ABOUT ME

Jessie Williams, a graduate of Butler University with a BFA in Dance Performance, was born and raised in Suwanee, Georgia. She began her training at The Northeast Atlanta Ballet under the direction of Jennifer Gordon. When she was 17 she accepted a position at The Next Generation Ballet in Tampa, Florida under the direction of Peter Stark for the 2012—2013 season. She had the opportunity to perform corps and soloist roles in both Peter Stark's The Nutcracker and Cinderella. During Jessie’s time at Butler University she received extensive training from their faculty including Marek Cholewa, Rosanna Ruffo, Patrick Hinson, Derek Reid, Stefan Laurent, Cynthia Pratt, Susan McGuire and Laura Byram. Jessie was given the opportunity to perform corps, soloist and principal roles in full length ballets including The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Giselle, and Cinderella. She has also performed in many new works set by the faculty including the principal role the premier of Patrick Hinson’s Bleipt Alles Andres and other contemporary works and installations by Cynthia Pratt. In 2016 she helped create a role in David Ingram’s new contemporary work, KAPANOS. During her last two years at Butler she performed and was an assistant choreographer in Streamlines Indianapolis, a multimillion dollar project combining science with the arts to promote and inform the community about the waterways of Indianapolis created by Cynthia Pratt. In 2016 she was selected by Deborah Wingart of New York City Ballet to be cast in the phlegmatic section George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments. Jessie also enjoys choreography and has created many works for Butler’s dance department; Her most recent and most acclaimed being I, Thou opened the show at Butler Ballet's Senior Choreography Showcase. During the summer of 2016 she was asked to take two of her choreographic works to tour and be performed in Eastern Europe. Her works TRE•NI and Palloria were Premiered in the National Opera House in Warsaw, Poland and then were carried across countries to be performed in Prague, Krakow, and Poznan. She has also had two works, (Anthill and The Stars May be Falling, but They Look Nice on You) that were premiered at Butler’s student choreography showcase. Jessie has spent her summers at Next Generation Ballet, Boca Ballet where she was able to perform Moira in their full length “Giselle,” and Alonzo King Lines Ballet where she was able to work extensively with Sidra Bell and was featured in the premier of her new work Middle Prayer. In Jessie’s free time she enjoys strong coffee, fashion, and considers herself to be an excellent cook.