Faculty

Jennifer's Academy of Dance prides itself on the quality
and expertise of its faculty. Our facutly is very skilled
and knowledgeable in all disciplines of dance offered to
our students. Not only do they provide a great technical base to their students, they love sharing their passion for the art of dance.   

Click the links below to read about our skilled Instructors and demonstrators:

Instructors | Demonstrators

Instructors

	Jennifer O'Brien Jennifer is the owner/operator of Jennifer's Academy of Dance. She was born in Sarasota Florida, and has been dancing since the age of two. Jennifer received a B.S. in Modern and an Associate's Degree in Ballet at Florida School of the Arts. Through out her dance career she has preformed in The King & I, Cabaret, West Side Story, Hello Dollie, The Grapes of Wrath, Act of Light, Will Rogers Follies, Oklahoma and many more. Jennifer had the opportunity to dance with many prestigious dance company's in New York City, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, The Martha Graham Dance Company, and continued with a full scholarship with the Mary Anthony Dance Company. In 1995 she moved to Louisville Kentucky where she taught at many studios through out the area. Now she opened her own studio in Louisville, Kentucky in June 2003, in addition to a second studio in 2005 and continues to be a strong asset to the dance community.
	Mary Lou Whitfield Mary Lou has been dancing since she was 4 years old. She studied tap, jazz, and ballet under the direction of Ada Lee Grawmeyer at Ada Lee's School of Dance for over 20 years. However, her main love, and major area of concentration is tap. Competing in numerous competitions throughout the years, Mary Lou also danced and traveled with the Union Barricades Troop for over 5 years. Additionally, during her dance career, she has taught tap for younger students several times. Now, after taking time off to pursue a career outside the studio, and start a family, Mary Lou returns as an instructor at Jennifer's Academy of Dance since its opening in June 2003.
	Kristin Coleman Kristin started dancing in 1984 at the age of three. When she was fifteen she begun demonstrating classes for younger students. Three years later, in 1998, she began teaching at a local studio. Her teaching continued and brought her to Jennifer's Academy of Dance in June 2003. She has been under Jennifer's instruction since 1996 and has taught with Jennifer since her teaching career began in 1998. Kristin also attended the University of Louisville. She is currently working towards a B.S. in Health and Human Performance, with concentration in Skills Acquisition with Teaching Preparation and a Minor in Health Education. She looks forward to graduation in December 2004.
	Amy Shadburne Amy has been dancing for over 22 years. She has been a student of Jennifer's for 15 years. Amy’s dance background consists of Ballet/Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, and Hip-Hop. Amy began teaching at a local studio 9 years ago and has been teaching at Jennifer's Academy of Dance for the past 7 years. In the summer of 2003, Amy attended the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts where she was a dance major with a concentration in Ballet. In 2004-2005 Amy spent a year as a dance major at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri studying Ballet/Pointe, Modern, Tap and Irish and East Indian dancing. She decided to return to the University of Louisville and received her Bachelor's in Business Management and Marketing in April 2008. Amy received scholarships from Dance Masters of the Bluegrass and the Dance Factory Convention. She has been selected as a Hoctor Dance Caravan Kid for the better part of a decade. Throughout her years of dance, Amy has studied under Elizabeth Hartwell, Clark Reid, Christina DiGiovanni, Mary Rotella, Deborah Carr and Jimmy Hao. She now spends her days as an account manager at The Benefits Firm and being a mom, and looks forward to the time she gets to spend at the studio.
	Christy Forehand Christy Forehand was raised in Champaign, Illinois and graduated from the Virginia School of the Arts. She started her professional dance career with the Charleston Ballet Theatre followed by Augusta Ballet, where she performed principal roles in many ballet and contemporary works, such as: Balachine’s Serenade and Tarantella; Jill Bahr’s Rite of Spring; and, Colin Conner’s Second Hand Sofa. Christy went on to dance five seasons with Dayton Ballet, where she performed as “Snow Queen” and “Sugar Plum Fairy” in, The Nutcracker, “Black Swan” in Swan Lake, “Lucy” in Dracula, and “Wendy” in Peter Pan. She was also featured in Dermot Burke’s Fetes des Courtiers and Alan Hinelines Thresholds II. Christy has enjoyed teaching at several studio's in South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio and Illinois throughout her career. Teaching students of all ages and levels, coaching for performance and competitions. She is happy to be joining the team at Jennifer's Academy of Dance, after recently moving to Louisville with her husband.
	Eddie Forehand Eddie Forehand
	Jessica Davis Jessica has enjoyed a lifetime of dance experience while also developing her desire to teach what she has learned in the genre of classical ballet, pointe, and modern as well as choreography. Jessica’s past experiences include being the Chair of the Dance Department at Sacred Heart School for the Arts, trained at the Youth Performing Arts School and the Louisville Ballet where she performed in the annual production of the Nutcracker during the most festive of seasons, Christmas.  When Jessica reached the college level, she enjoyed graduate work at Case Western Reserve University specializing in the Graham method. Jessica has worked with several well-known choreographers including Donald McKalyle, Randy Allen, Alun Jones and has performed in “Steps in the Street” by Martha Graham and “Bolero” by Pascal Rioult. Jessica looks forward to a future of imparting her wisdom to Louisville’s young dancers for their impending success.