Jeri Deckard Gatch

Jeri Deckard Gatch is a Modern Dance teacher, choreographer, and performer and has lived in Cincinnati since 1997. She earned her BS: Kinesiology from Indiana University, and her MFA: Performance and Choreography from Temple University in Philadelphia where she also taught for 2 years. Jeri was adjunct faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Dance and Theater Departments. Since moving back to the Mid-West, Jeri has worked through the Contemporary Dance Theater since 1999, Growth In Motion, and performed with several local choreographers, as well as guest teaching. Jeri choreographed for a workshop at the Playhouse In the Park, lead pre-school Creative Movement, was twice a Modern Dance faculty teacher at the Ohio Dance Festival, and in recent years was commissioned by Miami University, Berea College, and College of Lake County to set new works on their companies. Jeri is in her 3rd term serving on the Board of Trustees of OhioDance, and is a Founding and Board member of Greater Cincinnati Dance Alliance, where she is the Board Secretary and Membership Chair. She was President of the Mariemont School District’s Arts Association and after almost a decade of service, earned the 2019 “Friend of the Arts” award. Jeri is a residency teacher for Mam-Luft & Company (ML&Co) in schools where she teaches children in their schools, Pre-K through 6th grade, and choreographs for their recitals. Jeri works through ML&Co and the Kennedy Heights Arts Center to do Spring Arts Residencies and choreograph musicals and original programs. Jeri teaches in the Cincinnati Ballet’s "Cincy Dance!" Program and is Co-Developer of the “Story Choreography Project” that premiered in Spring of 2019. Currently, Jeri is an Adjunct Faculty at University of Cincinnati-CCM where she teaches Modern Dance Technique to the Ballet and Musical Theater majors, as well as elective Modern Dance classes.
Jeri has a heart for arts advocacy and is honored to be an active part of the Ohio dance community.

BS: Indiana Univerity Bloomington, IN, (Kinesiology)

MFA: Temple University Philadelphia, PA, (Performance and Choreography)