vegas and has been on faculty for MPower Summer Intensives as well the IDS International Dance Teacher Conference at The Royal Ballet in London, UK.

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         Jess has served as adjunct lecturer to the Mason Gross School of the Arts-Rutgers University Dance Department and is a faculty member at the D'Valda & Sirico Dance & Music Centre. She has completed her NYU Master’s thesis research on the choreographic process of technically advanced adolescent dancers and is the creator of “PROJECT C;” a choreography-composition curriculum for the private studio sector. She is also master teacher & adjudicator for various national and international dance competitions.

 

      Jess is the Chief Editor for the DanceTeacherWeb.com Blog and also serves as faculty member, contributing writer and presenter in the choreography and “how to” teaching segments on the celebrated DanceTeacherWeb.com. She is also on the teaching faculty for the annual Dance Teacher Web Live Conference & Expo.

    

      Jess is the creator of 44 Yoga + Movement. Her website is wwww.44yogamove.com

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     Jess currently lives in Bedford, NY with her husband Chris and kiddos, Jackson Quinn and Lili Rhys.

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*Jess is available for workshops, master-classes & choreography-setting. Please contact for class descriptions & further information.

    Teaching Competencies:

Musical Theatre 

Contemporary/Modern/Lyrical

Jazz

       Choreography & Composition

  Improvisation

Stretch & Strengthen Conditioning

Yoga (Yoga for Dancers,Vinyasa,Prenatal/Postnatal )

 

      

  

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