en Avant School of Dance
en Avant School of Dance, 1841 Bay Rd, East Palo Alto, CA 94303
About
en Avant School of Dance offers dance and theater training that includes ballet, jazz, contemporary, folklórico mexicano, storytelling, arts and crafts, art, and music. The program also includes acondicionamiento, tutoring, after-school care, and performing opportunities. The curriculum includes choreography that participants perform in “Danzas folclóricas,” the annual celebration of music and folktales produced by Mannakin Theater & Dance, the parent company of en Avant School of Dance.
• Ages: 3–14 years old
• Schedule: Five-week summer dance camp from June 24 to July 28, with younger dance students (2.5 to 6 years) taking classes four days a week Monday–Thursday, and upper-level dance students (6 to 14 years) taking classes five days a week Monday–Friday; all students must attend a dress rehearsal on Friday, July 26
• Price: Paga hoy la mitad de la matrícula de verano como depósito para reservar tu lugar. El segundo pago vence el 24 de junio. Los nuevos estudiantes incurren en una tarifa única de inscripción de $125. Los nuevos estudiantes deben pagar una tarifa única de inscripción de $125.
en Avant School of Dance is the Academy of Theater and Dance Mannakin, a non-profit corporation 501(c)(3), and Mannakin Theater & Dance is a registered non-profit 501(c)(3). The program uses highly subsidized tuition through grants and donations, and all participants must submit their most recent tax forms and/or pay stubs. Acceptance is not based on income, no student is turned away for lack of funds, and families with higher income levels may be invited to contribute to the financial health and success of en Avant School of Dance. Parents must sign and adhere to a participation contract. Class sizes are limited to 10 dancers for younger students and 12 dancers for upper-level students, and all youth participants are invited or expected to perform in the final performance. There are no refunds for tuition or the registration fee, and the registration fee includes all necessary ballet materials such as a ballet bag, uniform leotard and tights, ballet slippers, and a tutu or skirt depending on level, as well as hair items for new students.
The Mission of en Avant School is to provide the benefits of high caliber dance training, studio community, and performing opportunities to underserved youth and families by overcoming the persistent obstacles of cost and proximity. The Mission of en Avant School is also to bring high-quality dance training, tailored tutoring and after-school care, and regular performing opportunities to underserved youth and families by overcoming the persistent obstacles of cost and proximity. The school states that dance is a powerful cultural medium that ties people to the global human experience and to specific ethnic heritage, and that at en Avant School, the study of dance and academics are intertwined to help build a well-rounded young person with the capacity to meet the challenges presented by an ever-changing world. The mission of Mannakin Theater & Dance is to expand the world of the performing arts by inviting new individuals and demographics to experiences in theater seats, inside the classroom and learning studio, and underneath the stage lights, and to open the tent of premier performing arts to the broadest range of people and cultures so that new audiences are created, fresh voices are heard, and all people are lifted as ships on a rising tide to greater heights of human creativity and achievement.
Mannakin Theater & Dance conducts outreach with Syrian and Afghani refugees in Bulgaria and with young children in East Palo Alto, and en Avant School is described as an outreach academy for dance and academics. en Avant School is the new home of Mannakin Theater & Dance’s longstanding ballet outreach program “Cultivating Ballet Culture.” This program counts on the support of the Atkinson Foundation, the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund, the San Mateo County Arts Commission, and the California Arts Council. Mannakin Theater & Dance often places professional talents alongside student and amateur dancers, and the new center for dance is already home to more than 100 youth. The space used by the program had been a church for over two decades before Mannakin Theater & Dance signed the lease in February 2022, and it is being transformed into a single large room with dimensions of 18’ x 40’.
The leadership team includes Nathan Cottam as Artistic and Executive Director and Founding Director, and Traci Cottam as Assistant Director, with a Board of Directors that includes Nathan Cottam, Carly Lodge, Antonio Lopez, Ruth Leung, Courtney Gordon, and Linnea Alexanderson. Acceptance in the program is at the discretion of the program director, Traci Cottam. Staff credentials include Nathan Cottam’s BS in sociology and Master of Fine Art in Dance from the University of Arizona, his performance experience with companies such as Oakland Ballet, Bay Pointe Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre, and the Serbian National Ballet in Belgrade, and his founding of Mannakin Theater and Dance in 2013. Traci graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Dance and has danced with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, New Chamber Ballet, CelloPointe, Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, and has performed classical and neoclassical ballets with Neglia Ballet in Buffalo, NY. Greyson graduated from Muhlenberg College in 2021 with a BA in Dance with concentrations in performance, choreography, and education, as well as an Italian Studies minor.
