Jalen Williams began dancing in his hometown of Saint Petersburg, Florida at the age of six. He was enrolled into Perkins Elementary School for the Magnet Arts. There, he was first introduced to dance by Rebecca Hobbs, and Sean Musselmen. He continued training in dance as a focus, throughout the Pinellas county schools, at John Hopkins Middle, and Gibbs High School. During his time in the schools, he received a scholarship from a small studio, The Academy of Ballet Arts, under the artistic leadership of Suzanne Pomerantzeff. After graduating from high school, he furthered his training, and was accepted into the Ballet Department at the University of Utah. Here, he was able to hone in on his technique, and get more of an understanding in the history of classical ballet. After graduating from Utah, he has had opportunities to dance professionally as a soloist for The Ballet Theatre of Maryland and Ballet Virginia. Over the course of his training, Jalen has been accepted into many prestigious summer programs, such as a scholarship student at The Boston Ballet, Next Generation Ballet, Ballet West, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, The Nutmeg Conservatory, The Rock school, and Oregon Ballet Theatre. Also, he has had the privilege to dance works by Lloyd Whitmore, Talley Beatty, Patricia Paige Parks, Bliss Kohlmyer, Eloy Barragan, Ilya Kozadayev, Val Caniparoli, Matthew Neenan, Sir Brock Warren, Marquis Floyd, Dan Higgins, Lydia Roberts-Coco, Dwight Rhoden, Richard Wascko, and Jay Kim.
Get to know Jalen!
Seasons with DDI?
I'm very excited for my first season with DDI! I've so many fun things about it, can't wait to get started.
Company affiliation: Dayton Ballet
What inspires you in this world? Why do you dance?
What inspires me in this world is life and experiences. We're constantly always going through something, whether it be emotional, situational, or even physically. It's a learning experience, and you can take whatever information from it into other phases of life to help make you more successful.
I dance to be free. I dance to be myself, and it makes me feel human.
What do you love most about DDI?
One of the things that really interested me, and made me love DDI, was the concept of bringing together artists from different backgrounds to put together an evening of dance.
Favorite local business?
I haven't gotten to explore Dayton as much as I'd like, but if I do need snacks I always go to the Gem City Market.