Jessica St. Vil

Jessica St. Vil is a graduate of Lehman College, where she received her B.A. in Mass Communications and Dance. She continued her training at The Ailey School with a partial scholarship. Miss St. Vil completed her studies at the Institute for Dunham Technique and Certification and is a certified Dunham technique teacher. Her artistic work and practice are deeply rooted in the preservation of Haitian history and culture.  She has worked with many choreographers such as Christopher Huggins, Martial Roumain, Peniel Guerrier, Sean Curran, and Dyane Harvey. She has also performed with several dance theater companies, such as Feet of Rhythm, Joan Peter’s Dance Company, Vissi Dance Theater, Opus Dance Theater, Rod Rodgers dance Company, and National Ballet Folkloric of Haiti. Jessica worked in collaboration with Unimix films, choreographing a short film titled “One More Try”, and their award-winning feature film "Forever Yours".  Jessica is part of the virtual dance portal for children “Let’s Dance” in collaboration with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, featuring Haitian dance. She was honored in Washington D.C. by the National Museum of Women and the Haitian Embassy for her accomplishments in dance and continued dedication to Haitian art and culture. Jessica is the artistic director of KaNu Dance Theater and a co-founder of Danse Xpressions ”center for the arts”. In 2019 she choreographed the original dance drama “Zatrap” written by playwright Jean Claude Eugene. In 2022 Jessica co-facilitated the Haitian Resilience Through Art Project in collaboration with the Uniondale Public library. In 2024 she choreographed a one act play titled “Masquerade” by Melle Phillips.

Jessica is on faculty at The Ailey School’s where she teaches Dunham technique in the Professional Division.  She is also a Teaching Artist with Ailey Arts in Education and M&H Percussion.