Jennifer Dennehy
Born in Buffalo, NY Jennifer began her dance training at the age of 3. Trained in ballet, modern, tap, jazz, African, hip-hop, hoop and creative dance. She hold a BA in Psychology from Mercyhurst College. Trained in Creative Dance @ LUNA Dance’s Summer Institute in Berkeley, CA. For the past 7 years Jennifer has danced with Dafmark Dance Company in Erie, PA under the direction of Dafna Rathouse-Baier. She teaches 31 weekly hoop and creative dance classes in Erie, PA, she is a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Rostered Teaching Artist, and is the founder and artistic director at Lake Effect Hoop Troop (established in 2012). Her current endeavors include; integrating creative dance practices into hoop dance, training in Cyr Wheel, and teaching PA State Standards Based curriculum (math, science, writing) through hoop dance and creative dance in schools. She also works with various social service organizations and community centers to bring dance to underserved and unserved populations such as inner city youth, seniors, individuals with developmental and physical disabilities, and people with Parkinson’s Disease. Her areas of specialization are; integrating dance technique with the hoop, creating hoop dance choreography from a dance composition perspective, and teaching hoop dance to kids.
In 2015, Jennifer was awarded the Bruce Morton Wright Artist of the Year by Erie Arts & Culture. She also received two Top Hat Awards; 2015 Outstanding HoopDance Choreographer and 2015 Modern Contemporary HoopDance Fusion. Additionally, Jennifer came in 4th during the 2016 season of Hooping Idol. Nominated for the 2017 Hooping Video of the Year and received a 2017 Hoopie Awards Honorable Mention for my Hooping Idol 6: Horror week Video. In 2018 Jennifer was the recipient of the Emerging Artist Fellowship through Erie Arts & Culture for her creative works.
Jennifer has been hooping since 2010 and has taught and performed at Colleges/Universities through the United States, at the 2016 & 2017 National Dance Education Organizations Conferences in Arlington, VA and San Antonio, TX, and at many of the largest hoop/flow retreats in the US including; Hoopcamp (CA), Spin Summit (CO), Florida Flow Fest (FL), Return to Roots Gathering (PA), Hoop Convergence (NC), Frostburg State University (MD), Point Park University (PA), Spring Hill College (MA), University of Buffalo (NY), University of Connecticut (CT), Connecticut College (CT), Eastern Connecticut State University (CT), Allegheny College (PA), Gannon University (PA), Mercyhurst University (PA), University of Missouri (MO). Jennifer’s 2019 schedule includes teaching at Neetis Dance in New Delhi, India in January, in Toronto, Canada in April and she is so excited to be joining teaching at Heart and Hoop Dance Retreat in the Netherlands in July 2019.