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           Mary Frances Massey  is a dance instructor based in Memphis, TN. She began dancing at the young age of three under direction of her mother, Sarah Karrant at their family dance studio, North Mississippi Dance Centre in Tupelo, MS. She has been on staff at NMDC since 2001, and most recently was Director from 2019-2024, when she relocated to Memphis. Mary Frances trained in ballet, tap, jazz & more under many acclaimed artists in the dance world. Her favorites include Mira Popovich (Birmingham Southern), Frank Hatchett (Broadway Dance Centre), Luigi & Frances Roach (of Luigi’s Jazz in NYC), Chet Walker (Fosse), & Mike Weaver (Chicago). She attended Mississippi State University on a vocal scholarship as an Elementary Education Major and Music Minor in Voice. She graduated, however, from Columbia State Community College in Commercial Entertainment and Dance Pedagogy in 2006. Upon completion of her program, she was hired with Royal Caribbean Cruise lines as a Lead Singer/Dancer (Girl 2) in their Broadway style production shows. Mary Frances also was a singer/dancer for Matt Davenport Productions in Nashville, TN. She continues to sing professionally with her band, Massey Tate, in the North Mississippi & Memphis area. She is an Arts Integration Specialist in Dance and on the Teaching Artist Roster for the Mississippi Arts Commission and the Tennessee Arts Commission. Since being accepted onto the Teaching Artist Roster in 2017, she has worked in over thirty schools in Mississippi & Tennessee , creating unique and fun lesson plans. Mary Frances' ability to work closely with teachers to create lesson plans tailored to their classrooms needs has made her one of the most sought out artists in Mississippi & Tennessee. She was hired with New Ballet Ensemble in Memphis in 2023 where she heads up their Tap program & teaches in the Pathways program. Mary Frances offers an array of programs that you can implement into your schools and classrooms:

Narration and Movement:

 

Putting movement to your favorite children's books- Massey developed this as a production based and learning program. To date, she has put on five productions in three different school districts."Giraffes Can't Dance", "The Indian Paintbrush" & "My Many Colored Days", "What a Wonderful World" & "Where the Wild Things Are". Massey creates the backing tracks with music and her voice narrating the book. She then choreographs movement for the students to perform. They can run anywhere from ten to thirty minutes long and are a perfect solution to your Fall/Spring plays!

Memorizing Movement and Core Curriculum:

 

*Math and Hip Hop (patent pending)- Students can work out math problems in  addition, subtraction, multiplication, division AND Algebra all while using fun and energetic movements. This gets your brain and body working!

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* ABC Yoga- learning different yoga moves to go along with the alphabet! We also practice breathing techniques and meditation.

* Habitats and All That- this segment goes into teaching the different habitats, some of the animals that live there and their life cycles. ( Can be created to fit your needs)

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*Life Cycle & Water Cycle- Movement through the different cycles of Life (plant cycles, animal cycles etc.)

Teacher & Professional Developments: 

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Can be created to fit your needs and range anywhere from one-three hours.

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Artist in Residency:

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Can range anywhere from a week to a month. (Previous AIR at King ECEC, Pontotoc Elementary, Carver Elementary, Philadelphia Elementary & Crestwood Elementary)

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