J A C K I E K O P C S A K
DANCE EDUCATOR - CHOREOGRAPHER - PHOTOGRAPHER
J A C K I E K O P C S A K
Dance Educator - Director/Choreographer
B I O
Photo by Cathryn Farnsworth
Photo by Matt de la Peña.
Jackie Kopcsak is a founding faculty member and Associate Professor of Practice at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in Los Angeles, California. She served as Assistant Dean of Faculty from 2020-2023 and was appointed Assistant Dean of Programming and Special Projects in July 2023. A creative artist and a scholar, Jackie currently teaches ballet technique, pointe, variations, composition and repertory in the studio as well as dance appreciation, history and theory courses in the academic classroom. She co-developed USC Kaufman’s first study-abroad Maymester program in Paris, and has led the interdisciplinary course multiple times. Some of her favorite USC Kaufman experiences include co-teaching ballet technique classes with William Forsythe and directing Kaufman's first international tour to Germany in 2022. Throughout her time at USC, Jackie has been deeply involved in the curation, direction, and production of Kaufman's many performances, including debuts at New York City's Joyce Theater in 2019 and Jacob's Pillow in 2024.
As USC Kaufman's Director of "Artistic Affairs", Jackie has had the privilege of cultivating ongoing relationships with some of the dance industry’s most innovative creators, including Kyle Abraham, Hope Boykin, Tessandra Chavez, Patricia Delgado, Tyce Diorio, William Forsythe, Matthew Neenan, Kenny Ortega, Justin Peck, Caili Quan, Dwight Rhoden, Dani Rowe, Penny Saunders, Garen Scribner, Jermaine Spivey, Janie Taylor, Micaela Taylor, Jeff Thacker, Spenser Theberge, Doug Varone, and Christopher Wheeldon, among others.
Jackie's recent choreographic credits include a world premiere for USC Kaufman's Jacob's Pillow debut, the 2024 USC Viterbi short film VOLARE, a devised theatre work for the Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London, Japanese rock star Yoshiki's debut at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, and a solo for former La Scala prima ballerina Petra Conti broadcast on Italian television. Other choreographic credits include works for the Colburn School of Performing Arts, Evergreen City Ballet, Inland Pacific Ballet, NBC Sports, Pasadena Civic Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet School Dance Chance, Pacific Symphony, San Marino Unified School District, Washington Academy of Performing Arts, University of California - Irvine, and the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance.
Jackie is also a co-founder of the interdisciplinary dance company ArtistsPlus Productions. Seeking to fuse dance, live music and the visual arts, ArtistsPlus frequently collaborates with orchestras and art museums. Past commissions have included works for the American Youth Symphony, Angeles Chorale, Bel Canto Chorale, LA Art Show, LACMA, MUSE/IQUE Symphony Orchestra and the Norton Simon Museum. ArtistsPlus embarked on its first international tour to Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of Music & More SummerFest in 2019.
Jackie graduated with an M.F.A. in Dance from the University of California, Irvine and a B.A. in History from the University of Washington, Seattle. She received her dance training in Seattle at Pacific Northwest Ballet, where she enjoyed performing in works by choreographers George Balanchine and Kent Stowell. Jackie has also danced significant roles in the classical ballet repertoire as a guest principal dancer for Ballet Bellevue and Wade Walthall’s Evergreen City Ballet. Her theatrical experience includes choreographing and performing in musical theatre productions throughout Southern California as well as working behind-the-scenes as the Special Event Coordinator, Company Manager and Assistant to the Producing Director at Pasadena Playhouse, State Theatre of California.
Photos (l-r) by James Folsom, Jerome Tso, Rex Tranter and Pacific Symphony.