Brooke Desnoës
Brooke Desnoës / Dance Instructor at Wallace State College, Founder and Former Artistic Director of the Academie Americaine de Danse de Paris, today known as the Académie de l’Art de la Danse et de sa Pédagogie (AADP)
An American transplanted in France has most recently returned to Cullman Alabama, Brooke Desnoës is one of the most gifted and prolific teaching artists of her generation, with over twenty years of experience at the international level. Her pre-professional training program opened the doors to successful professional careers for numerous students. Mrs. Desnoës trains her students “from the inside out” and provides them with an educational experience of the highest caliber. “Brooke is one of the few people I have ever known who sees such a ‘big picture’ and she immediately recognizes what is valuable and where someone’s possibilities could take them. She is not afraid to consider all possible connections and benefits, with a diversity that informs her teaching and choreography that makes for a more complete education in a dancer of today’s time.” – Violette Verdy
Brooke Desnoës received her early training from Sonia Arova at Alabama School of Performing Arts and went on to dance with ballet companies. She performed under Alexander Bennett’s direction in North America and Europe and has danced a varied repertoire including leading roles in many classic ballets such as “Sleeping Beauty”, “Cinderella”, “Paquita”, and “ “Romeo and Juliet”, as well as works by contemporary choreographers. After a period of teaching at The Washington School of Ballet in Washington D.C., under the direction of Mary Day, Brooke Desnoës founded L’Académie Américaine de Danse de Paris (AADP). Since its creation in 1997, AADP grew to become one of the largest (over 850 students) and most reputable ballet school in Europe.
While establishing her Ballet school in Paris with the financial support of The Annenberg Foundation, Ms. Desnoës devised several educational programs among which a pre-professional training course that welcomes young dancers from across Europe, North America and Asia. In 2007 she also successfully started a Master Class Series, which gave young talented European dancers the opportunity to study with prominent dancers and instructors such as; Violette Verdy, Suki Schorer, Gailene Stock, Gary Norman, Amanda McKerrow, John Gardner, Deborah Dobson, Karin Averty, Elizabeth Platel and Jolinda Menendez among others. Her students have gone on to study at schools such as; American Ballet Theatre (ABT), The Washington School of Ballet, Atlanta Ballet School of Dance, Alvin Ailey Dance Center, The Boston Ballet School, The Cranko School, The Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet School, The Joffrey Academy - Chicago, Nutmeg Conservatory, The Rock School and Die Ballettschule des Hamburg Ballett. At the end of their training a number of her dancers joined companies in Europe, North America, Japan and Mexico. In 2010 Brooke created “Le Jeune Ballet Franco-Américain” providing young professional dancers, between the age of 17 and 22, the opportunity to perform full length ballets and original choreographies multiple times a year across France and Europe. With her young company, Ms. Desnoës has staged classic ballets as well as her own creations at Le Palais des Congres de Paris, Le Théâtre de Verdure de Ramatuelle, Le Théâtre de Neuilly, Le Centre Culturel de Porto-Vecchio, the Camara Municipal de Caiscais in Portugal and more rencently in China on the Yinchuan and Guangzhou campuses of Minzu University.
Ms. Desnoës has initiated a collaboration with Florida State University, and Columbia Global Centers in Paris. These programs offer US students the opportunity to study ballet at AADP and obtain university credits for the classes successfully completed over a trimester. She is frequently invited to hold master classes in Europe and abroad in classical ballet, variation and in dance history. She is a regular teacher at the Joffrey Academy, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Principia College and invited to teach at Ruth Page Center for Dance Education in Chicago, the University of Cincinnati and New York University/Tisch. She has also implemented a series of teacher exchange program with the Joffrey Academy and The Royal Ballet School of London.
Her students can also be found in the finals of international dance competitions such as Youth America Grand Prix, Prix d’Europe, Tanzolymp in Berlin. Brooke is a regular jury member and master teacher to numerous international dance competitions. Ms. Desnoës has also formed partnerships with charity organizations and offered community outreach programs for institutions such as Hopital Necker, Envol, Votre Ecole Chez Vous. Her dancers also performed in several benefit performances hosted by the American, the British and the Czech Republic embassies. Ms. Desnoës has also remained at the heart of fundraising and development for AADP.
In 2016- 2018 she collaborated with the town of Le Chateau d’Oleron to create a satellite school for AADP. This extension serves local students and will be the home of an International Summer Ballet School.
Ms. Desnoës holds a BA in Ballet Pedagogy from Brenau University and is in the final stages of completing a MA in Education. She obtained the French state ballet teaching certificate in 1993 and has been a member of the “Conseil International de la Danse”/ UNESCO since 2006. She works directly with the Royal Academy of Dance to coordinate events in Paris where she was granted the title of Mentor in 2009. In 2014, for its 25th anniversary, the Annenberg Foundation identified Brooke Desnoës as one of the 25 vision-driven leaders chosen to represent the 8500 grantees whose visions they supported since its creation.
Brooke Desnoës is committed to the achievement of the highest standard for all of her students. She believes that every dancer must be provided with careful guidance and be offered the opportunity to maximize one’s potential through a learning process that involves a deep understanding of the physical, technical and artistic attributes that compose the diverse and multiple facets of ballet.
