Pasley Ballet School

nancy pasley

Nancy Pasley has owned and operated Pasley Ballet School in Grand Forks since 1975, teaching hundreds of children over the years. She began her dance career at the age of four, studying under Ann Dirksen in Ames, Iowa. She graduated from Iowa State University with a  B.S. in Elementary Education, and taught classes locally for nine years before moving to Grand Forks with her family.

Nancy attended the prestigious Jacob's Pillow Dance Camp for six weeks in the summer of 1963 where she studied ballet, character, flamenco, lyrical, pointe, & modern with Geoffrey Holder, Margaret Craske, and Ted Shawn; the founder of Jacob's Pillow. She performed and taught for the North Dakota Ballet Company from 1970-1975 where she was introduced to the late Mary Ellen Wier. The two enjoyed a lifelong friendship, dancing together through many camps and workshops, including their annual trips to Aberdeen, South Dakota where they attended Johnny Cavelle's dance workshops. They studied with many teachers, including Marie Adair, Gus Giodano, Luigi, Jonathon West, and Ann Dirksen. Nancy has danced in and choreographed numerous ballets and musicals, including performing the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy in "The Nutcracker Suite" at Iowa State. Many years later, she "graduated" to the part of Mother Ginger in Ronn Guidi's production of the same at the Chester Fritz in 2000, 2002, & 2003.

 Throughout her long career, Nancy’s greatest joy of all is her dance school and the students she has come to know. Nancy feels she offers the very best dance education possible, with exceptional instructors. She and her husband Robb have been married over 50 years, and have three children, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Jennifer Pasley-Johnson

Jennifer Pasley was born and raised in Grand Forks, ND and began dancing at age two from her grandmother, Nancy. She has taken classes in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical and hip hop and is currently teaching ballet, tap, pointe and technique. She has attended many dance camps and has taken classes from Brian Friedman, Mia Michaels and many more. She has been working in the office for Pasley Ballet School since 2014. Jennifer graduated in May 2019 with her Physical Therapist Assistant degree. When Jennifer isn’t dancing or working, she will most likely be spending time with her husband, children, and dog.

Photo by Behl's Photography

Deb Fontaine

Deb Fontaine began dancing at eight years old and studied ballet, tap, and jazz at the Judy Rae Dance School in Grand Forks. She has studied dance under Jamie Rogers, (choreographer of the movie "Fame"), Gus Giodano, and Helen Philips, (choreographer of Disney theme parks "Captain EO" in Minneapolis, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Deb has been teaching dance since she was thirteen years old. Over the years, she has operated seven schools specializing in dance in both Dakota's and Minnesota. She has choreographed for the Miss North Dakota pageant and the North Dakota Dance Challenge competition. Since 2000, Deb has been the premier hip-hop and jazz instructor at Pasley Ballet School. She live in Grand Forks, with her son and daughter.

Riley Regorrah

Riley began dancing with Nancy Pasley at the age of five and hasn’t stopped since. She has trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip hop. Riley currently teaches ballet, tap, and jazz. At age 10, Riley became a class helper assisting with various ballet and tap classes before teaching her own class at the age of 17. For the last few years, she has enjoyed pursuing her love of dance while also teaching younger dancers to do the same. Outside of dance, Riley is currently attending the University of North Dakota for a degree in elementary education.

Meghan Scott

Meghan Scott