About the Artist
Originally from Charleston, SC, Veronica Jiao currently lives in Queens, NY and is a 2015 graduate Magna Cum Laude from Florida State University. While pursuing her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts at FSU, she had the privilege of working with contemporary choreographers Gerri Houlihan, Jawole Zollar, Rick McCullough, Tim Glenn, Hannah Schwadron, and Shamar Watt. During her time at FSU, Veronica was also a company member of The Tallahassee Ballet, performing demi-soloist roles in The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Beauty and the Beast.
At the age of 14, she had the honor of attending the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts & Humanities, where she studied under the direction of Stanislav Issaev, Irina Ushakova, Sandra Neels, and Lloyd Whitmore. As a high school student, Veronica performed in modern and contemporary ensemble works, as well as lead roles in pas de deuxs from Don Quixote, La Sylphide, Paquita, and Flames of Paris.
Prior to her acceptance at the Governor's School, she trained and competed in gymnastics for several years, boasting gold medals at the state level for balance beam and floor. Concurrent with her years as a gymnast, she competed in tap, jazz, and acrobatic dance.
In addition to performing, Veronica is also passionate about dance education and youth development through dance. Through 2016, she was a Teaching Artist with Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center in Bronx, New York and worked as a Marketing Assistant for the Brooklyn non-profit dance organization Dancewave.
Veronica's most recent endeavors include performing aboard the Disney Dream with Disney Cruise Line, and contributing an op-ed to DanceMagazine.com. Currently she is performing through RWS Entertainment Group at Worlds of Fun's Winterfest 2017, in Charlie Brown's Christmas Spectacular.
View dance-focused resume here.