Paunika Jones
Teaching: Gyrokinesis, Bar Work
Homeland: American
Location: Chicago, IL
Ms. Jones is a native of Miami, Florida. She is an alumna
of New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida, where
she studied ballet, various modern techniques, tap and jazz
dance.
She has trained under the direction of Suzanne Laliberte
Clark, Ursino Del Ville, Linda Rodgers Albritton, Yayi Vega,
and Beatrice Laverne, to name a few, and studie at the Ailey® School and the Dance Theatre of Harlem School’s Summer Intensive Programs.
Ms. Jones was invited to join DTH’s Dancing Through Barriers® Ensemble in 1996, where she remained for two years until she was accepted into the professional company in 1998 as an apprentice and ascended through the ranks to become a Principal Dancer in 2004.
Ms. Jones has performed leading roles in John Taras’ Firebird, George Balanchine’s Serenade and Four Temperaments, Geoffrey Holder’s Douglas, Arthur Mitchell, Augustus van Heerden and Laveen Naidu’s South African Suite, and Robert Garland’sReturn and New Bach.
She has worked with the legendary Freddrick Franklin, Donald McKayle, various representatives from the Balanchine Trust, Michael Smuin and George Faison to name a few. She's also had the honor of performing at the Legendary Aretha Frankiln's 70th Birthday party in New York as well.
Ms. Jones’ professional company experience includes: Dance Theatre of Harlem, Oakland Ballet, Columbia City Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Collage Dance Collective, DeMa Dance Co ,Lula Washington Dance Theatre, Ballet Noir and Brooklyn Ballet. As of late, she worked as a company member with the Brooklyn Ballet.
Where she was offered an oppurtunity to work weekly colaborating with the MoMA in New York. Where she was the "ballerina" in art piece on exhibit by Jannis Koinnellis: Da invetare sul posto: To invent on the spot. Currently, Ms. Jones is a freelance artist who is an Apprentice Gyrokinesis Instructor all while in the process of launching her own Dance and Performance Art Company in New York City.
While her career mostly consists of Ballet Companies and Dance Theatres, Ms.Jones was exposed to and discovered a great and profound interest in the study of Butoh, which is a Japanese form of art falling under the category of Performance Art.
