Jes is a three year veteran of the Swarm Performance team. She has been performing professionally for more than 11 years in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Las Vegas. Jes earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a Masters in Education. She loves practicing yoga and mixing music.  She is a high school dance teacher, coach and has taught dance camp in the summer for the past 15 years. She is looking forward to performing with the Swarm all the way to the Champions Cup in 2010!

Girl of the Week - April 7

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Q: With you in your third year with SPT and Carrie in her sixth, you two are the veterans. Have you two developed a special bond?

A: Yes, definitely. Carrie and I have become very close and we really enjoy being able to help out in any way we can as far as practices and games.

Q: With all the newcomers this year (six total), what’s the most frequently asked question?

A: In the beginning, it was game operations: where do we go, where is the elevator located – those kinds of questions. We tried to calm a lot of the first-day jitters. Now, sometimes we just remind them of what to bring to games and practices and keeping everybody up to date with what’s going on at practice that week.

Q: What’s different about this year as opposed to your first season with the Swarm?

A: The change in ownership was a big difference – just a lot of pros. We get to go out on a lot more appearances now. There are a lot more things being scheduled as opposed to my first year (2008). It goes throughout the summer now, which is a great way to stay connected to the fans. It gives us a chance to keep everyone informed about lacrosse and how big the sport is growing.

Q: And what are some of those appearances?

A: My favorite this year was at the Minneapolis Children’s Hospital. It was just me, a couple of the players and Buzz, and we got to take part in an on-air show at the hospital. We played Pictionary against each other and had a dance-off. We also went to the rooms and visited some of the kids who called in during the show. That was just amazing to be a part of that.

Q: Do you teach dance?

A: I teach for a summer dance camp that works with high-school students. I’ve been doing it since I graduated from high school. I love to watch my dancers grow as artists and I love just being able to watch my dancers perform.

Q: Have you had some pretty memorable instructors or mentors when you were brought up?

A: Definitely. I was a dance major at the University of Minnesota and had some wonderful teachers that had their own performing companies. And then when I lived in Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to work with some of the best choreographers in the world. I was very blessed.

Q: What brought you to LA?

A: I was dancing for the Timberwolves and Jimmy Jam told me I should go to LA and audition for the dance agency that represented Janet Jackson. So that summer, I went and auditioned and I made it. So I moved to LA.

Q: What were some of the gigs you had out there?

A: I was a part of some music videos and live performances.

Q: So you’ve been performing professionally for a long time. Do you still get that same feeling when you get in front of the crowd?

A: I’m not as nervous as I used to be. I just get more excited before performing. I’m so blessed that I can keep performing. I’m so lucky that, you know, for how long I’ve been in it, that I still am able to be a part of an organization like the Swarm. There’s nothing better than dancing for fans. That’s the best part when I danced for the Timberwolves, and for the Swarm, that’s the best part too. I danced for arena football back in the day when Minnesota had a team. Also, the Arctic Blast roller hockey team was amazing and so much fun.

Q: What other hobbies do you have?

A: Love yoga. We are sponsored by Core Power. I’ve been going there since college, so when we got that sponsorship, I was very excited about it. My best friend Lindsay and I go to yoga a lot together.

I also like to mix music. I’m a huge mixing-of-music person. I do a lot of our mixes for Swarm. I put together the music sometimes or help people edit the music. I really like to do that.

Q: How did you get into that?

A: You know, I did it back in the day when you hold up the boom box next to another boom box (laughs) and I just became addicted to it! So I’ve done it forever using all of the different types of technology.

Q: Must have gotten a lot easier with some of the new stuff that has come out…

A: Definitely, but technology keeps moving along so it keeps me on my toes!

Q: Do you mix all of the SPT’s music?

A: Not all of them. I’ve done some over the past couple years. In the last game this year (April 24 vs. Orlando Titans at Xcel Energy Center), Katie choreographed a dance and I edited that song. That’s exciting.

Q: Anything we should be looking forward to this Friday night (Swarm vs. Rochester Knighthawks – 7:35 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center)?

A: This coming Friday night, we are debuting another new dance, so I am excited about that. After the exciting game this past weekend, we are looking for a win. We really want the guys to hit it hard, we’ll hit it hard and hopefully find some success.