JDF Elite Dance Academy

JDF Elite Dance Academy is committed to providing professional guidance in a positive atmosphere to all individuals.

From beginners to advanced dancers, starting at age 2 and up, our classes focus on development, technique, and precision. Our experienced, cutting edge instructors are versatile in all styles of dance. We dedicate ourselves to make sure that students will not only improve in dance, but also gain a positive self image, poise, focus, coordination and self discipline along with respect for themselves and others.

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Owner and Artistic Director, Jennifer Forst, has been dancing and performing for 33 years and has been teaching for 20 years. She is versatile in ballet/pointe, jazz, musical theater, and lyrical with her specialties being modern/contemporary, drill prep, tap, and hip hop.

Mrs. Forst was a high school Dance Team Director for 7 years. While under her Direction for 5 years, the Sam Rayburn HS Tex-Anns expanded their experience in various competitions including trips to New York and California. They earned National and Regional titles at various competitions. She also founded the JV Starlette Dance Team which has turned into a successful recruiting tool for the Varsity program. While at Rayburn, Mrs. Forst was the writer of the Pasadena ISD Fine Arts Dance Department Dance I-IV curriculum as well as created hiring questions for dance director candidates of PISD. Before SRHS she was the Director of the Bryan HS Shy-Anne Dance Team and the 2006 National Champion Novice Team the Westbury HS Blue Diamonds Dance Team.

Before her experience as a Dance Team Director, Mrs. Forst was born in Irving, Texas and started dancing at the age of 2 at Dana’s Dance Academy. While there, she studied ballet/pointe, tap, jazz, hip hop and musical theater. She was a member of the Academy Dancers, which performed throughout the community and was chosen to attend National Tap Conventions. She then began instructing and choreographing for Dana's Dance Academy at the age of 15.

She was a member of the Toy Tiger Drill Team at Irving HS for 4 years. While there, she served as a Lieutenant for 3 years and was a member of the elite jazz group, Swingers and Kick Company. She choreographed dances for Spring Show yearly as well as competed in the solo, duet, officer, ensemble and team categories at all dance competitions and placed. During her high school career Jennifer achieved the award of All Star Dancer which allowed her the opportunity to perform at the Florida Citrus Bowl and was awarded Who’s Who in Dance in 2000.

After high school, Mrs. Forst became a member of the professional dance company 5 Degrees of Dance out of Frisco, TX. She then attended Sam Houston State University where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a minor in Psychology. While there she studied, ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, choreography, musical theater, stage lighting and costuming. She was a member of the Spectrum Dance Company where she had numerous performance opportunities.

Jennifer has worked for the national dance company MA Dance for 14 years. She has held the position of Clinic Director, choreographer for camps and competitions, head dance instructor, and judge at regional competitions and staff auditions. Mrs. Forst has traveled to many different states working with high school and middle school dance teams. For two years she has been asked to take on the task as a presenter for a Director’s Workshop at MA Officer Camp. She has also been a Judge for Starz Dance Competitions, Dance Spotlight USA and MDDT.

Mrs. Forst has had extensive experience teaching at several dance studios. She has been an Instructor of hip hop, jazz, competition team and technique at three dance studios: Dana’s Dance Academy, Irving, TX, Dance Dynamics, The Woodlands, TX, and Memorial Dance Studio, Houston, TX. She was also an instructor for Bonnie Siscoe School of Dance in the areas of Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern/Lyrical, Sr. Company, leaps/turns, solos and trios.

As a professional choreographer, Jennifer has been a Master Class instructor, hired to correct and clean routines for high schools in Dallas and Houston, choreographed dances for middle school and high school dance teams in Dallas and Houston, hired to choreograph for many solos and duets for students on dance teams and in studio in Dallas, Bryan and Houston and she was the resident choreographer for O’Connell High School for 7 years.

Mrs. Forst’s other accomplishments are as follows: ​

National Choreographer of the Year 2016 (8 National Talent)

Director/Choreographer 2016 National Final Showcase Dance It Overall Champion "You're The One" (8 National Talent)

Director/Choreographer 2016 National Final Showcase Finalist Winners - 4 Dances Chosen - (8 National Talent)

Director/Choreographer 2016 National Champion Live It Small Group (8 National Talent)

Director/Choreographer 2016 National Champion Dance It Junior Duet (8 National Talent)

Director/Choreographer 2016 National Choreography Award "True Self" (8 National Talent)

Director/Choreographer 2016 National Entertainment Award Winner "Phobias" (8 National Talent)

Director/Choreographer 2016 ADCC Studio of Excellence Award (Energy)

Director/Choreographer 2016 Top Score Champion Pinnacle Small Group - "My Body is a Cage" (Next Level)

Director/Choreographer 2016 Top Score Champion Pinnacle Duet - "Slip" (Next Level)

Director/Choreographer 2016 Encore Performance Winner (Highest Score of Competition - 8 National Talent) "True Self"

Director/Choreographer 2016 Choreography Awards (Next Level, 8 National Talent, Legacy)

Director/Choreographer 2016 1st Overall Teen Small Group Winner (Next Level, Showstoppers, 8 National Talent)

Dirextor/Choreographer 2016 Excellence Award "My Body is a Cage" (Legacy)

Director/Choreographer 2012 National Champion WebTV Final Showdown Winners (Showstoppers)

Director/Choreographer 2012 Overall Senior Small Group Regional Champions (Showstoppers)

Choreographer of "To Build A Home" Eye of the Storm Most Creative Concept Award (Thunderstruck)

Choreographer of "Tore My Heart" Eye of the Storm Best Overall Choreography Award (Thunderstruck)

Director/Choreographer 2011 Overall Senior Small Group Regional Champions (Showstoppers)

Director/Choreographer 2010 National Grand Champion Medium Officer Line (Showtime)

Director/Choreographer 2010 National Grand Champion Large Ensemble (Showtime)

Director/Choreographer 2010 Grand Champion Medium Team (Champion Dance)

Director/Choreographer 2010 Grand Champion Medium Team (Showtime)

Director/Choreographer 2010 Grand Champion Medium Officer Line (Showtime)

Choreographer for 2008 Overall National Champion Private Team (MA Dance)

Director/choreographer of 2008 National Champion Large Team (MA Dance)

Director/choreographer of 2007 National Champion Medium Team (Champion Tours)

Director/choreographer- 2006 Overall National Champion Novice Team (Contest of Champions)

Best Overall Choreography 2005 (ADTS), 2007-2010 (MA Dance, Champion, and Showtime) Choreography Awards 2005- present for Lyrical, Jazz, Modern, Pom, Hip Hop, and Novelty

National Dean’s List at Sam Houston State University 2003 and 2004

Who’s Who in Dance 2000