Jordan
College Alumni act, design, direct, dance, choreograph,
compose, sing, play, conduct, teach, manage and inspire. Students with
undergraduate degrees from Jordan College of the Arts at Butler
University have continued their study in some of the country's
finest programs including Indiana University, the Manhattan School
of Music, Juilliard, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
Florida State University, Southern Methodist University, Eastman
School of Music, Boston University, University of Maryland and the
University of Michigan. Graduates have also moved on to work
with/for some of the most respected arts companies in the country
including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Dance Kaleidoscope,
Dance Theatre of Harlem, Joffrey Ballet, the Geffen Playhouse,
Indiana Repertory Theatre, Next Theatre, and Paramount Theatre,
Asolo Repertory Theatre, the Arts Council of Indianapolis, the
Kennedy Center and many more.
Whether they are seen on the stage, in the pit, front of house,
in the classroom or not seen at all while working behind the scenes
ensuring successful events or protecting the arts for future
generations, Jordan College of the Arts graduates are hard
at work all over the country.
Alumni of Jordan College, learn more about and join the JCA
Alumni Community
here!
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One of the great pleasures I've
had since coming to Butler is meeting the happily productive,
fulfilled people who graduated from Jordan College a year, or five,
or 50 years ago. I've heard remarkable stories: many realized the
dream they had when they came to Butler, and many discovered new
passions in the arts or elsewhere that led them to great careers. I
can't help but imagine what wonderful things our next class of
students will do in their lives and their careers. Jordan College has thousands of alumni
from 48 states and Washington, D.C. Here's a taste of what some of
our past graduates are up to:
-Ronald Caltabiano, Dean
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Maria Porter,
2011
Maria Porter earned her B.A. in
Art + Design, cum laude with high honors in 2011. During her
undergraduate study she was a member of the graphic design and new
media teams for the Public Relations Board of Student Government
and served as photographer and photo editor for The Butler
Collegian. During her time as photo editor of the Collegian, she
received an Indiana Collegiate Press Association first place award
in Best Photo for her photo taken during the final game of the 2011
NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. She worked as graphic designer
and photographer for several of the College of Business' Real
Business Experience events. Currently, Maria is a Graphic Service
Administrator with Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in
Indianapolis.
Kristin Hess, 2010
Kristin Hess studied art
and graduated as one of the top 10 female students in her class.
While at Butler, she taught middle school children through the
Butler Community Arts School. Kristin continues to live in
Indianapolis and now manages programs and visual
communications for Indiana Humanities, one of the state's great
institutions. Her first book, "Food for Thought: An Indiana
Harvest," will be published this spring.
Katherine Van Wyk,
2009
Katherine Van Wyk was an arts
administration student with a particular interest in
theatre. Her first stop after graduation was an internship with The
Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. She then worked as
a special events consultant for projects with the Foundation for
the National Archives, Alvin Ailey and other organizations.
Katherine has recently accepted a position in corporate and
foundation relations at the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts.
My degree in arts administration has
truly given me the edge in helping me begin my career as an arts
administrator. The seminars and courses at Butler, as well as the
internships I completed while still an undergrad, gave me more
experience and knowledge than others applying for the same jobs,
even recent graduate school grads!
- Katherine Van Wyk
Michael Burke, 2009
Graduating with a degree in theatre, Michael Burke is already
making his mark on the local and national theatre communities. He
has served as assistant to the producing artistic director of the
Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Fla., and assistant director
for Peter Amster's Dracula at
the Indiana Repertory Theatre. He was honored with the 2011
Beckmann Emerging Artist Fellowship from the Indianapolis Arts
Council. Entrepreneurial by nature, Michael co-founded the
Indianapolis theatre company paperStrangers and is the director of
marketing for NoExit Performance.
Adam McKinney, 2006
After graduating with a BFA in dance, Adam McKinney danced with
the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Alonzo King's LINES
Ballet. A true cultural ambassador, he has taught master classes
around the world, including Ghana, Hungary, Indonesia and Italy,
and has served as a U.S. Embassy Culture Connect Envoy to South
Africa.
As I teach, I am inspired daily by
our young dancers, their drive, tenacity and want. Several of my
students are juniors, and I have shared information with them about
BU's successful dance program. In the years to come, I hope for my
dancers to take advantage of the rich resource that is
Butler.
