Jay Beardsley is a white, nonbinary dancer, multimedia artist, and teacher currently based in Brooklyn, NY. They currently work with Ballez/Katy Pyle, TheRedProjectNYC/Johnnie Cruise Mercer and MICHIYAYA Dance, among other freelance projects. Their work with artists is multifaceted, spanning movement, choreography, community organizing, content and media creation, and grant writing. Jay’s choreography and media work has been produced by organizations such as Movement Research (NYC), Proteomedia (NYC), Dance Place (Washington, D.C.), and Dogtown Dance Theatre (Richmond, VA). Jay is a teacher of movement and theater at various local studios and within the NYC DOE schooling systems.

Jay attended Virginia Commonwealth University, graduating in 2020 with an Outstanding Choreographer award and the Bobby Chandler Award for Theatre. During their time at VCU, Jay studied with and performed works by the likes of Jenna Riegel, Trebien Pollard, André Zachery, MK Abadoo, Christopher K. Morgan, and Scott Putman along with many other valued guest artists and faculty. Additionally, Jay has deepened their performance research through a multitude of workshops and intensives with artists/organizations including Sidra Bell, Kristopher K.Q. Pourzal, and American Dance Festival.

photo by Yael Malka