Jennifer Ilse
Teaching Artist
She/They
Jennifer Ilse grew up in northern Wisconsin, and first studied dance in a professional setting in Duluth, Minnesota. She then moved to Eugene, Oregon to continue her studies at the University of Oregon. In Eugene, she also studied with the Eugene Ballet under Susan Zadoff of Ballet Russe, at the Musical Feet school of tap, and performed four seasons with the Dance Theatre of Oregon. After moving to Minneapolis in 1997, she co-founded the dance/theater/visual art hybrid company Off-Leash Area, with which she has choreographed and directed over 28 original full-length productions. She was a City Pages Artist of the Year, has been featured on TPT’s MN Original, received 5 Arts Board Artist Initiative grants, and received 2 Ivey Awards. She has also worked as a performer and collaborator with several choreographers in Minneapolis, including 6 years with Gerry Girouard in his intensely acrobatic dance work. Drawing from her past work with Gerry Girouard, Jennifer has developed a distinct vocabulary in acrobatic dance work, which she has been teaching for 9 years.