BACKGROUND
Jenna Zavrel is an artist and educator whose creative research focuses on proscenium group work, dance on film, and music editing and arrangement. As a working artist, Jenna’s proscenium works and screen dances are regularly selected for participation in national and international festivals. She has presented her work in France, Spain, Scotland, Greece, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Texas, Florida, Maine, North Carolina, Minnesota, Virginia, and New York State.
Before beginning her career as a teaching artist in higher education, Jenna performed professionally and internationally with notable choreographers: Tim Glenn, Jawole Willa Zollar and Urban Bush Women, Michael Foley, Taye Diggs, Dan Wagoner, Lynda Davis, Gerri Houlihan, Anthony Morgan, Richard Haisma and Geomantics, Dance Theater, and more.
Jenna has trained with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Limon Dance Company as well as abroad at the Academie de Danse in Paris, France. Additionally, she received robust training from Jennifer Archibald, Kyle Abraham, George Staib, Emilietta Ettlin, Camille A. Brown, Alex Ketley, Paris Opera Ballet Theatre, The Joffrey Ballet School, Cecchetti Ballet School, and Renee Harris. She credits these incredible experiences as formative to her work, research interests, and movement style today.
DANCE ON FILM
Her film Nina was selected as a Global Artist for six International Film Festivals including Dance Camera Istanbul (Turkey), NYBA (Buenos Aires, Argentina and New York City, Greensboro Dance Film Festival (NC), Opine Film Festival (PA), Artists for Hope International Film Festival (TX), NewGrounds Dance Film Collection, (FL), and Touring Program International Film Festival (Corciano, Italy). In addition, Jenna was invited to present Nina at the Lasalle Dance Lecture Series in Cape Cod Massachusetts, and the American College Dance Association, Regional Artist Selection in Erie PA.
Her film, Take Me Back to a Time in The Future was selected for five international film festivals including ChoreoCollab (FL), Small Moves, Big Picture Motion State Dance Festival (MA), Artists for Hope International Film Festival (TX), KoDaFe International Film Festival (NYC), and Dance Camera North (MN). Additionally, the film screened in three venues in Buffalo, NY including the Cathy Wendell Lista Showcase, Home and Away – A Virtual Dance Concert, and University Screening in DAC 199 - Can we create our own happiness?
Jenna’s film She Told was notably one of the 15 selected to be presented at the Women in Dance Leadership Conference in Chicago in 2022. The film was simultaneously screened in Yokohama Japan. She Told was also selected for the DANCE SHORTS international Film festival in Queens, New York.
Currently, Jenna is a co-choreographer, dancer, and collaborator for 337-- a dance on film directed and produced by filmmaker and choreographer, Tim Glenn in collaboration with dancer, Francisco Graciano. Jenna is in post-production edits for her most recent film, in collaboration with videographer Neal Ten Eyck, Transmigration which is set to premiere in Spring 2025.
CONCERT DANCE
Jenna's concert dance works have been selected for national and international festivals including the Versatility Dance Festival (CA.) Amalgamate Artist Series, D.U.M.B.O Dance Festival (NYC.) Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, White WAVE Dance Festival, HATCH presenting series, Ready or Not, Pushing Progress, Sarasota Dance Festival, and more.
Recent concert dance choreographies include, My Lost Heart and Birds Of Passage, both of which are multi-media works intersecting film and concert dance and created for the Zodiaque Dance Company. Her work Calcified was selected to perform at the Ailey CitiGroup Theatre as part of the KoDafe Dance Festival and her work What I Remember to Forget was also selected and restaged at the same festival.
PEDAGOGY
Jenna is currently an Associate Professor of Dance at the University at Buffalo where she teaches courses in contemporary, ballet, choreography, and dance on film to undergraduate and MFA students. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance (Performance and Choreography) from Florida State University, School of Dance. She is also the current Artistic Director of ChoreoLab, stewarding guest artist residencies for incredible artists like, Jeremy L. Guyton,(New Orleans LA/ abroad) Paul Ocampo and Chien- Ying Wang (NJ), Millicent Johnnie (New Orleans LA) Tiffany Rhynard (FL) Rich Ashworth (Chicago) Anjali Austin, (FL) Moriah Markowitz and The Movement (NYC). Jenna is a certified instructor in the Cecchetti method of ballet and holds a Pilates certification from Body One Studios.
Dedicated to relevant curriculum development, Jenna has implemented university courses in Dance on Film, Composition for Museum Studies, The Marketable Graduate, Holistic Wellness Studies, Creating Dance Reels, an Internship in teaching ballet, and a freshman seminar entitled, Woodstock: Dance, Music, and Community. She also curated Shutter Speed, the department’s first dance on film concert. Previously, she developed and implemented the dance curriculum for an arts integrated high school, Oracle Charter School in Buffalo, NY.
As an educator, Jenna is a regular master class presenter at the American College Dance Association and presented her work Snapshot for adjudication. She also is on the faculty for Dance Masters of America. Additionally, Jenna is a sought after guest artist and regularly teaches master classes in contemporary dance at various colleges and universities across the country.
Jenna’s students have gone on to find success on Broadway in musicals such as Hamilton, Moulin Rouge, On Your Feet!, Chicago, and Cats. Dancers who previously performed under Jenna’s direction have gone on to perform on Broadway in MJ, The Musical, and The Lion King. Her students have also gone on to become Radio City Rockettes and backup dancers for the MTV Music Awards and the MTV Music Video Awards, dancing with artists such as Lizzo and Olivia Rodrigo. Others have become artistic directors of their own companies that tour the US and Europe.
Read Jenna’s recent article in Dance Teacher Magazine
https://dance-teacher.com/teaching-after-miscarriage/#gsc.tab=0
United University Professions Member