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 the Alexander Technique can help anyone interested in moving more efficiently, Foote specializes in physical and mental wellness, assisting students to reduce or eliminate pain by cultivating flow and 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. Since living in Des Moines, he has performed with The Wellpennies, the Des Moines Symphony, Des Moines Big Band, and The Mind@Large.

Foote has studied extensively with Ann Rodiger, Eva Karczag, and Rebecca Brooks. He has taken lessons with Jean-Louis Rodrigue, Alex and Joan Murray, Jessica Wolf, Pedro de Alcantara, June Eckman, Billy LeGrand, Joe Armstrong, Alan Philips, John Nichols, Rebecca Robbins, Mary Eagle, and Kathryn Zimmerman. As of May 2023, Foote has worked with Anthony Kingsley (London) on embodying what is and teaching 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. Since 2023, as a mental health therapist at Seva Counseling in Des Moines, he has worked with his clients to help find more groundedness, balance, and embodiment, teaching them how to regulate their nervous systems.

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 the 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. For two years, Foote helped facilitate a weekly meditation class at Seva Counseling.

He has presented Alexander Technique and mindfulness workshops for the 2025 Balance Arts Center’s Virtual Conference, students at the University of Northern Iowa String Festival, Iowa State University School of Music and Theater Departments, University of Iowa School of Social Work in Des Moines, Drake University Theater and Music Departments, Seva Counseling, Mind and Spirit Counseling, Capital Chiropractic, and the Employee and Family Resources Community Outreach Programs.