" One rarely sees dances made like this anymore..."  

- Dance Magazine 

Janaea Rose Lyn (McAlee) resides in Phoenix, Arizona and is the Residential Dance Faculty at Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC). She is a dancer, choreographer, educator and writer with an artistic focus on creating and facilitating collaborative projects with performing and fine artists. For more information about the EMCC Dance Program, contact janaea.mcalee@estrellamountain.edu or www.estrellamountain.edu/programs/dance.

In 2012, Janaea published “Dance This Notebook! Moving With Your Creativity” with artwork by Laura Higgins Palmer. A contributing writer for Choreoclinic (www.choreclinic.com), she has also written an e-book/text, Designing Your Life in the Performing Arts! A Resource for Dancers, Actors and Musicians. In 1992, the article Choreographer/Composer Collaborations was published in “Choreography and Dance, An International Journal,” edited by Robert Cohan.

 As Assistant Professor of Dance and Performing Arts Program Coordinator for Cecil College in Maryland from 2006-2012, Janaea designed and directed an interdisciplinary performing arts degree program. In March, 2010 she presented Creating Across Disciplines: An Integrative Approach To Performing Art Education at The League for Innovation in Community Colleges conference. In 2009, she was invited to present Calling as Career: The Intersection of Life and Learning in the Performing Arts at the Association for the Advancement of Community College Teaching (AFACCT) conference. Artistic work included The Love Letter Project, which uses community submissions as the genesis for original productions, and a contemporary interpretation of The Red Shoes with composer Kirk O’Riordan. 

In 2001 Janaea received an Individual Artists' Fellowship Award in Choreography from the Maryland State Arts Council. As Artistic Director of Dance Matrix and Convergence Dancers & Musicians, her choreography has been presented at The Biennale of Contemporary Dance in Poland; the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland; Pennsylvania Ballet’s Shut Up & Dance Festival; Dance Baltimore; Maryland Council for Dance; OperaDelaware, and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Janaea has choreographed for Leslie Carothers, former principal dancer with Pennsylvania Ballet and Joffrey Ballet, and Dirk Platzek of the Lar Lubovitch Company, both of whom appeared in a new production of Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Unicorn, The Gorgon and The Manticore with the Philadelphia Singers.  She has had roles created for her by guest choreographers Nejla Yatkin, Sue Bernhard and Ewa Wycichowska.

Janaea received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Arts/Dance from Sonoma State University and her Master of Arts degree in Dance/Choreography from Vermont College at Norwich University, while on scholarship at the Mary Anthony Dance Studio in New York City. Other important teachers include Bessie Schonberg, Anna Sokolow, Mary Hinkson, Peggy Baker and Pamela Pribisco.  Janaea also studies Flamenco and teachers include Rocio Montoya, Alfonso Loosa, Maria Juncal, Claudia Easton, Tamara Sol, Lydia Pousa, Javier Martos, Angelina Ramirez, Carlos Montufar and Julia Chacon.

A third generation Isadora Duncan dancer and historian, Janaea began her career with the San Francisco Duncan Dancers. In 1979, she was Artist in Residence artist at the Akademia Raymond Duncan in Paris, France where she initially curated the Musee des Duncan archives which appear in the book “Life Into Art” by Doree Duncan, Carol Pratl and Cynthia Spratt. Since relocating to Phoenix in 2012, she has been actively bringing the Duncan work to festivals, colleges, high schools and studios throughout Arizona. 

See Isadora Duncan Dance Page for more information.