FINDING RHYTHM IN UNEXPECTED PLACES

When Corps Artist Jazz Khai Bynum submitted her choreographic proposal for Ballet West’s Works from Within program, she never imagined it would lead to an opportunity that would expand her artistic vision.

Choreography wasn’t initially in Bynum’s career focus, despite her mother’s persistent predictions. “My mom always saw it. Even from when I was a kid, she’d say, ’You’re going to dance professionally, but you’re also going to choreograph,’” Bynum recalls.

Her original concept featured 18 dancers in a dandelion field with constantly shifting formations. Fate intervened when Utah Valley University’s Repertory Ballet Ensemble selected her work—but with only 13 dancers available.

“I had a lot of uncertainty,” Bynum admits. “I was like, ’Can I come up with another idea? Can I come up with something else that I’m going to be inspired by?”

The unexpected challenge became a creative turning point. “Let me just go somewhere that feels like home,” she explains. The result was With Feeling, set to music by Derek Bermel and Duke Ellington. For Bynum, the connection was deeper than just jazz music, given that she is named after the musical genre. Her new piece explores that transcendent moment when music captures your soul and finding peace, freedom, and joy within the rhythm.

The choreographic process transformed Bynum’s own dancing. “It helped me to find freedom in my movement, especially in class,” she notes. “Technique always seems so separate from dancing. Lately I’ve really been able to push myself beyond a clean line or a perfect pirouette. There’s all the in-between things that make a combination of a little dance.”

After its successful world premiere at Utah Valley University on March 27, 2025 at The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts in Orem, With Feeling joined the other Ballet West choreographers with Works form Within on May 14, 2025 at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center.