- Adam McKinney
David Ingram,
2004
Originally from Kingsport, TN, David
Ingram began his dance training at the Kingsport Guild of Ballet
under the direction of Karen Gibbons Brown and went on to study at
the Fort Wayne Ballet and Butler University, graduating with a
B.F.A. in Dance Performance in 2004. Ingram went on to perform with
Louisville Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theater. His repertory
includes the works of Salvatore Aiello, George Balanchine,
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, August Bournonville, Mikelle Bruzina, Val
Caniparoli, Sean Curran, Erica De La O, Mark Diamond, Nacho Duato,
Michel Fokine, Nicolo Fonte, William Forsythe, Mark Godden,
Choo-San Goh, Adam Hougland, Sasha Janes, Alonzo King, Pete Lay,
Emery Lecrone, Robert North, Marius Petipa, Jonathan Prichard,
André Prokovsky, Dwight Rhoden, Uri Sands, Bruce Simpson, Domy
Reiter Soffer, Ben Stevenson, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, and Anthony
Tudor.
Dr. Jenny
Kokai, 2001
Dr. Jenny Kokai is currently an
Assistant Professor at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, where
she teaches theatre history, playwriting and dramaturgy, theatre
education and other classes to undergraduates. After graduating
from Butler in 2001 with a B.A. magna cum laude with highest
honors, double majoring in theatre and philosophy, she obtained an
M.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. from The
University of Texas at Austin. Prior to working at Weber State
University, Jenny taught for two years at the Texas State
University. As a scholar, Jenny is currently working on a book
project about underwater spectaculars and water based tourism in
the United States. Her project starts with the Aquacade at the 1939
New York World's Fair, travels through strange road side
attractions, and ends at SeaWorld. Part of this project has been
published in article form in Theatre History Studies and another
article on Shamu is in an anthology under consideration at
publishers. She received a Hemingway Grant from WSU to support that
work. In addition to this project, she is currently co-authoring an
article with a philosopher, Mary-Beth Willard, on what philosophy
can learn from the expressive arts. She has published and presented
work from a previous project on women's use of performance as a
mode of social and political engagement in the Revolutionary War.
One article from that project can be found in the Journal of
American Drama and Theatre. Jenny regularly presents at academic
conferences like the American Society for Theatrical Research and
the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Jenny is an active
playwright and director. Since graduating from Butler she has
directed Into the Woods, A Midsummer Nights' Dream, The Ladies of
the Corridor, Boomtown, Ghost Town, Tartuffe and other plays for a
variety of theatres. She wrote and directed the play Lost Land for
the 2008 Frontera Festival in Austin, Texas. This year she is
directing the English premiere of a contemporary Egyptian play The
Comedy of Oedipus (You're the One Who Killed the Beast) at Weber
State and she is currently finishing the first draft of her new
play Table of Roses.
Michele McConnell,
1993
Starring on Broadway as Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera, soprano
Michele McConnell came to Butler from New Jersey. She graduated
with a Bachelor of Music in
Music Education. Before her role in Phantom, Michele performed in
productions of Camelot, Beauty and the Beast and other
shows. She has made numerous recordings for Hal Leonard Publishing
and is on the original cast recording of Anna Karenina.
Matthew
Harrod, 1983
Matthew Harrod received his B.M. in
music education with honors in 1983 and his M.M. in music education
in 1988. He has been teaching instrumental music for 30 years, and
is currently Director of Bands at Riverside Junior High School and
Riverside Intermediate School in Fishers, IN. Prior to his position
at Riverside, he was the Director of Bands at Fishers Junior High
for seven years. He has been Graduate Assistant Director at Butler
University, and also Associate Instructor with the Indiana
University Department of Bands in Bloomington, IN. Mr. Harrod
conducted the IU Marching Hundred in the 1991 Peach Bowl, and the
Southport High School Jazz Ensemble in the 1999 "Essentially
Ellington Festival" at Lincoln Center, NY. Under Mr. Harrod's
direction, the Riverside Junior High Bands have consistently earned
top honors at all ISSMA Concert Band and Jazz Band events and other
festivals. Mr. Harrod is a past president of the Indiana
Bandmasters Association, and has served as committee chairman for
numerous festivals and contests.