The Dance Academy of SC  come dance and spread your wings.

Puck’s Theatre:  changing the world through art.

The Nutcracker Ballet

Dance Academy
Text Box: The Dance Academy Artistic Director; Lesley Tunstall Lesley trained at the Northern Ballet School in England where she studied RAD. She went on to Paris where she studied ballet with Gilbert Mayor from the Paris Opera Ballet and studied jazz with Matt Mattox. To further her training she went to New York and studied ballet with Finis Jhung and David Howard. She was principal dancer with the Alterballetto Ballet Company in Italy, where she was also sought after to choreograph. She choreographed for the Aterforum Theatre Festival and for R.A.I. television in Italy. In England she choreographed for The Oxford Road Show, BBC-TV and the Royal Exchange in Manchester. She began the Dance Academy of SC in 2001 and has successfully set a standard that is highly sought after. For the past six years, Ms. Tunstall has directed and choreographed the Nutcracker Ballet and choreographs frequently for schools, summer programs and the theatre. Her work has been seen at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Milan, The International Theatre Festival in Amsterdam, the S.C. Theatre Festival, and the ACTF. As co-founder and director of Puck's Theatre, she has brought dance to at-risk youth, co-directed “Memories of Children” that currently tours the state and is on the faculty for Thornwell School of the Arts where she teaches dance. She is on the Approved Artist Roster for South Carolina and can be hired to teach or give master classes through the South Carolina Arts Commission. The Facility The Academy has two of the largest dance studios in the Pee Dee. Both studios are equipped with sprung wooden floors and state of the art sound systems, wrap around mirrors and barres. The space is 6,500 square feet with dressing rooms, costume shop, a waiting room and offices. There is also a large space where Puck’s Theatre builds all the sets for Puck’s Theatre shows and ballets that the Dance Academy performs. The dance program is designed to take students from their very first dance step through a comprehensive curriculum of classical ballet studies. Each student follows a structured sequence of training stages designed to increase their technical skills, stamina, and discipline and artistry . The program includes classes in technique, pointe work, pas de deux, , jazz, modern, pilates and character dance. Master classes are offered throughout the school year. Even those students whose paths lead to non-dance careers gain immeasurably from having studied at the Academy. They develop self-motivation, discipline, poise, grace, physical awareness and an appreciation for the arts, which they carry with them throughout their lives. For details on Pucks Theatre, visit their home page.