Jazelynn Goudy

Jazelynn S. Goudy is a gravity-defying interdisciplinary performing artist-scholar, educator, and USAF veteran from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her practice bridges Black Midwestern Hip Hop, social, contemporary, and African Diasporic dance with interactive media, light, and loop-pedal sound. Grounded in liberatory pedagogy and social change, her work centers Black women and girls, embodied knowledge, and community histories.

After serving in the United States Air Force, Goudy earned a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies with a minor in Dance from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from The Ohio State University. Her training includes the Urban Bush Women Summer Leadership Institute, École des Sables in Senegal, and Ko-Thi Dance Company in Milwaukee, among others. Her artistic practice is further informed by international study and participation in social dance, club, church, and community traditions across the African Diaspora.

In 2022, Jazelynn received the Elliot Norton Award for Best Choreography for Once on This Island at SpeakEasy Stage. She performed in PURPLE: A Ritual in Nine Spells, a Bessie-nominated work presented at Lincoln Center in 2024. She performs with Ladies of Hip Hip, Thick Like Me, and other artist-practitioners on a project-by-project basis. Her digital media work led to collaborations with Renegade Performance Group, Chenesy Snow, and others.

Beyond performance and teaching, Goudy co-founded Thick Like Me, a nonprofit advancing body liberation and holistic wellness for thick Black women in dance. She is also a Collective and Board of Trustees member of Ladies of Hip Hop and contributes to the Coalition of Diasporan Scholars Moving. Across her artistic, educational, and community-based work, Goudy champions embodied knowledge, cultural memory, and transformative possibilities for Black dance.