Jo Rowan Chair
Namesake of the school, Ann Lacy, always had a deep respect for dance program founder, Jo Rowan. She chose to provide a generous gift through her estate to create the Jo Rowan Endowed Dance Chair. The inaugural Jo Rowan Dance Chair was awarded to ballet professor Jessica Fay, a former student and mentee of Jo Rowan. Lacy鈥檚 grandson, Chris Lawson, said 鈥淎nn always wanted Jo to be recognized for her unparalleled influence on our school and students. She made it happen through her estate, ensuring Jo鈥檚 legacy lives on in the most meaningful way.鈥�
New Floors
Thanks to a very generous donation from Jeaneen Naifeh, the school was able to replace the dance flooring in the four largest studios over the summer with new flooring from Stagestep Dance Floors. The previous flooring was much-loved but was getting worn after nearly 20 years of hard use. Thanks to Stagestep, here鈥檚 to another 20 years of ten-hour days of ballet, tap, jazz, musical theatre, pointe, partnering, precision line, rehearsals, rehearsals and more!
Studio R Remodel
Studio R is moving from a regular dance studio to a dance video studio, appropriate for marketing photo and video shoots, new Dance for Camera classes, student reels and dance lighting lab. Once the remodel is finished, the studio will have black walls and floors, a customizable lighting hang and a white cyclorama wall for seamless backdrops.
This remodel fulfills the vision of founding Dean John Bedford, who had a plan for a state-of-the-art video dance studio in the fall 2019 semester. The pandemic increased the need for dancing on-camera skills, and Dean Melanie Shelley began a fundraising campaign to bring Bedford鈥檚 vision to life. A generous dance graduate made a large gift to honor him and help make his dream a reality. Stay tuned for news of a naming ceremony once it鈥檚 ready!
Broadway World
The Holiday Spectacular dance performance was voted Best Dance Production in the 2023 BroadwayWorld Oklahoma Awards. Holiday Spectacular is an audience favorite playing to sold-out houses annually each December.
Hannah Hulshoff
Senior Dance Management major Hannah Hulshof completed a summer internship with Cirque du Soleil, where for 10 weeks she was the company management intern at their Las Vegas show 鈥淥.鈥� She described her time with Cirque du Soleil as, 鈥渁 life-changing experience full of amazing opportunities and even more amazing people.鈥�
Hulshoff is one of many students who have earned prestigious internships during their time at TikTok成人版. Recently, students have procured internships at Chicago鈥檚 Joffrey Ballet, the Nederlander Organization in New York City, the Savannah Bananas and many more. These experiences provide invaluable industry and networking experience and help to grow the school鈥檚 reputation for educating employable professionals in dance for the world of entertainment.
