Rebecca R. Levy (Artistic Director) is a choreographer, performer, and educator currently living in Jacksonville, Florida. Her critically acclaimed choreographic and performance works have been featured in festivals, films, concerts, and events internationally and throughout the country. The privilege of living in a variety of areas within the United States provided her with a diverse set of influences in her art. In a recent presentation for TEDx, she gave a talk titled “Engaging A Movement” about her experiences founding JDT and advocating for professional dance in Jacksonville. Throughout her career in dance she has created, produced, and mounted a multitude of shows, events, performances, and pop-ups on national and international stages. Her work was shown at the Performatica festival in Puebla, Mexico, and during a tour to France she had the opportunity to perform at the Chartres and Grail Haven Labyrinths. She was awarded a 2019 Individual Artist Grant by Community First Bank, and a 2020 Art Ventures Individual Artist Grant for her new choreographic work, Disorder, investigating the experiences of individuals living with mental illness. Rebecca holds her Masters of Fine Arts in Choreography from California Institute of the Arts, where she studied with distinguished artists such as Stephan Koplowitz, Colin Connor, Stephanie Nugent, Andre Tyson and Mitchell Rose. Her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance was earned at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA where she studied with Pat Hon, Amii LeGendre, Wade Madsen, Deborah Wolf, and many others. She was a performer for six seasons with the Lineage Dance Company of Los Angeles where she was a soloist. While in Los Angeles she was co-artistic director, founder, and performer with B.E. Productions Dance Company. She is honored to sit on faculty at Florida State College at Jacksonville where she serves as Director & Professor of Dance. Through this role she recently earned the 2020 Art Educator of the Year Award from the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, a 2019 40 Under 40 award from The Jacksonville Business Journal, and was named Outstanding Faculty of the Year in 2016. Rebecca is a registered Certified Yoga Instructor, a certified Pilates instructor and dabbles in aerial acrobatics. A co-founder of JDT, she serves as the company’s Artistic Director.
Katie McCaughan (Executive Director) a native of Chicago, is a dance artist, performer, and educator who received her Master’s Degree in Dance Education from New York University. In 2002, she completed a BFA in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington. and became an active member of the Seattle dance community where she regularly juggled the diverse roles of performer, administrator, producer, and teacher. The hub of her activity took place at Velocity Dance Center, one of the busiest and most innovative contemporary dance spaces in the northwestern U.S. Since then Katie has been committed to an ongoing study of contemporary dance technique, composition, improvisation, contemplative dance practice, authentic movement, and choreographed and improvised performance. Katie is a certified SOMA practitioner and certified Simonson teacher whose somatic and teaching practices are grounded in the notion of the body as symbol, vessel, and home. Katie served for six years as the Director of Dance at Episcopal School of Jacksonville and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Dance at Jacksonville University and Florida State College at Jacksonville. In 2019, Katie graduated from the National Arts Strategies ‘Executive in Arts and Cultural Strategies Program’ through the University of Pennsylvania’s school of Social Policy and Practice. A co-founder of JDT, she serves as the company’s Executive Director.
Winter Bosanko is a graduate of Jacksonville University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. She is in her fourth season with Jacksonville Dance Theatre and loves dancing every week with these artists. She previously danced two seasons with Collective is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee pursuing her Master of Fine Arts in Dance and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Jacksonville University. She is in the first year of a three year fellowship as a full-time dancing teaching artist with Jacksonville’s Cathedral Arts Project. Winter is also the founder and director of Winter Dance Projects, a project-based dance collective that creates and collaborates with other artists to bring art and dance to the community. She is an adjunct faculty member at Florida State College of Jacksonville and has taught Pilates and dance at studios and schools throughout the Jacksonville community, including Fusion Performing Arts Academy and The Florida Ballet. She is excited to be in her sixth season with JDT and this wonderful group of artists. Dance Company of Tampa and one season with Mary Love Dance Projects of Orlando. Winter teaches Modern at Ponte Vedra Ballet/Fusion Performing Arts Academy and is rehearsal director at Episcopal School of Jacksonville dance ensemble.
Josie Camp was born in the United Kingdom and at a young age moved to North Carolina where she began dancing at the age of three. Later relocating to Nevada, Josie continued her training by graduating from Las Vegas Academy of the Arts as a dance major in 2016, while competing and travelling with Bunker Dance Center. She has trained with the Joffrey Ballet School in NYC, as well as accepting a company apprenticeship with Contemporary West Dance Theatre in 2016, under the direction of Bernard H. Gaddis. Here, she performed many renowned works such as ‘Night Creatures’ by Alvin Ailey and Ulysses Dove’s ‘Vespers’. Josie later attained a B.F.A in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in the fall of 2020, receiving an ‘Outstanding Choreographer’ award from the department. She also gained a Pilates certification while studying all genres of dance. Josie is thrilled to begin her first season with Jacksonville Dance Theatre and gives all of her gratitude to the company.
