Jared Baker is originally from Fort Worth, TX where he began his dance training at Dance Concept, under the direction of Debbi Jo Utter and Leslie Senevey. While there, he became a member of the Tremaine Performance Company, assisting and performing across the country. He then was accepted into the School of Dance at the University of Arizona where he received his BFA in Dance and was awarded the 2013 Creative Achievement Award. Upon beginning his master’s degree at The University of Arizona in 2018, Jared was awarded the University Fellows Award, the most prestigious award in the Graduate College. In 2020, he received his MFA in Dance and was recognized as the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant for the School of Dance.

Jared is a four-time finalist for The Choreography Festival (2012, 2013, 2014, 2019) in Palm Desert, CA, was the winner of the 2012 International Choreography Competition at the Jazz Dance World Congress, and was a 2014 finalist for the prestigious Capezio A.C.E. Awards. As a performer, Jared was a founding member of Bree Hafen’s [+]Space where he performed in Dallas and NYC, and was a full-time company member of CORE Contemporary Dance, under the direction of Kelli Leighton, where he also served as the Assistant Artistic Director.

Since 2020, Jared has been the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Nova Linea Contemporary Dance, Milwaukee’s premier professional dance company. It is Jared’s mission to provide accessible and relatable stories through dance to the Wisconsin community and beyond. Nova Linea has been a three-time finalist for the Detroit Dance City Festival, and was awarded the opportunity to perform in the New Dance Festival in South Korea. In addition, Nova Linea has partnered with two local non-profits, Pathfinders MKE and NAMI Southeast Wisconsin, to help bring awareness and support for mental health. The company has reached hundreds of students through its performances, outreach, intensives, and workshops in its mission to help build the future audience of dance. In addition to Nova Linea, Jared is a faculty member for Adrenaline and Revive Dance Conventions where he shares his love for Modern dance with students across the country.