Jay Beardsley is a white nonbinary dancer, multimedia artist, and educator currently residing in Brooklyn, NY.
Among the artists that they collaborate with are Douglas Dunn + Dancers, Ballez/Katy Pyle, TheRedProjectNYC/Johnnie Cruise Mercer, GREYZONE/Lindy Fines, Cornfield Dance/Ellen Cornfield, and MICHIYAYA Dance. They have performed choreography by Merce Cunningham, Anna Maria Häkkinen, Douglas Dunn, Katy Pyle, Trebien Pollard, Michelle Thompson-Ulerich, and Sinclair Emoghene. Their work with artists goes beyond performance and includes grant writing, arts administration/company management, production, community organizing, and the creation of media and content. Organizations including Movement Research (New York City), Proteomedia (New York City), MOMENTA (New York City), Performance Mix Festival (New York City), BADDANCE (New York City), Dance Place (Washington, D.C.), and Dogtown Dance Theatre (Richmond, VA) have produced choreographic and media work by Jay. Jay teaches theater and movement in many communities including the NYC DOE school systems.
After attending Virginia Commonwealth University, Jay received the Bobby Chandler Award for Theatre as well as an award for Outstanding Choreographer in 2020. Along with many other esteemed faculty members and guest artists, Jay studied with and performed works by Jenna Riegel, Trebien Pollard, André Zachery, MK Abadoo, Christopher K. Morgan, and Scott Putman. Jay has also expanded their performance studies through numerous workshops and intensives with other artists and groups, such as the Trisha Brown Dance Company, Kyle Marshall, the Merce Cunningham Trust, American Dance Festival, Kristopher K.Q. Pourzal, and Sidra Bell.
Throughout their various practices, Jay moves from queer spiritualism and trans embodiment.
Artist Statement
I am an artist engaging the mediums that have been poured into me: dance and movement, media and film, text and poetry. Through my multidisciplinary work, I investigate queerness, history/lineage, and the social effects of emerging technology. I work in distortion, using costume, dramatic lighting, and Western classical dance forms to abstract bodies, time, and space. In this process, I tear apart and reconstruct queer identity in both solo and relational modes. I juxtapose these characters with references to the symbolic, interrogating common threads of cultural understanding.
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As a member of Gen Z, I am internet obsessed. As a BFA holder, I am equally obsessed with philosophy and discourse.
In my art, I investigate how these concepts interact and leave an impression on both bodies and brains. My creative process involves bringing my past and sources of inspiration to life through performance and installation. My work aims to shed light on queer histories, viewpoints, and future orientations and innovate in the field of art by utilizing technology in previously unexplored ways.
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With the birth of a new era following 2020, my work has developed a branch of new media that synthesizes our digital experience with the concrete and natural world. Living inside of a body and brain that have been deeply shaped by technology, I am curious about engaging with it as I would a human collaborator.