Sarah Gowdy, originally from Houston, TX, found her passion for dance through performing musicals at her local theater when she was younger. Soon after her theatrical debut, she started her formal dance training at Allegro Ballet of Houston before attending the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Sarah expanded her training at many summer study programs including Bates Dance Festival, DanceWorks Chicago, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Boston Ballet among others. She recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from George Mason University (GMU) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. While at GMU, she has had the opportunity to perform dance works by Lar Lubovitch, Hope Boykin, Rafael Bonachela, Nacho Duato, Susan Shields, and Christopher d’Amboise. When Sarah is not dancing, you can find her enjoying a hot cup of coffee, reading a book, going for a run, or enjoying the company of her friends.
Breanna King is a Jacksonville native. She received her A.A. at Florida State College of Jacksonville before continuing her education at the University of South Florida where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Breanna has created works for companies Paradigm Flux, Relentless Inc., and JBS as well as Jacksonville Dance Theatre. As a guest artist, she has taught and set choreography at Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Florida State College of Jacksonville, and Florida School of the Arts. Breanna currently teaches dance in the Jacksonville community and continues to seek opportunities to expand and share her passion for the arts.
Hilary Libman (President of the Board) is passionate about working to elevate the arts in Northeast Florida through involvement, activism and philanthropy. She is a founding member of Jacksonville Dance Theatre as both a dancer and choreographer and serves as the President of the Board of Directors. She served as artistic director of the non profit organization Braided Light Dance Project from 2011 to 2014 specializing in multi-disciplinary collaboration, community outreach and site specific choreography. As a professional dancer, she has appeared with such companies as the Illinois Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, and West Florida Ballet also setting original choreography for the Illinois Ballet & West Florida Ballet. She is a certified Pilates instructor and owner of The Pilates Lab Jax Beach. Hilary graduated from Jacksonville University cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in dance. While at JU she was awarded the Choreography & Composition Award and her choreography was chosen to represent Jacksonville University at the American College Dance Festival. She received her training from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Sarasota Ballet, West Florida Ballet, Royal Academy of Dance, Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School, Dance New Amsterdam and Balance Body University. In her free time Hilary enjoys traveling the world with her husband, Jared, and their two children.
Madaline Maravillas graduated from the University of Utah with a BFA in modern dance and a minor in nutrition in 2019. During her time at the University, Madaline worked with artists such as Lauren Simpson, Jenny Stulberg, Alexandra Barbier and Lauren Edson. In February 2018, Madaline performed with Doug Varone and Dancers during a residence at the University. Since graduating, Madaline has performed works by LAJAMARTIN Physical Dance Theater, Cat Kamrath and Mar Undag. Most recently Madaline performed with fem dance company in their first evening length show titled “dawn” and in Repertory Dance Theater’s “EMERGE” in Salt Lake City, UT. She is excited to be working with JDT as an apprentice for their 11th Season.
Breauna Moore was born and raised in Jacksonville Florida and has been dancing for the past 18 years. She attended Lavilla Middle School of the Arts and graduated from Douglas Anderson High School of the Arts as a Dance Major. Breauna attended Florida State College at Jacksonville where she received her Associate of Arts degree and was a part of their danceWORKS performance company. Afterward, she obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of South Florida with a concentration in Modern Dance. She has trained with Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston, Maine, and USF’s Semester Abroad program in Paris, France. Breauna is excited for her first season as a dancer with Jacksonville Dance Theater.
Jessica is a native of Jacksonville, FL where she grew up dancing competitively for many years. She is a 2020 graduate from James Madison University where she received a BA in Dance and a BS in Kinesiology. Throughout her years at JMU she performed at the 2017 American College Dance Association, was a company member of the Virginia Repertory Dance Company, and cofounder of The Aftermath Company: a pre-professional theatre collective for students. She has performed works by Kyle Abraham, DanceWorks Chicago, Rubén Graciani, Matt Pardo, and Scott Putman, as well as participated in residencies with Omar de Jesus, Sara Burke, and Emily Cargill. Jessica is a current dance instructor and choreographer for Debbie’s Dance Company and is excited to bring her love of movement to Jacksonville Dance Theatre.
