Jason Coosner
Jason Coosner holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance with a concentration in Choreography from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. SMU’s Dance Program is one of the top 5 in the nation and Jason was one of four, internationally, to be accepted as a 2007 candidate; he was awarded a Full-Artistic scholarship for the duration of his studies by the Meadows School of the Arts. During his tenure he had the privilege of studying under award winning jazz dance legend Danny Buraczeski and contemporary jazz master Max Stone. Throughout his graduate studies Jason created 3 new, fully produced, dance works and taught Jazz Dance for three semesters on faculty. While in Dallas he served as the Assistant Artistic Director for Collin County Ballet Theatre. He was also the Director of Musical Theatre and Contemporary Dance at Hathaway Academy of Ballet, one of Dallas’ premiere pre-professional performing arts schools teaching classes in Jazz, Modern, Ballet, Tap, Musical Theatre and Acting. Jason also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Musical Theatre from the Professional Training Program at Elon University in North Carolina.
Jason has taught master classes for the University of Indiana-Bloomington, Elon University and students in Cape Town, South Africa majoring in Dance for grade 12. He recently completed a three-day workshop for the members of the Theatre Dance Association, a dance syllabus organization in South Africa, and advised on the choreography component of the Western Cape Education Department’s Dance curriculum. Currently Jason choreographs for Children’s Civic Light Opera and teaches dance at Dance Studio 1, MNR Dance Factory and Beach Cities Dance. He is also the Artistic Director of his new contemporary dance company Jason Coosner Dance/JCD.
Jason has been commissioned to create new works for Everybody Dance, SoCal Ballet, Elon University, Collin County Ballet Theatre and the Beverly Hills High School Dance Company for which he served as the Assistant Artistic Director 2007/2008. Jason has choreographed musical productions of The Music Man”, “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, “Les Miserables”, “Return to the Forbidden Planet”, “Little Shop of Horrors”, and “Cabaret” which he also directed. Jason has also directed and choreographed at Paul Revere Middle School and St. Martin of Tours School.
As a performer Jason has worked regionally in over 20 professional theatrical productions including the National Tour of “Kiss Me Kate”. Highlights include: The Full Monty, Wait Until Dark, Singin’ In the Rain, How To Succeed… Closer Than Ever, King Island Christmas, Once Upon a Mattress, On the Town, Annie, West Side Story, Return to the Forbidden Planet, Anything Goes, The Secret Garden, Crazy for You, You Can’t Take It With You, and Music Man to name a few.
As a vocal artist he has shared the stage with Amy Grant, Vince Gill, and Jo Dee Messina as well as Broadway veterans Chuck Cooper and Norm Lewis. Jason has had the privilege of being invited to sing for dignitaries such as Ehud Barak, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and Shimon Perez as well as sing the National Anthem for the Texas Rangers Baseball Club. In the summer of 2006 Jason was selected to attend the prestigious Cabaret Conference at Yale where he worked, intensively, one on one with Broadway legends such as Tovah Feldshuh, Amanda McBroom, Sally Mayes and Sharon McNight.