Specialties
We offer courses in classical ballet, jazz, and tap, Shotokan Karate, Olympic Fencing, Aikido, Modeling, Swordfighting / Padded Weapons, Music and Guitar Lessons, Drawing / Anime / Manga lessons, and Pilates / Fitness / Personal Training. We also host events and parties in a variety of genres: dance parties for kids, adventure parties for kids and adults, and corporate retreat / team building adventures.
History
Established in 2004.
In 1992, we started our first studio under the direction of Julie Knowles called Crescent Dance Center, on Winchester Rd in Memphis, TN. Then in 1995, we moved to Brookhaven Circle and renamed our school, Memphis Dance Theatre. In 1997, we moved again to a new location at Mt. Moriah & Mendenhall in Memphis. Finally, in 2000, we moved to a large 9,000 sq ft space at Quince and White Station in Memphis. When 9/11 came, our school was severely impacted and so in 2002, we closed our school for a time.
In 2004, we came out to Collierville for a drive and found a great little building for lease. It had been a dance studio already and was basically ready to go. We contacted the landlord and began to grow fast. By 2011, we were bursting at the seams so we made a move to a 7,000 sq ft warehouse on Distribution Parkway that feels like part house / part training facility. We now offer the widest variety of performing and martial arts under one roof in the midsouth.
Meet the Business Owner: Julie and Thomas K.
Julie Hunt Knowles began her formal training as a young student dancer in the late 1970s with the Bischoff-Carroll Dance Centre and then the Memphis Ballet, under the direction of Michael and Judy Tevlin. At the age of 15, she was asked to join the professional company of the Memphis Ballet. During her studies with the Tevlins, Mrs. Knowles completed her Royal Academy of Dancing examinations and Dance Education Syllabus with Honours. It was also during this period that she began teaching dance classes, working with all ages of students, from pre-schoolers to adults. Over the decades, she has trained thousands of students in the Mid-South. Many of her students have been accepted into some of the country's most prestigious classical summer study programs and company apprentice programs Nationally, her students have gone on to Disneyworld Theme Park, Broadway musicals (Fosse, Cats and West Side Story, among others), the music video industry, and have careers in arts related businesses.
