Jazelynn Goudy

As a hip-hop professor, I expose students to the culture and movement of the African diaspora. I create a space of liberation that is open, brave, and gracious for all of my students to engage, collaborate, and learn from one another.

Jazelynn Goudy joined the Conservatory in 2019 and is an assistant professor of dance, teaching hip-hop.

Goudy is a dancer, educator, veteran, and artist from Milwaukee. She has danced in the studios, streets, stage, sanctuary, and more. Goudy has danced with Ko-Thi West African Dance Company children’s ensemble (Ton-Ko-Thi) and later trained as an apprentice under Mama Ferne Caulker-Bronson. After graduating from performing arts school, she joined the United States Air Force as a security forces officer. After her military service, she dedicated her life to education, community service, and dance. Signature Dance Company, a Christian nonprofit dance company, and Revamp Dance Ensemble, a hip-hop dance group, opened doors for her, not only to dance and perform, but also to teach and build communities.

A budding international performing arts scholar, Goudy has had many opportunities to take her talents abroad. She has traveled, researched, and performed traditional, urban, and contemporary dance of the African Diaspora in Brazil, Jamaica, South Africa, Cuba, and throughout the United States. She studied "Noire Danse" for six weeks at Mama Germaine Acogny’s dance school Ecole des Sables in Toubab Dilaw, Senegal.

Goudy earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she focused on dance, technology, the African diaspora, and pedagogy. She recently graduated from Ohio State University with a Master of Fine Arts in dance. Her thesis performance, "LackLuster," was autoethnographic/embodied movement research on childhood and military sexual trauma and the process of restoration. It incorporated interactive digital media and community participation through song and dance.

Goudy continues to make and perform work while also assisting arts and community organizations with their social media and digital presence.

Professional Awards and Recognitions

• Black Girl Magic Girl On Fire Service Award (2019)
• Alumni Grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship (Ohio State University, 2019)
• "Most Spirited" (City Year Seattle/King County, 2013)

Notable Recent Works

• 25th Annual Encore Gala (Berklee College of Music, 2019)—Choreographer
• "Ephemera" Renegade Performance Group, Socrates Sculpture Park, 2019)—Photographer/assistant project manager
• "LackLuster" (Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design, Livable Futures, Ohio State University, 2019)—Choreographer/performer
• "LackLuster" excerpt (Restore Dance Festival, 2018)—Choreographer/performer
• "Meet Me in 10" (Ecole des Sables, Toubab Dilaw Senegal, 2017)—Choreographer/performer