Jennifer Chipman Bloom is a Pittsburgh, PA, native, former professional ballet dancer, and associate in dance performance at Swarthmore. As a young girl, she watched Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (PBT) perform “The Nutcracker.” By the end of the performance, Chipman Bloom knew she wanted to dance professionally one day. With the support of her mother, she transitioned from a small dance studio to the PBT School and began her preprofessional ballet journey.
After training in the Balanchine technique under Patricia Wilde at PBT, Chipman Bloom began to spend summers at the School of American Ballet in New York and was eventually accepted into their year-round program for her sophomore year of high school. While still a student, Chipman Bloom originated a role in Jerome Robbin’s ballet “2 & 3 Part Inventions.” After just fourteen months at the school, she was asked to join the New York City Ballet (NYCB), where she danced professionally for five years. In her time with the company, she performed in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, and Christopher Wheeldon. Following her departure from NYCB, Chipman Bloom danced with various companies, including Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech, Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and Pennsylvania Ballet.
After struggling with recurrent injuries and an autoimmune disease, Chipman Bloom took a necessary step back from dancing, turning down a role on Broadway to focus on her health, academics, and her home life. She received her bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in English from Hunter College. Eventually, she moved to Swarthmore, her husband’s hometown, to start her family.
Chipman Bloom began teaching ballet at Swarthmore in 2010. From 2015 to 2019 she transitioned to be on the Bryn Mawr College dance faculty, but returned to Swarthmore as an associate in performance in 2020. She has taught classes of all levels in ballet technique, pointe work and variations, and partnering.
I took my first classes (ballet III and pointe & partnering) with Chipman Bloom in the spring of my first year at the college, and they quickly became some of my favorite courses. Chipman Bloom took the time to work with each individual student on their technique, identifying key areas for improvement and pushing them to grow in their technique. Chipman Bloom also introduced me to the Balanchine technique and intensively coached me in multiple variations. Beyond feeling immense growth in my technique, strength, and artistry as a result of Chipman Bloom’s feedback, some of my favorite moments in the class were our discussions about ballet culture as a whole. Chipman Bloom opened the class to discussions about perceptions of body image in ballet and unfair company policies. I had the opportunity to meet with Chipman Bloom recently to discuss her professional career and transition to teaching ballet in the liberal arts environment. Below are highlights from our conversation, edited for clarity:
Ellen Stewart: Throughout your time as a dance student and professional, have you had any particularly influential dance teachers or coaches?
Jennifer Chipman Bloom: [Among others,] Stanley Williams, who was Danish, and was brought by [George] Balanchine to the School of American Ballet, probably changed my dancing the most out of any teacher that I had. And he just taught in such a way; it’s [what] I try to bring to [Swarthmore dance students]. I was always a strong dancer, but he had you working with your weight and your balance, just being a little bit more on top of the legs all the time. All the big stars would come to take his class. Years before that [Mikhail Baryshnikov] would come, [Robert] Nureyev would come, Gelsie [Kirkland] would come. All the big stars would come to Stanley’s class. And when I came to the school, people like Darcy Kissler, who was a principal at the time, would all come and take [his Friday classes]. It was just so exciting because it was inspiring. He liked the pianist to play less. Like one note. And then you’d move through eight counts. I always try to figure out a way to do that. It’s challenging. Pianists want to play a lot of notes. So you just want to have them do the one. So I teach you all a lot of the combinations that he taught me. It’s nice to bring that to the community here.
ES: How has the dance program at Swarthmore evolved since you arrived?
JCB: It’s much larger now. There are more classes offered or maybe a broader level of classes, which is really nice. We [offer] partnering now, which is wonderful. And pointe [class] used to just be an hour once a week on Friday. I think they’ve expanded the program. And I think there’s a lot of students — all the ballet classes are full, which is great. I just really enjoy the students who come here. Everyone’s really enthusiastic, and everyone works really hard, and you all are very interesting people who are going to do really interesting things in the world. I like to be able to bring my piece of knowledge that maybe you all wouldn’t have access to: some of the training and some of the people that I’ve gotten to work with.
ES: Could you describe your teaching philosophy?
JCB: To try to meet students where they are and then try to show them technical things that can maybe enhance or help them progress in what they’re trying to do. Say they’re trying to move a little quicker or be a little bit more steady in those turns, [I] try to show them a way that they can use their body [in a way] that would make [those goals] easier for them, no matter what level. I’ve taught beginners, and the moment when someone figures out how to move from first position in a way that uses the correct muscles, that keeps their pelvis still, that keeps everything where it should be … those little tiny moments are fantastic and very exciting. And for the more advanced students, just trying to teach them how to work with what they have and use it to the best of their ability, so that dancing can be freeing and fun for them, artistically.
I feel like your technique is a base that you build on. Once you find a certain point, you can dance and express yourself through that without struggling with the body and the body’s limitations, which we all have. Trying to share with [the students] the Balanchine technique, which has some really exciting, dynamic, challenging musical aspects to it, physical aspects to it, where you’re pushing the edge of what you can do, both physically and musically. I really enjoy watching the students find those moments where they have that because I remember finding that. You get to live on stage as opposed to worry.
ES: Is there anything you learned as a student or professional that you a) continue to pass onto your students or b) have decided not to continue teaching?
JCB: A lot of the body-conscious stuff, I leave in the past. I think [with] my generation of dancers, there was more of a negative input that was supposed to lead to a positive outcome. You were told things that were wrong in not always a kind way, which is hard as a young person. And I saw a lot of damage caused to young people because of it, emotionally and physically. I do not ever want to make someone feel that way. So I try to give a correction in a way that shows not only what they’re doing correctly, but then what we can do to make it even better for them, a way that you can improve upon what you’re already working towards.
I’ve had teachers like that who are encouraging and positive, and Suzanne [Farrell] was definitely one of those people. Never a negative word and always made you feel encouraged, which is fantastic and I think that’s really, really important, especially for young people as you gain your own self confidence in the world. So, I hope I do that. But, you know, you still need to [give] corrections. And students want corrections. I would always be begging for corrections. I’ve done a lot of Pilates, but I’m always like, you can fix [my body positioning], please. And almost every dancer, they want that feedback because it’s how you improve. But the college does a good job with that, the dance program; they are very conscious of positive encouragement.
ES: What is the role of ballet or dance in general in a liberal arts education?
JCB: I think it can help you think in a [certain] way, and have discipline and focus. [Ballet helps clarify] the idea that things are not easy. Ballet is extremely difficult. Every little thing matters. I worked on a tendu for 30 years. And I don’t know if I’ve told you this story, but Wendy Whelan, who runs [New York] City Ballet now, and I were taking class together, we were in Willie Burman’s class, and we were doing tendus. She turned around, and she said, “They’re just so hard.” And, you know, we were both professional dancers. [But], it was so hard. And I think that kind of working on small things and continually learning forever … is huge for any profession, anything you do in life. You know, my husband always says, “I would hire a former dancer before anyone [else] in a second. I know they’re going to be disciplined, I know they’re going to work hard, I know they can focus.” I think [ballet] has such positive things that you can bring to all aspects of your life.
ES: Just for fun, what is one thing you don’t think anyone at Swarthmore knows about you?
JCB: I really enjoy gardening which, living most of my adult life in [New York City], I never had an opportunity to explore before.
