Jessica Madden

PT Lecturer Performance and Communication Arts Department
Specialty As an artform based in the body, I believe that dance is perfectly situated to be a catalyst for human connection and empathy. Looking to the body as a site of embodied memory and experience, my creative work and research investigates the role of personal narrative, specificity, and vulnerability, as well as storytelling, in creating empathetic connection in both process and performance. Drawing on theory and research in the areas of phenomenology, corporeality, cognitive science, and embodied therapies, my creative process engages Authentic Movement (an improvisational movement practice) as a methodology of embodied reflection, response, and movement generation. Most recently, my research into embodied memory and empathy has led me to investigate themes of trauma, recovery, and resilience. Processing experience both on a body-level and on a verbal-level, my work weaves movement and autobiographical text together into a cross-disciplinary performance context.
Education M.F.A. in Dance (Choreography) from The University of Iowa ; B.A. in Dance from Slippery Rock University ; B.S. in Elementary Education from Slippery Rock University ; 200 Hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Certification
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Professional Experience

Before coming to St. Lawrence, I was at The University of Iowa completing my Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance, with an emphasis in choreography. While at Iowa, I received an Iowa Arts Fellowship and a Teaching Assistantship position within the Department of Dance, giving me the opportunity to teach across all levels of dance technique, in both the majors and non-majors curriculum. I also had the privilege to serve on the Graduate Admissions Committee, and as a member of a departmental committee to develop a teaching concentration within the degree program.

Prior to graduate school, I spent five years working in Chicago. From 2013-2018, I had the opportunity to work as a Teaching Artist for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in their Education, Youth, Community, and Adaptive Dance Programs, receiving the company’s first ever Teaching Artist Fellowship (2014-15), and later becoming one of their Lead Teaching Artists. From 2017-2018, I also had the privilege to expand my teaching to include work for Lookingglass Theatre and Chicago Ballet Arts.

Courses Taught

  • Jazz Dance
  • Beg/Int Modern
  • Dance Improvisation and Composition

Contact Information