Last updated March 19, 2026.
• Ages: 3–14 years old
• Schedule: Five-week summer dance camp from June 24 to July 28, with younger dance students (2.5 to 6 years) taking classes four days a week Monday–Thursday, and upper-level dance students (6 to 14 years) taking classes five days a week Monday–Friday; all students must attend a dress rehearsal on Friday, July 26
• Price: Paga hoy la mitad de la matrícula de verano como depósito para reservar tu lugar. El segundo pago vence el 24 de junio. Los nuevos estudiantes incurren en una tarifa única de inscripción de $125. Los nuevos estudiantes deben pagar una tarifa única de inscripción de $125.
en Avant School of Dance is the Academy of Theater and Dance Mannakin, a non-profit corporation 501(c)(3), and Mannakin Theater & Dance is a registered non-profit 501(c)(3). The program uses highly subsidized tuition through grants and donations, and all participants must submit their most recent tax forms and/or pay stubs. Acceptance is not based on income, no student is turned away for lack of funds, and families with higher income levels may be invited to contribute to the financial health and success of en Avant School of Dance. Parents must sign and adhere to a participation contract. Class sizes are limited to 10 dancers for younger students and 12 dancers for upper-level students, and all youth participants are invited or expected to perform in the final performance. There are no refunds for tuition or the registration fee, and the registration fee includes all necessary ballet materials such as a ballet bag, uniform leotard and tights, ballet slippers, and a tutu or skirt depending on level, as well as hair items for new students.
The Mission of en Avant School is to provide the benefits of high caliber dance training, studio community, and performing opportunities to underserved youth and families by overcoming the persistent obstacles of cost and proximity. The Mission of en Avant School is also to bring high-quality dance training, tailored tutoring and after-school care, and regular performing opportunities to underserved youth and families by overcoming the persistent obstacles of cost and proximity. The school states that dance is a powerful cultural medium that ties people to the global human experience and to specific ethnic heritage, and that at en Avant School, the study of dance and academics are intertwined to help build a well-rounded young person with the capacity to meet the challenges presented by an ever-changing world. The mission of Mannakin Theater & Dance is to expand the world of the performing arts by inviting new individuals and demographics to experiences in theater seats, inside the classroom and learning studio, and underneath the stage lights, and to open the tent of premier performing arts to the broadest range of people and cultures so that new audiences are created, fresh voices are heard, and all people are lifted as ships on a rising tide to greater heights of human creativity and achievement.
Mannakin Theater & Dance conducts outreach with Syrian and Afghani refugees in Bulgaria and with young children in East Palo Alto, and en Avant School is described as an outreach academy for dance and academics. en Avant School is the new home of Mannakin Theater & Dance’s longstanding ballet outreach program “Cultivating Ballet Culture.” This program counts on the support of the Atkinson Foundation, the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund, the San Mateo County Arts Commission, and the California Arts Council. Mannakin Theater & Dance often places professional talents alongside student and amateur dancers, and the new center for dance is already home to more than 100 youth. The space used by the program had been a church for over two decades before Mannakin Theater & Dance signed the lease in February 2022, and it is being transformed into a single large room with dimensions of 18’ x 40’.
The leadership team includes Nathan Cottam as Artistic and Executive Director and Founding Director, and Traci Cottam as Assistant Director, with a Board of Directors that includes Nathan Cottam, Carly Lodge, Antonio Lopez, Ruth Leung, Courtney Gordon, and Linnea Alexanderson. Acceptance in the program is at the discretion of the program director, Traci Cottam. Staff credentials include Nathan Cottam’s BS in sociology and Master of Fine Art in Dance from the University of Arizona, his performance experience with companies such as Oakland Ballet, Bay Pointe Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre, and the Serbian National Ballet in Belgrade, and his founding of Mannakin Theater and Dance in 2013. Traci graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Dance and has danced with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, New Chamber Ballet, CelloPointe, Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, and has performed classical and neoclassical ballets with Neglia Ballet in Buffalo, NY. Greyson graduated from Muhlenberg College in 2021 with a BA in Dance with concentrations in performance, choreography, and education, as well as an Italian Studies minor.
Last updated March 19, 2026.
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