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ABOUT DDL
Meet the team briging the best to your studio!
Your Studio. Our Artists. Infinite Possibility.
Dance Device Lab (DDL) exists because young dancers deserve more than just technique — they deserve tools, inspiration, and the space to grow into themselves as artists and human beings.
Founded in 2017 by Brandon Cournay, DDL's mission is to bring experienced guest teachers and choreographers to studios across the country, encouraging dancers to hone and expand their individual artistry. At the heart of everything DDL does is a commitment to encouraging creative thinking and risk-taking by creating a positive, encouraging space for young artists — one where the tools students gain are transferable far beyond the studio walls.
DDL produces student-focused, interactive, and engaging dance workshops, conventions, seminars, and performance events for performing arts schools nationwide. Whether it's a weekend workshop, a weeklong intensive, or a guest class series, every DDL event is built around one belief: great teaching changes lives.
Meet the Founder
Brandon Cournay is a Brooklyn-based dancer, choreographer, teacher, and entrepreneur originally from Walled Lake, MI, who received his BFA from The Juilliard School.
His performing career spans the full range of the dance world.
Brandon was a longtime member of the Mark Morris Dance Group and KEIGWIN + COMPANY and has performed with the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Morphoses, New York Theatre Ballet, The Chase Brock Experience, Schoen Movement Company, and Dance Heginbotham. His screen credits include PBS' Great Performances, Sesame Street, Puma, and Target.
As a choreographer and educator, Brandon is equally at home on major stages and in studio classrooms. His work has been commissioned by Works and Process at the Guggenheim and for music videos, stage productions, and universities nationwide. He has worked with The Juilliard School, The Pennsylvania Ballet, UNCSA, Montclair State University, Marymount Manhattan College, Rutgers University, Barnard College, and scores of other institutions.
Brandon's teaching extends well beyond the concert dance world. He was honored to teach with DanceMotion USA, an artistic cultural exchange program developed by the US State Department and produced by the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He is also a certified Dance for PD® teaching artist, offering free specialized dance classes to people with Parkinson's Disease around the world.
Using his career as inspiration and DDL as a vessel, Brandon bridges the gap between the concert and commercial worlds of dance — and brings that rare perspective directly to students everywhere DDL goes.
Studio Services Manager
Jaclyn Smith serves as Studio Services Manager at Dance Device Lab, bringing more than 25 years of experience in dance education, studio ownership, and teacher development. She holds a BFA in Dance Education from Ohio State and is completing a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a concentration in Dance/Movement Therapy at Rider University (expected December 2026), where she also serves as President of the Chi Sigma Iota honor society chapter.
Jaclyn is a Board Certified Coach with additional certifications in health coaching, Pilates, group fitness, and pre/postnatal fitness, and she completed Rider's Graduate Certificate in Sport Counseling. She also supports educators through Rhythm Works Integrative Dance and the Intellidance Method.
Drawing on clinical training in trauma-informed care and nervous system regulation, Jaclyn brings curiosity and compassion to her belief that movement is one of our most powerful tools for learning, connection, and growth.
Digital Marketing Coordinator
Paige Barnett Kulbeth is a Louisiana born, NYC based digital marketer and movement artist who brings a performer's instinct for storytelling to arts marketing. She currently serves as Digital Marketing Associate for Dance Heginbotham and Administrative Associate for MeenMoves, and since 2024 has also led arts marketing efforts for Dance Tech Collective and Dance Device Lab. A University of Louisiana at Lafayette graduate (B.S. Chemical Engineering, 2017), she built her marketing expertise while freelancing as a dancer across Louisiana and NYC, performing at venues including Jacob's Pillow, Park Avenue Armory, and the Guggenheim Museum.
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