Cullman might be small, but it is mighty when it comes to studios and academies for budding dancers and artists. One is the Brooke Desnoes Ballet Academy, which opened in 2020, along with Ballet South, its pre-professional dance company.
The creative mind behind both is Brooke Desnoes, who founded and directed L’Academie Americaine de Danse de Paris – which became the largest dance school in Europe.
“By the time I returned home to take care of my ailing father, I had 900 students from beginners to pre-professional level, a great team of accomplished teachers, pianists and music instructors. Some of the greatest dancers such as Violette Verdy, Gailene Stock, Amanda McKerrow, Suki Schorer and others were regular visiting guest teachers. After 25 years in France, my next challenge was to bring a smaller version of what I offered with great success in Paris to my hometown,” said Desnoes. “In France, I implemented a thriving pre-professional program which trained a great number of students who are now dancing professionally. Many of them also received scholarships to attend university. The Paris pre-professional students performed all over Europe and participated in festivals and competitions – I have these same goals for students of Cullman.”
Brooke Desnoes Ballet Academy and Ballet South have been growing steadily and this month will move their studio to the Cotton Creek complex, where classes will begin Aug. 19.
“The new studio is large and equipped with professional sprung flooring to ensure healthy dance training. It will offer multiple bathrooms, a comfortable waiting room and private changing rooms,” Desnoes shared.
Students can begin learning ballet with Desnoes as young as age 3, with pre-ballet and ballet combination classes. Students 9 and older can take classes in ballet, pointe, variations, jazz and hip hop. There are also age-appropriate contemporary dance, musical theatre movement and choreography classes.
Desnoes’ passion for ballet and the arts certainly impacts her students.
“I danced professionally in Europe and the United States. In the course of my training and career as a dancer and an instructor I was truly blessed to train and be mentored by some outstanding dancers. At an early age I had the great privilege of being taken under the wing of Dame Sonia Arova, which led me to a career in Europe under the direction of Alexander Bennett. The list of mentors I have had in the course of my career is very long and I will only mention Mary Day from the Washington School of Ballet who helped me develop my skill as an instructor and later, Violette Verdy, who actually became a close friend and the artistic advisor of my school in Paris,” she said.
“I have worked as a professional dancer, instructor, choreographer and artistic director for over three decades and, as you can imagine, I am very passionate about ballet and the quality of dance education! I am a strong believer that the arts play a major role in the development of our children, even if they do not become artists themselves. The arts are a mind opener that help children mature physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively. The arts help our children become resourceful, open-minded and resilient individuals. True artists are also strong leaders.”
Ballet South will partner again this November with Allegro Dance Theatre, Wallace State’s dance company, to produce another stunning “Nutcracker.” Tickets will be available at brookedesnoes.org or ballet-south.org Oct. 1.
"Dance plays a very positive role in the development of young children, young adults and without a doubt contributes to the well-being of adults, too."
Brooke Desnoes