Jessica Zeller, PhD, MFA, is a Professor of Dance in the TCU School for Classical & Contemporary Dance. She teaches courses in ballet technique and repertoire as well as Dance Studies coursework in Dance histories, theories, pedagogies, and methodologies.
Zeller aims to design and teach courses that center humanity, equity, and vitality in the ballet studio and the classroom. In the tradition of Critical Pedagogy, she seeks to balance a critique of unjust systems and hierarchies with the hopeful view that liberatory education is always possible. In the tradition of Feminist Pedagogy, she seeks to honor and acknowledge each individual student; their histories and ways of knowing and being in the world. And in defiance of ballet’s exclusionary traditions, she seeks to make space for each student to find the form in their individual body to their desired end—to overturn ideals for the sake of healthy artistic development and embodied agency. (See Teaching Philosophy and Writings.)
Much like her teaching, Zeller’s research brings ballet pedagogy into dialogue with Critical and Feminist pedagogies. Her new book, Humanizing Ballet Pedagogies: Philosophies, Perspectives, and Praxis for Teaching Ballet (Routledge 2025) theorizes ballet pedagogy as a critical praxis and considers a range of approaches for humanizing, equitable teaching in ballet. Her 2016 book, Shapes of American Ballet: Teachers and Training before Balanchine (Oxford UP) unearths the work of European and Russian ballet pedagogues during the early twentieth century. Other writings of note are her chapter titled “‘Trust That I Know My Body’: Student Agency and Autonomy in the Ballet Class,” in the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Ballet Pedagogy, and her chapter titled “‘Can you feel it?’: Pioneering Pedagogies that Challenge Ballet’s Authoritarian Traditions” in the 2021 anthology (Re:)Claiming Ballet (Intellect). (See Research for more.)
In addition to presenting research at CORPS de Ballet International conferences and in a 2019 public lecture for the Temple University Dance Studies Colloquium Series, Zeller has facilitated dialogues around Ungrading and progressive pedagogies in Dance programs and faculty development workshops. Recently, she was a panelist for the Royal Academy of Dance’s Guest Lecture Series, served on the faculty of the Digital Pedagogy Lab, and was a guest on several education podcasts. Her teaching has been formally acknowledged with a TCU Deans’ Teaching Award and features in TCU Endeavors and TCU Magazine. She is a past President of CORPS de Ballet, International.