Beth and Mary Frances are sisters and part owners of North Mississippi Dance Centre in Tupelo, MS. Our mother, Sarah Karrant, opened in 1987. We are proud to continue in our mothers steps.
Mary Frances Massey is a dance instructor and the Director of North Mississippi Dance Centre in Tupelo. She has twenty years of training in ballet, tap & jazz. She graduated from Columbia State Community College in Commercial Entertainment and Dance Pedagogy. 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. 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!
* 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)
*Life Cycle & Water Cycle- Movement through the different cycles of Life (plant cycles, animal cycles etc.)
Teacher & Professional Developments:
Can be created to fit your needs and range anywhere from one-three hours.
Artist in Residency:
Can range anywhere from a week to a month. (Previous AIR at King ECEC, Pontotoc Elementary, Carver Elementary & Philadelphia Elementary)