Dancer Strong is a premiere dance studio in McKinney, Texas. Offering dance classes for all ages (2 – Adults) and multiple styles (Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Lyrical, Acro, Tumbling, and Ballroom)
Dancer Strong is devoted to developing physical strength, mental strength and grace through the proper training and sound education of today’s dancers.
At Dancer Strong we strive to maintain a positive environment where dancers will thrive. Our traditional values help our dancers build confidence though hard work and personal achievement. Each dancer will learn that hard work and dedication will help them reach their goals in dance and in life.
Our educated, experienced instructors are committed to providing a dance education that is second to none. We believe that dance is much more than learning “steps”. Dance requires a commitment of time and effort, so we want our dancers to view Dancer Strong as their creative home away from home.
Our philosophy is inclusive: we have classes to suit all tastes, and we’re happy to accommodate students of all ages and skill levels.
Education has always been a priority for us at Dancer Strong and we are excited to announce an amazing opportunity for families.
Acton Academy McKinney – an innovative, accredited learner driven private school.
Registration is open for the 2020/2021 Session for Acton Academy McKinney.
Carla Mullendore began dancing over 35 years ago. She has been teaching for over 25 years, dancing professionally for over 24 years, and involved in the competition world for over 25 years. In addition, Carla has worked for more than 20 years as a fitness professional.
This is where she began her dance training in the disciplines of Ballet (Cecchetti and Vaganova), Tap, Jazz, West African, Lyrical, Contemporary, Improvisation, and Modern (Horton, Humphrey, Limón, Graham) dance styles.
Tamra Webb began her dance journey at the age of 10, performing ballet, jazz, tap and modern. She then when on to College in California to pursue dancing. Shortly after, she began her family and raised 3 athletic boys.
Tracy Kennedy began dancing at a very young age. Until the age of nine she studied ballet then added jazz, tap, hip-hop, lyrical, and tumbling to her training. Her love of Modern dance was discovered when she went to College.
John Laverty is an independent dance instructor who is passionate about teaching all styles of partnering dancing and has been teaching Ballroom, Latin and Swing Dancing in the Dallas area since 1998.
“Knowledge, excellence, passion, honesty, humor, discipline—Carla Mullendore exemplifies all of these qualities and much more. After working with Carla for over two years, I am a much better dancer both mentally and physically. When I returned to dance after a hiatus I was still able to dance and perform, but I had lost the details—technique, vocabulary, strength, and confidence. Carla’s honesty and training assisted me in finding what I had lost, and most of all, I found my confidence. Carla is not only a pro in all genres she is trained in, but she is also a living example of these. She can teach, motivate, demonstrate, and push an individual to new heights. Her knowledge and passion ignites a room, especially when choreographing. Dance artistry and musicality are her instruments when Carla puts a number together. One of her talents is also balancing discipline and humor while honoring dance. Never will you leave her sessions feeling defeated, bored, or unchallenged, and you also leave smiling and laughing. I take everything she says and teaches to heart because of her wealth of experience and knowledge. I find myself going into her sessions wanting to impress her or be selected for her choreography. Although we are close to the same age, she is a mentor, and I want to be half the dancer she is when I grow up
When my daughter Sydney needed a dance solo, we chose Carla for her energetic style, professional choreography, attention to musical detail, style of dance and most importantly, her devotion to my daughter’s growth as a dancer. While I had a vision for my daughter’s solo, I don’t have the talent or ability to create what I wanted. Watching Carla create a dance for Sydney was like experiencing my vision come to life. There were steps and movements that I wanted, but Carla took it beyond what I could even imagine in my own head. Watching Sydney’s solo come to life was like experiencing artistry that I could never have done. It was rewarding every week, as was the preparation for competitions.
The entire solo process was enjoyable from beginning to end. Carla made time for Sydney every week to practice and improve, carried us through the entire season with constant lessons and attention and made changes as Sydney’s dance grew with the season. Carla encouraged Sydney before every competition, yet told her the areas she needed to change in order to improve. Carla took opportunities to praise as well as critique for future success.
Carla dances with so much energy, purpose and grace that I wanted my daughter to train under Carla in hopes her charisma would inspire the same in Sydney. What an awesome talent Carla has in both choreography and her personal dance style. We made a great choice using Carla as our choreographer/teacher and could not have imagined the dance season any other way! Carla has a special style that is dramatic, edgy, exciting, yet graceful. Whatever you want, she can deliver.
My 8 y.o. daughter has been blessed with Ms.Carla as her teacher/choreographer for the past three years. Ms.Carla is a talented choreographer with vision and creativity beyond the realms of this earth. Her energy and character though, are what captivates students and parents alike. I saw my daughter grow in technique and stage presence, and her love and excitement for dance was enlarged with Ms. Carla’s encouraging teaching style. This past year, Ms. Carla choreographed my daughters solo and at every competition she was awarded a spot in the top 10. At nationals she received a prestigious award given to only one dancer in the jazz category, called “Excellence in Dance”. Her success this past year can be credited back to Ms. Carla’s superb commitment to dancers. Our family loves Ms. Carla and we look forward to many years of her teaching and skills in our future.
I have worked with Carla Mullendore for the past five years and intend to continue working with her. She has helped me improve in many styles of dance, including jazz, tap, ballet, and musical theatre. Due to her experience in dance, Carla has been able to provide us with new moves and ways to improve our technique in dance. Instead of always having the same moves or workouts, Carla provides us with moves that challenge our ability to help us improve. Her experience along with her passion comes out in her class. When I came to a new studio, Carla handed me a bio and introduced herself in a way that made me want to stay at the studio and work with her. This made her stand out from all the other dance teachers I’ve worked with, because in my twelve years of dancing, she was the only person who has ever handed me a bio. It’s nice to work with someone while knowing their experience. I immediately chose her to choreograph my solos, and after being extremely pleased with the choreography and how much
I improved in a year with working with her, I asked her to continue choreographing for me. Her dances have not only won numerous awards, but also challenge us with harder technique and a new style we are not familiar with to expand our knowledge in executing the style.
Along with being an excellent dance teacher, she is also an amazing person. I know that I can talk to her about anything, whether it is dance related or not. She is always there for me and I know she always will be.