Rate My Professor Jessica Fay

Jessica Fay serves as Professor of Dance and Chair for the Ballet Department at Oklahoma City University in the Ann Lacy School of Dance and Entertainment. She holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Dance Performance and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance, both earned from Oklahoma City University, where she has been on the faculty since 2010. A native of Minnesota, Fay initiated her dance training under Charlotte Wendel and secured scholarships to further her studies with the Minnesota Ballet and the Zenon Dance Company. Her expertise in ballet pedagogy stems from two decades of mentorship by esteemed instructors Jo Rowan and Kay Sandel. Fay is an ABT® Certified Teacher, having successfully completed American Ballet Theatre’s Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She is a versatile artist proficient in ballet, tap, jazz, and musical theatre dance.

In her distinguished career, Fay has performed professionally across renowned platforms, including featured roles with the Minnesota Ballet and the Summer Olympic Games, national tours with the Minnesota Dance Ensemble, Walt Disney World productions, halftime shows, dinner theaters, and professional musicals. She also danced on a United States Goodwill Ambassador tour in Russia, Estonia, and Latvia. At Oklahoma City University, she holds the prestigious Jo Rowan Endowed Chair of Dance, Ballet, awarded through a $1.2 million gift from the estate of Ann Lacy in recognition of her significant impact on the school and its ballet students. Fay advises students in the dance performance degree program, choreographs for the Star Dance Company, and directed and choreographed her original production, Shades of Love. She participated in a faculty development trip to Ireland to study international arts management and serves as a founding board member of the Oklahoma Performing Arts Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to the health and well-being of performing artists.