About Jay

Jay Foote (M.M., M.AmSAT) has been teaching private lessons and groups in the Alexander Technique at the Balance Arts Center in New York City since he was certified to teach in 2013. He worked as a Senior Assistant Trainer on the BAC’s Teacher Training course from 2015 to 2020. From 2018 to 2020, he served as a Member-at-Large for the American Society for Teachers of the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) Board of Directors.

While Alexander Technique can help anyone interested in moving more efficiently, Foote specializes in musician wellness, helping students eliminate pain by finding flow and more ease in their bodies while performing. During 17 years in New York City, Foote completed a Master’s Degree in Jazz Bass Performance from William Paterson University and maintained an active performance schedule including Broadway’s “Hamilton,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “The Band’s Visit,” and “Waitress,” and performed, toured, produced, and recorded albums with many of New York/Nashville/LA’s finest musicians and songwriters.

He worked as an Alexander Technique Coach on the faculty of the “AT Singing” intensive two-week opera workshops held in May of 2019. He served on the AMSAT Research Committee from 2017-2020. He presented at 2017, 2018, and 2019 Freedom to Make Music Conferences workshops entitled “The Art of Making Music: Building Awareness While Performing in an Ensemble,” “Cultivating Flow: Finding Connection While Performing,” and “In Process: How To Use Alexander Technique to Stay Present and Aware.” During the summer of 2020 and winter of 2021, he directed classes for musicians for the Balance Arts Center’s Alexander Technique Online Intensive. He has given workshops for the School of Music at The University of Northern Iowa and for the Music and Theater Departments at Drake University in Des Moines. Foote is currently directing a meditation class at Seva Counseling on Wednesday nights in Des Moines. RSVP for more details.

Foote has studied extensively with Ann Rodiger, Eva Karczag, and Rebecca Brooks. He has taken lessons with Alex and Joan Murray, Jessica Wolf, Pedro de Alcantara, Jean-Louis Rodrigue, June Eckman, Billy LeGrand, Alan Philips, John Nichols, Mary Eagle, Kathryn Zimmerman, and Joe Armstrong. As of May 2023, Foote is currently working regularly with Anthony Kingsley (London), on how to embody what is and teach from a place of grounded acceptance.

In July 2020, Foote moved to Des Moines, Iowa, and teaches Alexander Technique private lessons and groups in person at Seva Counseling in the East Village of Des Moines. Foote was a voting member of the NARAS Recording Academy from 2017-2019. He is a member of the Local 802 NYC Musician’s Union, a charter member of the New York City chapter of the Jim Keltner Fan Club, and a member of Alexander Technique Iowa. In 2023, Foote graduated from the University of Iowa School of Social Work MSW program and is working as a therapist as a licensed Social Worker in private practice at Seva Counseling in Des Moines, Iowa.