Tess Sturgeon has a passion for dance that has developed over 20 years. Originally from Oklahoma, she has trained in Florida, Philadelphia and Oklahoma City. Tess is honored to be in her fourth season with Jacksonville Dance Theatre, and thrilled to be back after the birth of her second daughter. She has taught at several studios in Florida and North Carolina, including Ballet Arts Centre. She taught and choreographed at Episcopal School of Jacksonville, and is currently teaching at Seacoast Christian Academy and APEX Theatre Studio. Tess is a registered Yoga Teacher and a certified Progressing Ballet Technique instructor. Thank you to Matt, Riley, and Rudy for their love and support, and to the Directors of JDT for continuing to showcase dance in Jacksonville.
Kristen Sholes Sullivan (Associate Artistic Director), originally from Gainesville, Georgia has been dedicated to the professional art of Dance and Education as a performer, dance maker, and teacher for over 20 years. She is Adjunct Professor of Dance at Florida State College at Jacksonville where she has taught Modern, Ballet, Jazz, and Pilates since 2012 and frequently sets choreography on FSCJ’s danceWORKS company. Kristen holds her MFA in Dance from Florida State University where she held a Teaching Assistantship teaching Jazz and Modern to FSU’s non-majors. She received her BFA in Dance from University of Nevada Las Vegas and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Kristen danced professionally with Surfscape Contemporary Dance Theatre located in Daytona Beach, Florida from 2005-2014. Internationally, she has performed at Sadler’s Wells with SCDT, in Spain with the American Choreographers Showcase, Germany in the International Dance and Gymnastics Festival, and Scotland in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Kristen had the honor of performing The Human Show by Kari Margolis of Margolis Brown Theatre at the Kennedy Center for the American Theatre Finalists. Ms. Sullivan’s work has been performed by Jacksonville Dance Theatre and accepted to the Pasadena Dance Festival in California, Mix Match Dance Festival in LA, New Seeds Festival of Tampa, and Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival. In 2006, Kristen held an Arts Administrative Internship with Movement Research of New York City and Judson Church through FSU in NYC program. Along with her intensive dance performance and education background, Kristen continues to deepen her physical study of movement through Pilates and GYROTONIC®. Kristen has taught Pilates for over 12 years and has been a Master Teacher Trainer for Balanced Body for over 7 years. She holds her comprehensive certification in Classical Pilates through Power Pilates and bridged over to Balanced Body as a Master Instructor. She is also certified in Balanced Body Barre, Bodhi, MOTR, Oov, is a member of the Pilates Method Alliance and holds her certificate in Level 1 and Level 2 GYROTONIC®. She is thankful for her unending support from her husband and spends her time outside the studio as a full time adoring mother to her two children. Kristen is a proud member of Jacksonville Dance Theatre and serves as the Company’s Associate Artistic Director as well as a Resident Choreographer.
Jennifer Walker is a multi-faceted dance educator, choreographer, performer, and Pilates instructor. Jennifer grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and is an alumni of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and former member of Jacksonville Ballet Theatre. She received her MFA in Dance Education from Arizona State University and her BFA in Dance Performance from University of Oklahoma. Formally, Jennifer was the Assistant Director of Dance at Episcopal School of Jacksonville (2012-2016), Jennifer was the School Director (2007-2012) of Dancers’ Workshop in the Center of the Arts in Jackson Hole, WY. She is the former Artistic Director of FLUX Dance Project, AZ and Jennifer Walker & Company, NY. Jennifer has toured nationally and internationally with Contemporary Dance Wyoming, A Ludwig Dance Theater, Modern, Repertory Dance Theater, and Jacksonville Ballet Theater. She has also performed with Sean Curran, Diavolo, David Dorfman, Lakely Evans, Demetris Kline, Steven Koplowitz, Earl Mosely, Yvonne Rainer, Melissa Rolnick, Ken Tosti, Denise Vale, Marlis Yearby, Ko Yukihiro, in addition to others. Her research has been presented and published through conferences and workshops including: National Dance Education Organization, Conference on Arts Education, Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities. Her second passion is working to empower women and improve prenatal and postnatal educational services for women led her to become a birth and postpartum doula in 2012. In addition, she is a certified Classical Pilates Instructor of 25+ years and owner of Pilates by Jen. She is also a momma of three beautiful kiddos and a wife to a brilliant science professor. Jennifer is a founding member of Jacksonville Dance Theatre as a performer and choreographer for the company.
