HELLO, WE ARE
shuffles dance studio
The bold vision for Shuffles became a reality in 1986, and over the next four decades it has been at the forefront of the dance community in central Arkansas. Shuffles has built a reputation of providing premier instruction in a nurturing environment with an award-winning faculty.
Shuffles is proud to have the very best faculty in the central Arkansas area. Our faculty consistently demonstrate commitment, enthusiasm, technical and stylistic expertise, professional experience and they are the principal reason why Shuffles creates the best educational experience for any dancer, young or old.
Shuffles is located in West Little Rock in the Market and Merrill Shopping Center. The studio is over 8,000 square feet and has five spacious dance rooms. All studios are equipped with surround sound systems as well as sprung and marley floors. In addition to the state-of-the- art dance rooms, the lobby has ample room for parents to observe students, get some work done, or just relax. At Shuffles we aim to provide a professional atmosphere for all students and their parents to enjoy, learn, grow, and shine.
FACULTY
Shuffles is proud to have the very best faculty in the central Arkansas area. Our faculty consistently demonstrate commitment, enthusiasm, technical and stylistic expertise, and professional experience, and they are the principal reason why Shuffles creates the best educational experience for any dancer, young or old.
Assistant Director
-
Allison grew up dancing right here at Shuffles and Ballet II. It was that training that allowed her to perform professionally for the last 15 years. She attended Butler University receiving her BFA in Dance Performance. Allison performed with the The Radio City Christmas Spectacular for 3 years and was part of the original Moscow cast of the Broadway show 42nd Street. She has trained at Anne Reinking’s Broadway Theatre Project as well as American Ballet Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet. Other favorite shows are Guys and Dolls, Carnival (Papermill Playhouse) and All Night Strut (Marriott Lincolnshire). Allison loves being able to perform locally at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre where her favorite shows are Evita (Tango), A Chorus Line (Kristine), Anything Goes, Gypsy and Chicago.(Hunyak). Allison was last seen onstage at Argenta Community Theatre where she choreographed and played the role of Sheila in A Chorus Line. Allison traveled the world aboard Holland America Cruise Line, where she was the Dance Captain but is delighted to be back home at Shuffles teaching her love and passion.
Teacher
-
Hope Wenneker, a Little Rock native, began her training at Shuffles and Ballet II. She studied multiple dance forms throughout her time there. Inspired by her teachers, including Karina Sturdevant Levy, she was encouraged to pursue Modern Dance Performance at the University of Oklahoma where she received her BFA in Dance in 2012. During her college career, Hope had the opportunity to perform with Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre and Contemporary Dance Oklahoma (CDO) under the direction of Austin Hartel and Derrick Minter. She was honored to take the stage in A Chorus Line (Lois,) Voices From The Sea, and Battlefield choreographed by Robert Battle, her most memorable moment with CDO. In 2010 her first dance composition was supported by the competitive UROP grant. Upon graduation and after marrying her high school sweetheart, Hope returned to Arkansas and was thrilled to join the faculty at Shuffles and Ballet II. Aiding in the artistic development of her students and sharing the passion she has for the art form brings her great joy.
Owner and Director - Shuffles & Ballet II
-
Jana has taught dance in the central Arkansas area for over 45 years and has been the owner and director of Shuffles for thirty-seven of those years. In addition to being committed to offering the highest quality of instruction and the opportunity to experience all forms of dance, she has enjoyed performing in many Arkansas Rep productions, including Sweet Charity, Guys and Dolls, Chicago, Good Woman of Setzuan, A Soldiers Tale, Evita and Into The Woods. Jana attended U of A at Fayetteville as a dance major, and while at the U of A at Little Rock she performed in the productions Cabaret and Pippin and was an instructor in the Theatre and Dance Department. She has served for many years as director and choreographer for the Arkansas Bar and Pulaski County Bar Association's biannual spoof The Gridiron and worked along side Maestro David Itkin as the stage director for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra's Christmas Spectacular. Miss Jana was honored to receive the 2015 Arkansas Arts Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts.
