The Tuscaloosa Community Dancers Summer Intensive is a 3-day intensive workshop for students ages 7+. There will be 3 levels at our intensive: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Your dancer will be placed according to their appropriate technical level. They will receive their level placement upon arrival on the first day, and it is at the faculty's discretion if they need to move levels. Students will attend daily ballet technique, pointe (if applicable) and variations classes, as well as specialty classes such as ballet jumps & turns, modern dance, pantomime, and seminars on topics important to the developing dancer.
Our Mini Summer Intensive is a 3-day intensive workshop for students ages 5-6. Students attend daily ballet classes as well as supplemental classes to prepare them for an audition setting.
Intensive, Workshop & Audition Attire:
Ladies: Black leotard, pink tights under leotard and inside shoes, flat and pointe shoes (if applicable). Hair must be neatly and securely tied back. Skirts may be allowed at the intensive and workshop only, not at the audition.
Gentleman: White dance shirt, black or grey tights, and ballet slippers.
*By registering for this intensive, you do not have to register and pay for the Nutcracker workshop & audition. Check the box at check out yes or no when asked if auditioning for Nutcracker.
Emily Bromberg- Slovakia National Theatre Alden McShan- Tuscaloosa Community Dancers Artistic Director, former TCD member Rainer Krenstetter- Associate Artistic Director at The Margot Fonteyn Academy of Ballet Ali Marshall- Texas Christian University BFA in Ballet 2022, Pilates Teacher Training Certificate, former TCD member Jennifer Lauren Quarles- Miami City Ballet Principal, former TCD member Aidan Nettles- ABT® Certified Teacher, Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Alabama
Scroll for their bios!
Sample Schedule *subject to change
Rainer Krenstetter Rainer Krenstetter was born into a dance family in Vienna where he began his ballet training at the Ballet School of the Vienna State Opera. In 1999, he was accepted into the Royal Ballet School in London and continued his training there until 2000 when he became a member with the Vienna State Opera Ballet. In 2002, he joined the Staatsballett Berlin under the direction of Vladimir Malakhov and went through the ranks up to Principal dancer. He joined Miami City Ballet as a Principal dancer in 2014 and gave his last performance in April 2022. In 2020 he was appointed Artistic Director of the company Unblanche in Tokyo and in 2021 he became Designated Artistic Director at The Margot Fonteyn Academy of Ballet. Throughout his training, Krenstetter participated and won medals in various international ballet competitions including in Vienna, Brasilia and Luxembourg, culminating in his first place win at the Prix de Lausanne in 1999.
Throughout his prolific career, Krenstetter has danced principal and leading roles in most ballets in the classical repertoire including Swan Lake, Giselle, Don Quixote, Le Corsaire, The Nutcracker, Coppélia, Onegin, Firebird, The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, La Sylphide, Cinderella and La Bayadere. Additionally, he has danced in ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Vladimir Malakhov, Kenneth MacMillan, Auguste Bournonville, Michel Fokine, Alexei Ratmansky, Roland Petit, Maurice Béjart, Hans van Manen, Uwe Scholz, Clarke Tippet, Jirí Kylián and William Forsythe among others. Krenstetter has also performed as a guest artist in various companies and galas internationally in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia; been a member of the jury at the International Ballet Competition in Rome and Riga; and guest taught at several dance workshops, schools and companies in many countries.
Rainer received the 2016 Miami Life Award for “Best Classical Dancer.”
Aidan Nettles Aidan Nettles, MFA, is a Full Time Teaching Instructor of Dance at the University of Alabama. Nettles received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Dance at the University of Alabama and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) with Distinction from the University of Roehampton in London, UK. During her tenure at UA, Aidan presided over the Nu Delta Alpha National Dance Honor Society and served as UA Parent Ambassador before graduating with honors as a Blount Scholar. Throughout her matriculation at Roehampton, she taught dance at the Roehampton Dance Society and Amplified Arts Academy; served as program representative for postgraduate dance studies; presented a paper at the Young Conference at Ghent University in Belgium; and later served as the Young Conference Chair. Nettles received the International Excellence and Roehampton Vice Chancellor’s Award for scholarly achievement. Since 2015, Nettles served as counselor and recently Assistant Director of the American Ballet Theater Summer Intensive. Nettles danced with Alabama Repertory Dance Theater, Dance Alabama! and Dance Collection. Precollegiate dance study includes training from Tina Trinkler, the Nutmeg Conservatory in Torrington, CT; and studies with Mira Popovich, Eleanor D’Antuono, Kirk Peterson, Moses Pendleton, and many more. Nettles enjoys teaching ballet, contemporary and jazz to children and youth; and has choreographed and scored competitive programs and television performances. Aidan Nettles is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Aidan was recently promoted to Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Alabama.
