Jennifer Kitchens
Instructor
Jennifer Kitchens was born in Plano, Texas where she began her dance training at Ballet Dallas. After moving to Massachusetts, she continued training at the Boston Ballet on scholarship and was trained in the Balanchine method at Ballet Workshop of New England throughout high school as well. Growing up, she was accepted to and attended many summer intensives including Miami City Ballet, Orlando Ballet, Boston Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Virginia School of the Arts, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Burklyn Ballet Theatre.
After high school, Jennifer attended Mercyhurst College and graduated with a BA in Dance under the direction of Tauna Hunter (former principal dancer with Ballet West.) There she performed in many ballets including "Giselle" and "Coppelia," as well as several modern, jazz, and contemporary works. She also choreographed three pieces on her fellow classmates and performed in the American College Dance Festival.
Jennifer was offered a contract with Atlanta Festival Ballet upon graduation where she danced professionally for seven years. There she performed roles such as 'Elsa' from "The Frozen Ballet," 'Clara' from "The Nutcracker," 'White Rabbit' from "Alice in Wonderland," 'Pas de trois' from "Swan Lake," and 'White Cat' of 'Puss in Boots' from "The Sleeping Beauty." While at Atlanta Festival Ballet, she was invited to dance and choreograph for "Rippled Effect," a gala performance with many professional Atlanta based dancers. Jennifer also had the privilege to choreograph two pieces on The Georgia Ballet's professional company. In 2017, Jennifer became a freelance artist and was hired to perform in the ballet, "Uncaged's Christmas," under the direction of Rebekah Diaddigo. Jennifer has also been hired as a guest artist to perform the role 'Snow White' in North Georgia School of Ballet's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."
In 2018, Jennifer moved to Florida after accepting a contract with Tampa Ballet Theatre. She danced for two seasons at TBT and performed in many ballets including “The Nutcracker,” “Les Slyphide,” “Cinderella,” and “Peter Pan.” In 2019, she was asked to help audition and rehearse the Moscow Ballet's “Great Russian Nutcracker.” That winter she was also hired to perform as the ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’ as a guest artist in “The Nutcracker” under Ballet Master Sean Musselman. Jennifer most recently joined Brandon Ballet and had the opportunity to perform the role of ‘Snow Queen’ in “The Nutcracker.” She has been teaching for almost ten years and enjoys sharing her knowledge and love for ballet. Jennifer has been hired to guest teach and teach masterclasses in well over 20 studios throughout Georgia and Florida.