Brenau University
VIRTUAL
Sunday, 11/15
2:00-4:00pm
Jessica Lynch-Oliver, FUSE: Urban Flow
Brenau University
Gainesville, GA
The Department of Dance at Brenau University educates and develops the whole dancer by challenging students to think critically, embody multiple dance forms, and engage deeply with the art form. We cultivate artists to move with purpose, teach with vision, and create with conviction. The department provides a foundation in classical ballet, modern movement/methods of the African Diaspora, ballroom/social, and jazz dance. Students are encouraged to explore their values while creating a personal philosophy as an artist with responsibility and integrity. The department hosts four guest artists a year. Some of the guest artists we hosted were Jennifer Archibald, Du’Bois A’Keen, Jake Bone, Francine Ott, Jesse Zarritt, Joshua Blake Carter, Staycee Pearl, Anthony Burrell, Quaba Ernest, and more. In addition, the department provides internship opportunities and has partnerships with Giordano Dance Chicago Company, Aurora Theatre, Resolute Talent Agency, and RWS Global.
FUSE: Urban Flow
This high-energy class mixes hip hop, house, and modern/contemporary dance into one vibe. Its emphasis is on rhythm, texture, and your own style. The class includes work that pulls from each style, helping you groove, sharpen your moves, build your movement vocabulary, and push your stamina, strength, and musicality. You’ll flow between grounded, earthy movement and big, full-body expression, floor work included, everything in between. Rooted in street style, this class is about bringing your whole self, taking risks, and finding your own voice.
Thanks, everyone!
Jessica Lynch-Oliver
Jessica Lynch-Oliver, MFA, is an interdisciplinary choreographer, artist, activist, teaching artist, and educator. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Dance at Brenau University. Jessica earned her MFA in Dance from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and her BFA in Dance (Performance and Choreography) from The College at Brockport. She also attended the Professional Performing Arts School, in affiliation with The Ailey School, where she received versatile training. During her time at The College at Brockport, she was awarded the opportunity to study abroad at the Edna Manley School of the Arts in Kingston, Jamaica. This experience, along with her training in multiple styles, inspired her movement vocabulary and choreographic process. She has choreographed several works performed on concert stages at high schools, universities, and dance schools, and she has also used her work to bring awareness to community issues through films and site-specific works. Her choreography has debuted at SUNY Brockport, ACDA, the Edna Manley School of the Arts, The Apollo Theater, The Walt Whitman Theater, Rutgers University, and Brenau University.
Lynch-Oliver’s teaching philosophy utilizes a fusion of Africanist aesthetic practices and theories. Her main objective is to present challenges within a safe and positive teaching/learning environment, offer students opportunities for new perspectives, and design lessons and courses that foreground student-led and self-discoveries. She provides artists with new methods of thinking that cultivate self-reflective individuals dedicated to critical inquiry across all disciplines. As a woman of color of African American and Native American descent, Jessica centers her work on race, gender, social justice, and community engagement. Her teaching practice and creative vocabulary offer a high-energy, interdisciplinary movement experience where groove meets lineage and individuality meets community. Through the lens of African diasporic movement, she investigates interconnected roots through full-bodied, intentional movement.