Demetria Petty-Manes, owner and co-director of D & T Dance Studio.
Her Mother introduced her to the world of the Performing Arts at the age of 4. She studied for 11 years at the School of Dance Arts in Sanford, Fl and was accepted into the Ballet Guild of Sanford-Seminole at the age of 9 concentrating in the genres of ballet, jazz, lyrical and pointe. Her Father trained her in gymnastics at the Sanford Gymnastic Association.
In eighth grade, she began to share her gift with fellow students of Tajiri Arts International by volunteering to teach ballet classes and choreograph for their productions.
She attended Hampton University in the fall of 1992, where she was selected to become a member of the Terpsichorean Dance Company. Under the direction of Nina Butts, Demetria’s love for modern dance started to ignite. She held the President and Treasurer positions, as well as taught dance for the Hampton University Community Dance Program. She was invited to the Summer Intensive Program at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in the spring of 1993. She also toured with the Dance Company to Philadelphia, Cleveland, Dallas, Orlando, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Savannah and other major cities where some of her pieces were showcased at the Zora Neale Hurston Arts Festival, Black College Dance Exchange, and National Dance Association. Demetria had the opportunity to participate in several workshops and national dance conventions and master classes with Dallas Black Dance Company, Alvin Ailey Dance Repertoire and Philadanco Dance Company, just to name a few.
Upon graduating from Hampton University in May 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, her engineering career began and still flourishes. In parallel, her passion for dance still continued when she accepted a position as Assistant Artistic Director with Terpsichorean Dance Company until 2001. The Manes family was relocated to Connecticut for a couple of years due to military duties. After returning to the Hampton Roads area, the family joined the Emmanuel Baptist Church where she choreographs for the teenage dance ministry as well as ministers the Word of God through dance as a member of the Praise Ministry Team. Her passion to expose different genres of dance not only to children, but to adults as well, led her to teach at the Gail Harts Performing Arts Group, Inc. in 2007.
A dream deferred became a reality in September 2012 when Demetria Petty-Manes opened up D & T Dance Studio with co –director, Shontia Faulkner.
“To God Be The Glory!”