JACKIE NOWICKI

CHOREOGRAPHER

she/her

Jackie Nowicki is a Chicago-born dance artist, choreographer, and educator whose work is defined by bold physicality, emotional clarity, and a distinctly athletic movement vocabulary. Her choreography explores human connection, resilience, and memory, inviting audiences into immersive and viscerally resonant experiences.

A graduate of Western Michigan University, Jackie received her BFA in Dance summa cum laude, was named a Presidential Scholar, and was later honored as the Department of Dance’s Distinguished Alumna. She performed internationally with Pilobolus Dance Theater as a member of their PCS company and is certified to teach through their Educational Outreach Program. Her performance career also includes working with Mike Esperanza’s BARE Dance Company, Calen Kurka’s :pushing progress, and Marlena Wolfe’s The Wolfe Project.

 Jackie’s voice as an educator and mentor has shaped dance communities across the United States. She served as a part-time faculty member in Western Michigan University’s Department of Dance and, while based in New York, held a faculty position at Peridance Capezio Center, with guest teaching engagements at Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center. In Chicago, she has taught at leading institutions including Visceral Dance Center, Lou Conte Dance Studio, COMMON Conservatory, Exhibit 3 Dance Company, Steps Dance Center, and The Rooted Space, and currently serves as the Assistant Director of Extensions Dance Center. She is recognized as a knowledgeable educator whose physically demanding and thoughtfully articulated approach to movement has earned her numerous master class and convention invitations, including faculty roles with Celebrity Dance Conventions, Dance Device Labs, Turn It Up Dance Challenge, and Stage Door Workshops, specializing in Contemporary and Improvisation.

Her choreography has been commissioned by organizations and institutions such as The Ailey School, Dance in the Parks, Elon University, The HARTT School, Marymount Manhattan, Nova Linea Contemporary Dance, Salve Regina University, Southern Florida University, Urbanity Dance Boston, Western Michigan University, the Peridance Certificate Program, Wayne State University, and Visceral Dance Chicago among others. Her work has received critical acclaim and was selected to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, as part of the American College Dance Association’s National Festival.

Jackie is the Artistic Director of NOW Dance Project, a contemporary dance company based in New York and Chicago. Through her creative and educational work, she remains committed to cultivating meaningful artistic exchange and creating movement that resonates deeply, lingers emotionally, and leaves a lasting imprint on both dancers and audiences.