Faculty

Michael Tidwell, Dance Department Chair – michael.tidwell@lrsd.org
Courses: Dance IV, Men’s Dance, Dance Ensemble, Choreography  

Mr. Tidwell toured with Buddy Simpson Dancers of Dallas; studied under Manolo Agullo, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Lorraine Cranford, founding director of Ballet Arkansas; Dot Callanan UALR; Maureen Migden and Peter Fairweather of The Royal Ballet Academy; Luigi at the Dance Center in New York. Tidwell was a principal dancer with Ballet Arkansas for 10 years. He created and founded the dance magnet program at Horace Mann Middle School and has served as department chair for the celebrated dance program at Parkview Arts/Science Magnet High School. He has taught at both UALR and Philander Smith College. In 1990, he founded the Tidwell Project Dance Ensemble, a dance performance company; in 1994 he opened the Center for the DansArts, Inc. a dance school founded to provide exposure of the arts to youth who might otherwise not have these experiences; and in 2015 he was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.

M’Shay Callicott – mshay.callicott@lrsd.org
Courses: Tap, Dance History, Musical Theatre Dance

Mrs. Callicott is a National Board Certified Teacher in Physical Education and Health. Her work is a featured example in the National Academy Advisory for future NBCT Candidates. Callicott has served as educator in Speech, Communications, Drama, Career and Technical Education, Dance Theory, Dance Technique and Dance History for over 20 years. She is a recipient of the Arkansas Arts Council’s Artist’s Fellowship Award for Choreography and received national awards for her dancing. Callicott has served as a judge, director, and production crew for Miss America preliminary and state competitions as well as coached and choreographed for individual dancers. In her younger years, Callicott performed in two international tours, on cruise ships, and stages across the nation.

Megan Bettis – megan.bettis@lrsd.org
Courses: Dance I-IV

Ms. Bettis has performed and choreographed both classical and contemporary works with professional companies scattered throughout the southwest before turning her focus to teaching dance in 2005. As the Academy Director of TexARTS in Austin, TX and Ballet Director of Studio B Dallas she produced full-length youth ballets, and directed and choreographed several musicals. Her students have been accepted to prestigious dance programs including Joffrey Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Austin, Texas Ballet Theatre, AMDA in Los Angeles and New York, Studio School in Los Angeles, Broadway Theatre Project, Texas State University, Ryder University, and Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.