Peter Hammer is a professional performer, choreographer, and teacher based in Toulouse, France. For over 10 years, he has devoted his professional dance career to learning, dancing, and teaching the Jump Rhythm® Technique – a unique American art form that combines jazz and tap dance with “scat” singing and body percussion to create an energetic expression of whole-body emotion and rhythm. He began dancing when he was 14 and went on to receive a degree in Dance Performance and Choreography from Hope College, in Holland, Michigan. While there, he worked with the resident professional jazz and tap company IDT. It was also at Hope that he met Mark Yonally and began an apprenticeship with Chicago Tap Theatre. After graduating in 2006, he moved to Chicago to continue his dance career.
In 2007, Peter began working with Jump Rhythm Jazz Project, an Emmy award-winning Chicago dance company, and its artistic director and founder, Billy Siegenfeld. As a company member, he performed, choreographed, and taught workshops and masterclasses in Finland, Spain, France, and throughout the US. Places that Peter has taught include Dance Theatre of Northern Illinois (Gurnee, IL), Old Town School of Folk Music (Chicago, IL), Cour des Riffs (Toulouse, France), Escola Luthier de Música i Dansa (Barcelona, Spain), Walter Payton College Preparatory High School (Chicago, IL), University of Dubuque (Dubuque, IA), Central Michigan University (Mt. Pleasant, MI), and Joel Hall Dance Center (Chicago, IL). At the end of 2017, Peter received a “Passeport Talent” visa to teach dance and perform in France. Now, his focus is introducing the Jump Rhythm Technique in France, with classes and workshops in Toulouse and other cities. He is also collaborating with the contemporary tap dance company Tapage on an artistic and choreographic exchange.
