About | Jasmine Domfort

I AM an artist, a mover, an educator, a creator

I am an imperfect instrument in rhythmic motion

I am human

I am a woman

I am a mother

I am practicing awareness

I am practicing kindness

BIO

Jasmine Mejia is an NYC native, choreographer, teaching artist, and filmmaker. She is an Assistant Professor of Dance and Co-Director of H2 Dance Company at Hope College. Jasmine is a recipient of ACDA’s ALVA Award for Choreographic Excellence (2024) and a Towsley Research Scholars Fellow (2024-2028). Her choreography has been featured off-Broadway at the Clerman Theatre and in festivals, residencies, and venues nationwide such as the Kennedy Center, Ailey Citigroup Theater, and the Highline Ballroom. Her films have been screened in various international film festivals. Her additional teaching credits include master classes, workshops, and intensives across the country. As a freelance dancer, Jasmine has performed at venues including Radio City Music Hall and Lincoln Center. She has also performed internationally as a company member of Von Howard Project, MADArt Creative, LMproject, and Jamal Jackson Dance Company. Jasmine received her MFA in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University.

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Artist Statement

Rhythm drives my movement. I am my own instrument and play my own music. I can feel the melody course through my veins and caress my muscles as they bounce rhythmic impulses from one body part to another.

Choreographing is a therapeutic ritual that both heals and excites my spirit. I find the notion of forming something out of nothing and shifting bodies in space and time to be exhilarating. While my concepts are constantly changing, my conceptual through-line exists in taking honest scenarios and placing them on the stage. I am inspired by human observation, whether that be of relationships, human patterns, characters, or simple gestures. To avoid creating movement arbitrarily, I transform my observations into movement language. I focus primarily on rhythm and timing within my creative process as my rhythmic choices are pivotal for turning movement into phrases, and phrases into stories.

Although I occasionally work with heavy social topics, I often deliver my messages in a light manner; because we could all use a smile and laugh every now and then. I create to form a connection with my audience, regardless of how my work may be perceived.

Above all, creating brings me peace.

Teaching philosophy

My objective as a dance educator is to connect with students through my passion for movement by providing guidance as they develop their artistry. By maintaining an ongoing physical and verbal dialog in my classroom, I create a safe space where my class can feel encouraged to discover their creative individuality and work towards their full potential. In both technique and composition/improvisation classes, I always leave time for feedback so that students may voice their overall experience including any frustrations they faced or new discoveries they may have unearthed. Developing a rapport with students is an essential feature of my philosophy as the environment we create is preserved with mutual respect.

I encourage students to find pathways that work for their distinctive bodies and inner rhythms. My current research is dedicated to developing an entire course on creating and moving through Rhythmic Motion. Rhythmic Motion uses rhythm of the body, mind, and environment as the consisting through line. Through this concept, students are taught to dance the rhythm, and therefore create music with a specific instrument - the individual body. Rhythmic Motion allows dancers to quickly learn combinations and execute varying dynamics and suspensions while improving their technique.

Special Skills

Tap Dancer

Screendance Maker