Jayne Bernasconi

Biography

Jayne Bernasconi is a dancer, choreographer, educator, author, and yogini who has been a leader in the fields of dance and yoga for more than four decades. Her award-winning choreography has been presented nationally and internationally. She has performed with leading New York City postmodern choreographers including David Gordon, Stephen Petronio, Pooh Kaye, Steve Paxton, and Bill T. Jones.

Since 2000, Bernasconi has served on the faculty in the Department of Dance at Towson University, where she teaches aerial dance, modern dance, composition/choreography and yoga. She is also the founder and artistic director of Arts Ability (for youth) and Forces of Ability (for adults), both dedicated to inclusive dance practices with mixed-ability populations.

From 1995 to 1999, she danced with Frequent Flyers Productions in Boulder, Colorado, before relocating to Baltimore, where she introduced aerial dance to the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. region and founded Air Dance Bernasconi.

Since the inception of the internationally acclaimed Aerial Dance Festival in 1999, Bernasconi has served as both faculty member and performer over the years. She is recognized for introducing aerial yoga and mixed-ability aerial dance at the Festival. She co-authored the book “Aerial Dance” with Nancy Smith (published by Human Kinetics, 2008 and republishing in process for 2026). Bernasconi holds an M.A. in Dance Education from Columbia University and is an E-RYT 500 yoga teacher through Yoga Alliance.