Emily Bromberg Emily Bromberg began her dance training at Rolann’s School of the Dance in Orlando, Florida when she was 2 1/2 years old and later, at Orlando Ballet. At 14 years old, Emily won a scholarship to Kirov Academy of Ballet (Universal Ballet), where she boarded and trained for their academic year and summer. Ms Bromberg completed her dance training at Boston Ballet School and danced with Boston Ballet’s corps de ballet for performances of Giselle, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. While earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Rhode Island College, Emily danced principal roles with Festival Ballet Providence, under the direction of Mihailo Djuric. She later danced principal roles with Colorado Ballet. In 2010, Emily moved to Miami, where she spent the spent the past 11 years as a dancer with Miami City Ballet. She retired from the company this year, having earned the rank of Principal Soloist. During Miami’s off-seasons, Emily performed and trained dancers all over the world. During the pause In Miami City’s performances due to the pandemic, Ms Bromberg has discovered a new passion for teaching and is thrilled to help every new student she meets! Emily went to Europe to dance with Ballet de Barcelona in 2021, where she taught classes for Barcelona trainees and ran company rehearsals in addition to rehearsing her own roles. She currently dances with Slovakia National Theatre under the artistic direction of Nina Polakova.
Ali Marshall Ali Marshall, a Tuscaloosa native, graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Ballet, BA in Spanish, and the Pilates Teacher Training Certificate from Texas Christian University in spring of 2022. Her early dance training was with The Dance Centre in Tuscaloosa, AL and the Alabama Ballet in Birmingham, AL. Performance highlights at TCU include works in resident by faculty and guest artists Adam W. McKinney, Jessica Zeller, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Rochelle-Zide Booth, Francesca Harper, Rubén Gerding, and Joy Bollinger. Marshall was featured as “Victorine” in August Bournonville’s La Konservatoriet and “Fairy of Grace” in Sleeping Beauty. Certified in comprehensive Pilates training, she has taught mixed equipment classes at BODYBAR Pilates in Fort Worth, TX and will be teaching at Equinox in Dallas, TX in the fall.
Jennifer Lauren Quarles Jennifer Lauren is a native of Tuscaloosa, AL. At age three, she began her training at The Dance Centre, later with Royal Academy of Dance and the Alabama Ballet Pre-Apprentice Program. Lauren’s summers were spent attending American Ballet Theatre intensives. In 1998, at age 16, she joined the Alabama Ballet under the direction of Wes Chapman and Roger Van Fleteren. In her nine years under Chapman, she performed principal roles in numerous full-length classics including Giselle, Firebird, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Don Quixote and others, as well as many principal Balanchine roles. In 2007, Lauren joined Miami City Ballet as a member of the Corps de Ballet and was promoted to Soloist in 2011. In 2014, she was named one of Dance Magazine’s “Top 25 to Watch.” During her tenure with MCB, Lauren has been featured in principal and soloist roles. In 2015, she was promoted to Principal Soloist and then to Principal in 2017.
Alden Phillips McShan Alden Phillips McShan was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where she grew up training at The Dance Centre, the Alabama Ballet, and performed with the Tuscaloosa Community Dancers starting at the age of 8. As a young dancer, Alden toured with the Radio City Christmas Spectacular performing the role of "Clara". She was the 2012 Tuscaloosa County Distinguished Young Woman and was granted the Druid Arts Award for Dance Artist of 2013. Alden pursued her dance training at the State University of New York at Purchase where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Arts Management. At Purchase, she had the privilege to perform works by George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Jose Limon, Kimberly Bartosik, Sarah Mettin, John Heginbotham, Jason Parsons, and Claire Porter among others. She was also selected to perform at New York Live Arts for two seasons with the Purchase Dance Company. While training at Purchase, she spent her summers participating in programs such as San Francisco Conservatory and Impulstanz International Dance Festival in Vienna, Austria. Professionally, she has danced with project-based company CBGDance in New York City and toured with Odyssey Dance Theater in Utah for their "Thriller" production. She is currently a dance instructor at The Dance Centre where she teaches ballet, jazz, contemporary, and preschool classes. She has directed and choreographed TCD’s 2018, 2020 and 2022 Spring Shows, and directed TCD's Nutcracker for four seasons.