Teacher
-
Leslie Dodge began her dance training at a young age in Indianapolis, Indiana. Before focusing on ballet, she studied jazz, tap, and various modern techniques, and won many awards at various national dance workshops and competitions. After a year of professional experience as a company dancer in Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre, Leslie attended Butler University and graduated with high honors with a Bachelor's in Dance Pedagogy in 2010. For Butler Ballet, Leslie performed in The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Cinderella, and Antony Tudor's Dark Elegies, as well as in original works by Susan McGuire and Cynthia Pratt. In 2010, she had the honor of dancing the role of Odette in Swan Lake under the direction of Tong Wang. While at Butler, Leslie also taught dance and movement classes for the Butler Community Arts School throughout the Indianapolis area with a curriculum inspired by the National Dance Institute. As part of Ballet Arkansas, Leslie has performed in many works, including the The Nutcracker's Sugar Plum Fairy, as well as both Odile and Odette in excerpts of Swan Lake. Leslie has been featured in Tom Rudd's Mobile, Peter Zweifel's Visions From Within, Darrell Grand-Moultrie's Moultrie's Spring, and Kiyon Gaines' Bolero as well as Gerald Arpino's Birthday Variations. She has worked with such choreographers as Melody Mennite, Leslie Schickel, Sayoko Knode, and Greg Sample. In 2014, she was honored to participate in the Chop Shop Dance Festival in Bellevue, WA in an excerpt of Shayla Bott's Instantly Interruptible, and also performed in the St. Louis Spring into Dance festival. Most recently she danced the lead role in Raymonda and as the pink girl in George Balanchine’s Who Cares? Leslie also acts as rehearsal assistant for Ballet Arkansas as well as instructing at the Ballet Arkansas Summer Intensive. Leslie is also the director for the Pre-Professional Ballet Program at Shuffles and Ballet II.
Office, Costume Manager
-
Donna has loved dance all her life. She grew up dancing at the Little Rock Boys Club under the direction of Lou Ann Tisdale and continued teaching and then directing the dance program there while in college. At Shuffles, she has been involved in many areas of the school including teaching, costuming, receptionist, and production for the past 34 years. She has had the pleasure of costuming for Ballet Arkansas and the Arkansas Symphony. She has received the most pleasure from watching young dancers grow into disciplined and confident young adults.
Teacher
-
Lauren McCarty Horak, a Little Rock native, is so happy and grateful to be teaching ballet at Shuffles Dance Studio, where her love of dance began when she started taking classes at age 3. After high school, and many summers spent training at North Carolina School of the Performing Arts, American Ballet Theatre, Nashville Ballet and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Lauren continued her dance education at
Butler University (Indianapolis), where she received her BFA in Dance Performance in 2006. She then moved to Chicago to perform in Theatre at the Center’s production of CATS (Victoria) and to train with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. She performed in Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s 2007 production of Hello Dolly! (directed by Brad Mooy and choreographed by Ron Hutchins) and after bouncing back and forth between Boston, NYC and Indianapolis auditioning and teaching, Lauren moved back to Little Rock to dance for Ballet Arkansas (2009-2017). During her time with Ballet Arkansas, under the artistic direction of Arleen Sugano (2009-2011) and Michael Bearden (2011-2017), Lauren had the opportunity to perform works by many different choreographers including Tom Rudd, Chris Stuart , Kiyon Gaines, Leslie Schickel, and Melody Mennite Walsh. Lauren has loved sharing her passion for dance with the students at Shuffles and her community, including working with Eric Mann (Unreel Films) and Elizabeth (Liz) Whitaker on the dance documentary Without A Mirror (Winner of the Big Apple Film Festival, Official Selection in the IndieFEST Film Awards, Berlin Flash Film Festival, Hot Springs International Women’s Film Festival, to name a few), as well as working with the students at Arkansas School for the Blind.
Teacher
-
Micah grew up dancing at Shuffles since she was 3 years old and this begins her 3rd year of teaching Hip Hop. She graduated with honors from EStem High School in Little Rock and is currently attending Philander Smith College on a full scholarship. Micah has performed locally in Carti’s Festival of Fashion and in the cast of “Memphis” at Argenta Community Theatre in North Little Rock.