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Welcome to Jordan Academy of Dance

To all of the Jordan Family,

First of all I wish to thank all of you for your wonderful words of support and offers of help over the past two weeks; it has really meant a great deal to me. Secondly, I wish to thank you for your patience as we have worked to revise the Fall Schedule. Thirdly, this is a time of change for the Academy; an opportunity for us to re-new, re-dedicate and restore our passion and enthusiasm for dance and dancing. Please join us as we begin this new chapter in the long history that is Jordan.

I am very happy to be able to announce several new initiatives that will expand and enhance our offerings.

We have hired some vibrant, energetic, talented and highly qualified young teachers for the new school year. They each bring an individual point of view of the art form to the Academy, but at the same time they all possess a love for teaching and an understanding of the treasured values that define the Academy.

New Faculty

Mr. Oybek Tashpulatov, (Ballet, Pas de Deux) Originally from Tashkent, in the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr. Tashpulatov graduated from the Uzbek College of Choreography in 1987 where he earned Associate Degree of Arts. In 1986, he participated in the Gala opening of the first Good Will games in Moscow. For the next ten years, he performed as a Principal Dancer with the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Tashkent. In 1997, for his outstanding achievements in the field of dance, Mr. Tashpulatov was awarded the national title of "Honored Artist of the Republic of Uzbekistan" by the country's President. In February 1998, he came to the USA and was offered a position of Principal Dancer and Ballet Master in the International Ballet at Carnegie Hall in New York City. During his season with the International Ballet, he was also a guest performer with the Ballet Theatre of Boston and the Dance at Holy Trinity in New York. The following year, he joined Ballet Internationale of Indianapolis, retiring in 2003. Mr. Tashpulatov received critical acclaim immediately after his move to Indianapolis for his performance as Herr Drosselmeyer in BI's production of The Nutcracker. His illustrious career has included tours in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Germany, and China.

Mrs. Jessi Gomillion (Ballet, Pointe, Variations, Pas de Deux, Choreographer), graduated Cum Laude from Butler University as a Dance Performance major in 2003 and moved to Jackson, MS to be part of the trainee program at Ballet Magnificat! She completed two years of the trainee program, functioning as trainee captain for one year. She then spent one year as Adjunct Instructor of Dance in Belhaven College's Dance Department. She has been a guest teacher at Ballet Magnificat, Tupelo Fine Arts Workshop, White River Ballet Company, Central Indiana Dance Ensemble, and Regional Dance America's MidStates Festival. She has studied with Laura Alonzo, Bo and Stephanie Spassoff, Christopher Fleming, Gao Ping, Sol Nazario, Kathy Thibodeaux, Nan Giordano, Donald Byrd, and Finis Jung. Mrs. Gomillion has danced lead roles in The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Swan Lake, Konservatoriate, Petrushka, Night Dances, Short and Suite, Unveiled Hope, Deliver Us, and Weeping. Her choreography has appeared in The Boze Lyric Theatre's production of Merry Wives of Windsor, Spring Into Dance, and at the Penrod Arts Fair. She is currently a member of the dance faculty at Anderson University.

Ms. Jaclyn Virgin (Jazz, Ballet, Pointe, Choreographer), is an Indianapolis native. She began her dance training at age seven at Jordan College Academy of Dance. Upon graduating from Butler University with a BFA in Dance Performance she became a member of Dance Kaleidoscope - a professional Modern company in Indianapolis. In 2005, she was awarded a full scholarship to attend The American Dance Festival in Durham, NC. In 2006 she was a recipient of the Individual Artist Grant given by the Indianapolis Arts Council. She has been teaching Modern, Ballet, Jazz, and Yoga as well as choreographing around the city for companies such as Dance Kaleidoscope, Motus Dance Theatre, and Kenyetta Dance Company as well as some local high schools - Lawrence Central HS, Broad Ripple HS and Carmel HS. In 2008 she founded The (RE) Collective Company that involves live music and dance. Jaclyn has enjoyed working with a variety of talent around the Indianapolis area. The inspiration that students demonstrate keeps her deeply involved in the dance scene. She is driven by pushing young dancers to discover their passion in life.

Ms. Sarah Hammer (Ballet, Choreographer), fell in love with ballet from the moment she got her very first pair of ballet slippers at age 4. From that young age, she studied under Sue VanVoorhis and later studied and graduated from the Jordan College Academy of Dance. She also studied with the Butler Ballet program as an early admissions student in High School, and danced with the Jordan Dance Ensemble. At age 18, she received her first job as a professional ballet dancer with North Carolina Dance Theater. The following year, she moved to Austria where she found a deep love for the country. It was there that she danced professionally at the Grazer Oper Haus along with many other European venues for six years. Concurrently, she taught at two ballet schools, teaching ballet, modern and jazz dance for ages 3 to Adult. Sarah currently lives in Indianapolis where she is continuing to pursue her education at IUPUI. She is looking forward to teaching the young dancers at Jordan and enhancing their dance education through a deep love and passion for dance along with invaluable technical knowledge.

Other Faculty News

We are continuing to strengthen and expand our connection to Butler University and the Department of Dance. Mr. Derek Reid will be teaching a Men's Class on Wednesdays at Jordan and we are very excited about the four young men that will be joining him. In addition to her full schedule at Jordan, Mrs. Laura Byram has accepted an Adjunct Faculty position at Butler. She will be teaching the Teaching Analysis course for the department of dance. For many years Mrs. Byram has served as a supervisor for the Butler students who come to Jordan for their student Teaching Practicum and this is a practical extension of that work. Please join me in congratulating her in this exciting new endeavor.

My own position with the University has undergone some changes as well. I want to be very clear with everyone that I am still the Director of the Jordan Academy; nothing has changed about that portion of my responsibilities. The big change is that I am now also the Assistant Chair of the Department of Dance. Since my arrival at Jordan I have always maintained a dual position between Jordan and the Dance Department. I have taught classes in Choreography, Music for Dance, and Dance History and I have worked closely with the Butler Ballet. Those connections will continue; there will just be an increase in some of my administrative duties. My office and my contact information have not changed, although I will have a second office in Lilly Hall.

Again, my sincere thanks to everyone for their patience and their support. We are all very excited about the future; new faces, new energy, and new ideas. See you all soon.

Larry Attaway,
Director Jordan Academy of Dance