An American transplanted in France has most recently returned to Cullman Alabama, Brooke Desnoës is one of the most gifted and prolific teaching artists of her generation, with over twenty years of experience at the international level. Her pre-professional training program opened the doors to successful professional careers for numerous students. Mrs. Desnoës trains her students “from the inside out” and provides them with an educational experience of the highest caliber. “Brooke is one of the few people I have ever known who sees such a ‘big picture’ and she immediately recognizes what is valuable and where someone’s possibilities could take them. She is not afraid to consider all possible connections and benefits, with a diversity that informs her teaching and choreography that makes for a more complete education in a dancer of today’s time.” – Violette Verdy
Brooke Desnoës received her early training from Sonia Arova at Alabama School of Performing Arts and went on to dance with ballet companies. She performed under Alexander Bennett’s direction in North America and Europe and has danced a varied repertoire including leading roles in many classic ballets such as “Sleeping Beauty”, “Cinderella”, “Paquita”, and “ “Romeo and Juliet”, as well as works by contemporary choreographers. After a period of teaching at The Washington School of Ballet in Washington D.C., under the direction of Mary Day, Brooke Desnoës founded L’Académie Américaine de Danse de Paris (AADP). Since its creation in 1997, AADP grew to become one of the largest (over 850 students) and most reputable ballet school in Europe.
While establishing her Ballet school in Paris with the financial support of The Annenberg Foundation, Ms. Desnoës devised several educational programs among which a pre-professional training course that welcomes young dancers from across Europe, North America and Asia. In 2007 she also successfully started a Master Class Series, which gave young talented European dancers the opportunity to study with prominent dancers and instructors such as; Violette Verdy, Suki Schorer, Gailene Stock, Gary Norman, Amanda McKerrow, John Gardner, Deborah Dobson, Karin Averty, Elizabeth Platel and Jolinda Menendez among others. Her students have gone on to study at schools such as; American Ballet Theatre (ABT), The Washington School of Ballet, Atlanta Ballet School of Dance, Alvin Ailey Dance Center, The Boston Ballet School, The Cranko School, The Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet School, The Joffrey Academy - Chicago, Nutmeg Conservatory, The Rock School and Die Ballettschule des Hamburg Ballett. At the end of their training a number of her dancers joined companies in Europe, North America, Japan and Mexico. In 2010 Brooke created “Le Jeune Ballet Franco-Américain” providing young professional dancers, between the age of 17 and 22, the opportunity to perform full length ballets and original choreographies multiple times a year across France and Europe. With her young company, Ms. Desnoës has staged classic ballets as well as her own creations at Le Palais des Congres de Paris, Le Théâtre de Verdure de Ramatuelle, Le Théâtre de Neuilly, Le Centre Culturel de Porto-Vecchio, the Camara Municipal de Caiscais in Portugal and more rencently in China on the Yinchuan and Guangzhou campuses of Minzu University.
Ms. Desnoës has initiated a collaboration with Florida State University, and Columbia Global Centers in Paris. These programs offer US students the opportunity to study ballet at AADP and obtain university credits for the classes successfully completed over a trimester. She is frequently invited to hold master classes in Europe and abroad in classical ballet, variation and in dance history. She is a regular teacher at the Joffrey Academy, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Principia College and invited to teach at Ruth Page Center for Dance Education in Chicago, the University of Cincinnati and New York University/Tisch. She has also implemented a series of teacher exchange program with the Joffrey Academy and The Royal Ballet School of London.
Her students can also be found in the finals of international dance competitions such as Youth America Grand Prix, Prix d’Europe, Tanzolymp in Berlin. Brooke is a regular jury member and master teacher to numerous international dance competitions. Ms. Desnoës has also formed partnerships with charity organizations and offered community outreach programs for institutions such as Hopital Necker, Envol, Votre Ecole Chez Vous. Her dancers also performed in several benefit performances hosted by the American, the British and the Czech Republic embassies. Ms. Desnoës has also remained at the heart of fundraising and development for AADP.
In 2016- 2018 she collaborated with the town of Le Chateau d’Oleron to create a satellite school for AADP. This extension serves local students and will be the home of an International Summer Ballet School.
Ms. Desnoës holds a BA in Ballet Pedagogy from Brenau University and is in the final stages of completing a MA in Education. She obtained the French state ballet teaching certificate in 1993 and has been a member of the “Conseil International de la Danse”/ UNESCO since 2006. She works directly with the Royal Academy of Dance to coordinate events in Paris where she was granted the title of Mentor in 2009. In 2014, for its 25th anniversary, the Annenberg Foundation identified Brooke Desnoës as one of the 25 vision-driven leaders chosen to represent the 8500 grantees whose visions they supported since its creation.
Brooke Desnoës is committed to the achievement of the highest standard for all of her students. She believes that every dancer must be provided with careful guidance and be offered the opportunity to maximize one’s potential through a learning process that involves a deep understanding of the physical, technical and artistic attributes that compose the diverse and multiple facets of ballet.