Jordan Ryder

CHOREOGRAPHER • MOVEMENT DIRECTOR • EDUCATOR

ABOUT

Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Jordan Ryder is a NYC-based Choreographer, Movement Director, Dancer, Educator, and Administrator. Her early training began at LoMastro Performing Arts Academy under the direction of Loren LoMastro, Extensions Dance Company under the direction of Lizzie MacKenzie, and the scholarship program at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago under the direction of Claire Bataille. She attended New York University Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 2018 with a BFA in Dance and a double minor in Sociology and the Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology. While at NYU, Jordan performed works by Crystal Pite, Paul Taylor, Pamela Pietro, and James Martin, among others. She also reinforced her dance training with several programs abroad in Israel, Ireland and Germany.

After graduation, Jordan continued her choreographic endeavors by forming her company, RyderDance. Her work has been presented throughout the tri-state area at venues including the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Loew's Jersey Theatre, and the Martha Graham Studio Theater, to name a few, as well as throughout the United States in cities such as Atlanta and Chicago. She was a recipient of the 2018 Eryc Taylor Dance New Choreographer Grant and 2021 Brooklyn Arts Council Foundation Grant. Off-broadway credits include "White Rose The Musical" (Movement Director) and "Singfeld! A Musical Parody About Nothing!" (Choreographer). Choreographic commissions include Eryc Taylor Dance Company, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Rogue Wave Dance | Fall for Fall Dance Festival, Bromance Web Series, Melange Dance Company, and One Day Dance, among others. Her film, "NEXUS II", was the Official Selection for the New York Arthouse Film Fest in 2023. Her piece on the Eryc Taylor Dance Company was featured on PBS. Jordan is a proud member of SDC.

As a freelance dancer, Jordan has worked with Yoshito Sakuraba | Abarukas Dance, Guanglei Hui | Cross Move Dance Lab, Eryc Taylor Dance Company, and others. Additional campaigns and performances include Marc Jacob's Fall Collection 2021, John Ashford Shoes, and Sotheby's Auction House.

Outside of dance, Jordan is the Marketing and Media Coordinator at Peridance Center and the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Doug Varone & Dancers. She also teaches contemporary for Peridance Center, Ballet Hispanico, and The School at Peridance.

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Artist Statement

I am interested in combining storytelling with contemporary movement in order to elevate traditional performance and turn it multi dimensional. I want my work to encompass every part of a narrative: the dialogue, landscape, setting and subtext. My movement introduces a gradient that ebbs and flows between structure and fantasy, literal and figurative, text and context. The physicality of my work guides the audience’s eye into a dance of its own, igniting the nerves and senses. With ephemeral movements grounded in characterization and story, the work leaves each audience member with their own interpretation and experience. Dance can be expansive, exhilarating and personal all at once and that is something that should be shared and celebrated.

I also work to expand my creations’ reach and accessibility by exploring new audiences and mediums. I am currently experimenting with merging the worlds of commercial and concert dance, two disciplines that I believe could greatly benefit from one another. Pairing the literal and enticing with the abstract and elusive could widen each style’s reach and cultivate a broader more inclusive dance and artistic audience and community. This relentless evolution is a tenant of my artistic practice that keeps me constantly learning, adapting and curious, never at rest.