Jacksonville’s only fully-professional dance company, Jacksonville Dance Theatre (JDT) is committed to creative innovation and exchange through dance making, performance and education. A contemporary dance and performance company dedicated to creating and promoting excellence in the field of professional dance on local, national and international stages, JDT was founded in 2012 by Katie McCaughan, Rebecca Levy, and Tiffany Fish.
“Each one of us – the founders – either moved to or returned home to Jacksonville after completing master’s degrees in dance, choreography and education. We’ve performed with dance companies and choreographers throughout the country, formed dance companies, and created dance education curriculum or dance outreach programs,” says McCaughan, the company’s executive director.
“As other professional dancers found their way to Jacksonville, Rebecca, Tiffany and I recognized the need and readiness in the Jacksonville community for a professional contemporary dance company, and so Jacksonville Dance Theatre was born,” she explains.
In addition to their work with JDT, currently Levy (JDT artistic director) is a professor of dance at Florida State College of Jacksonville, Fish (JDT creative director) instructs dance and dance film courses at Jacksonville University, and McCaughan teaches and directs the dance program at Episcopal School of Jacksonville.
In its first four seasons, JDT presented dance in unique ways in Jacksonville. Their Annual Repertory Concert has enjoyed record attendance each year. In addition to staged performances and repertory concerts, the company has combined dance with other important aspects of Jacksonville culture such as One Spark, art walks, local galas, teaching and outreach opportunities, and charitable events, with more than twenty-five separate local performances. They have also performed at more than fifteen national festivals and showcases, including the 2014 Dance Gallery Festival in New York City, where JDT won the Audience Choice Award. In 2016, JDT created the first ever Jacksonville Dance Film Festival, drawing submissions from across the country. Their international projects have included performances in Mexico, Israel and Iceland.
