Michelle Birmingham
Owner
Michelle fell in love with dance at age three and her passion for movement has shaped her professional career. She studied all forms of dance including tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop, and musical theater. In college she majored in Dance and Performance studies where she was introduced to and trained in Modern Dance. She entered the fitness world in 2012 and in that time has taught Zumba, Barre, Yoga, as well as dance classes for children and adults at Nantucket Ballet, of which she is also the director and owner. In addition to her passion for dance, she has a passion for anatomy - all of her classes have a strong emphasis on fundamental alignment and body mechanics. Michelle believes movement can and should be fun, her classes are designed to help you challenge yourself, in a safe supportive space.
Our Instructors
Aleksandra Nikolic
Ballet
Aleks was introduced to dance at the age of 3 with ballet and tap. Progressively she was introduced to jazz, hip hop and modern. At age 14, Aleks decided to leave her small local school to focus her training on solely classical ballet. She began training under Marcia Dale Weary, Leslie Hench and Lazslo Berdo, among many others world renowned teachers at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. During her time at CPYB, Aleks performed in numerous large productions including, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Giselle, Carnival of the Animals as well as George Balanchine’s Serenade, Who Cares?, and Divertimento No. 15. Along with performing in stage productions, Aleks also participated in professional and student choreographic workshops each winter at CPYB. Upon Graduation, Aleks was accepted into Pittsburgh Ballet Theater’s Graduate program where she performed in their productions of The Nutcracker and Beauty and the Beast. Presently, Aleks is overjoyed to share her in-depth knowledge and passion of the art with the island.
Jennifer is a passionate dance and yoga teacher, movement artist as well as a bodyworker who has a strong desire to help others tap into their own inner alchemy, strength and joy through mind body movement practices. She has studied various dance styles such as contemporary, ballet, fusion belly dance, urban dance as well as a flow based movement practice called one movement. Her dance palette draws from her unique blend of influences as well as her own organic movement exploration which she transmits through her personally created modern fusion and movement lab classes. She is also certified in vinyasa yoga flow through the yoga realign method which focuses strongly on alignment and biomechanics, and has been trained in restorative yoga and qigong practices. Her teachings are an extension of her personal practice, research and years of working with students with what she feels is an all encompassing, therapeutic and enjoyable way to seek balance on a mind-body-spirit level. Jennifer is based in Spain throughout the year but summers in Nantucket and is beyond happy to be able to share dance and yoga on the island.
As an ecstatic dance facilitator, Emily uses somatic movement to unlearn habitual ways of moving in order to expand to different forms of learning by utilizing the wisdom within our bodies and how we can access it.
Emily Osley
Ecstatic Dance
Jennifer Parrotto
Dance, Yoga
Our Studio
Located mid-island at 15 Teasdale Circle, with plenty of parking, The Dance Space is truly a gem. Our front entrance is warm and welcoming, there is space for you to transition out of your day and into your class.
The studio itself is over 1,000 square feet. We are most proud of our Harlequin spung floors. A sprung floor has a trampoline affect for dancers, the floors reduce impact from jumping which prevents injury and keeps dancers dancing. These are the same floors you’d find at New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Alvin Ailey to name a few.
