Jaclyn Coutoumas

Jaclyn Coutoumas is currently a senior dance major at Dean College and will be graduating May 2016 with her Bachelors in Dance and a minor in Business . At this point in her life, her education and background has led her to use her passion of dance to translate other meanings to the world.

While at Dean, Jaclyn has choreographed for shows including: Arts Mosaic, Choreographer’s Concert, and Collaboration Show. Along with Jaclyn’s exploration of choreography, Jaclyn has also discovered an appreciation for writing about dance and the arts. In her junior year, as an independent research study she wrote “Statements made by the dancing body” which dissected the work made by dance pioneers such as Martha Graham, Trisha Brown and Bill T. Jones and how they paved the path to dance making and the risks it entails on future generations. Along with her technique classes, Jaclyn also took dance studies such as dance composition and dance history , pedagogy and kinesiology. Through the years Jaclyn began exploring dance activism and finding deeper meanings for creating work and began identifying herself more as a choreographer . She’s choreographed on topics such as domestic violence, relationships, abortion and self-harm as well as lighter topics like the feeling of happiness. Jaclyn has had the opportunities to work with and study under faculty members including Julianne O'Brien Pederson, Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp, Todd Shanks, William "Bill" Evans and Joan Phelps Palladino. Jaclyn also loves to perform and has performed in shows including Collaboration Show, Faculty Works and Choreographer’s Concert.

Upon graduating Jaclyn would like to teach contemporary/modern classes to gain more experience teaching as well as perform. She wants to continue choreographing and get her work out there. In five years Jaclyn would like to own her own studio and teach dance to a wide variety of ages and spread the beauty of dance and its importance to the community and beyond.