modern
Choreography Help From DancesToGo.com
Today we have with us Frances Hellens McDonald, co-founder of DancestoGo.com, talking about the site and introducing one of their newest choreographers…
Can you tell readers what DancesToGo.com is, and who it is for?
DancesToGo.com is a unique website featuring a collaboration of award winning choreographers, talented performers and teachers. It offers specialized and exclusive choreography for all age groups in a variety of dance styles. Whether you are a studio owner, dance teacher, performer, or school teacher, DancesToGo offers excellent choreography and musical dance activities. Our notes are easy to read and our suggested music is linked directly to iTunes from DancesToGo.com. Obtaining, reading the choreography and purchasing related suggested music from iTunes becomes very easy and convenient. We also offer some videos of the routines and will be producing a larger selection. DancesToGo is proud to be a monthly choreography contributor over at DanceStudioOwner.com.
What types of dance are covered by DancesToGo.com?
DancesToGo.com features a wide variety of dance styles including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Hip-hop, and Pre-School. We even have The School House Rocks section for choreography and upbeat dance and learning activities for grade school. The dance world and dance studios are our primary focus.
What are some of your most popular items?
Dance Jobs: Part-Time Adjunct Faculty At Belmont University, Nashville, TN
Belmont University is looking for some adjunct instructors to join their faculty. These are part-time positions in the theater department, and the school is searching pecifically for teachers that have expertise in Dance Technique including Tap, Ballet, Jazz and Modern, Dance Composition, Dance History, and/or Dance Kinesiology. The university is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and the positions will remain open until they are filled, and those hired can expect to teach up to nine credit hours a semester, depending on what is needed.
Dance In The US: Arkansas Academy Of Dance
Our second featured studio from Arkansas is…
Name: Arkansas Academy Of Dance
Location: 10301 N. Rodney Parham Rd., Brackenridge Village, Little Rock, AR, 72227
About: This school has a typical lineup of classes, including creative movement, ballet, jazz and modern. It also offers Pilates. There is a scholarship program for boys and a cash-based referral program for those who get a new student to sign up and take some classes.
What really caught my eye was the creative way that they peppered mini-events into the dance class schedule. I noticed that they have a “bring a friend week”, a “parent participation week” and even a “costume week” to help keep things interesting. Just enough to prevent classes from getting boring–but not so much that there is no sense of routine.
The school is also affiliated with the Arkansas Festival Ballet.
0Dance In The US: Alabama Dance Theatre
Continuing in our new series, Dance in the US, we feature our second organization from Alabama…
Name: Alabama Dance Theatre
Location: Armory Learning Arts Center, 1018 Madison Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104
About: Founded in 1986 by Kitty Seale, the Alabama Dance Theatre is a combination company and school. Classes are offered in ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop and tap dance.
There is both a company and a junior company, and the ballet style taught has its underpinnings in the Russian Syllabus. If you’d like to learn more, check out the news section on their site, which offers a glimpse of the dancers on YouTube.
As always, if you are from the company or the school and you would like to tell 4dancers readers something about your organization, please feel free to leave a comment…
1History Of Pointe Shoes
Have you ever wondered about the history of pointe shoes?
It is interesting to see how they evolved into what we use today. Modern pointe shoes are a very far cry from what they were many years ago. It’s fascinating to think about what they will be like in the future…
When I was actively dancing, I used lamb’s wool to wrap my toes when I first started out on pointe. I found it to be miserable–it shifted around like mad, and wadded up in all the wrong places inside my shoe. As soon as my feet toughened up I switched to paper towel. A rather unorthodox substance, but it worked well for me. Some dancers I know used nothing, or toe pads…
0Featured Studio: Nunnbetter Dance Theatre

Name: Nunnbetter Dance Theatre
Location: 25 South Washington Avenue, Bergenfield, NJ
About: Nunnbetter Dance Theatre was created by Leath Nunn in 1999. There is a both a school and a company here, and for those who are serious about pursuing a career in dance, they have a pre-professional program as well.
The pre-professional program is fairly new and it looks very well thought out, with instruction in specialty pointe work, nutrition, yoga and Pilates in addition to the ballet, jazz and modern classes…
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