Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance
Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance, 601 Houze Way UNIT 800, Suite 100, Roswell, GA 30076
About
Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance offers dance instruction that includes Toddlerdance, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, Musical Theater, and Aerial Silks, along with summer camps and intensives. Dancers and families can take part in performances and events such as The Nutcracker, RDA/SE Showcase, Dance Off: Game On, Snow White, Year-End Recitals, the Hugs From Young Choreographers showcase and fundraiser, Modern Company concert performances, and a dancer choreography showcase. The program also offers adult classes, Adult Pop-Up Classes, pop-up classes, Girl Scout events, community outreach, an Open House event, crafts, games, music, studio rentals, and parent meetings.
• Ages: 2–18 years old
• Schedule: Weekly classes run September–May, with Adult Pop-Up Classes on Tuesday nights from 6:30–7:45 PM and additional events, auditions, and performances scheduled throughout the year.
The Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance opened in 1979 and, after 38 years, grew to over 1000 students and a resident performing arts company, Roswell Dance Theatre, which was founded in 1985 as a 501c3 resident performing company. The program operates year round with over 130 weekly classes, special events, camps, and rehearsals, and has trained thousands of young dancers, including children of some of the original students from 1979. Open School highlights include weekly classes from September–May, recitals and photos for all performing classes in May, auditions for The Nutcracker in September and for the PrePro Spring Show in January, and holiday breaks that follow most Fulton County School dates with some exceptions. Roswell Dance Theatre company highlights include August Nutcracker Boot Camp, weekly and weekend rehearsals, weekly classes September–May, The Nutcracker, HUGS, the PrePro Spring Show, the Movement Collective Spring Show, the RDA/SE Festival, and auditions in May for the following season.
The school and Roswell Dance Theatre work in a state-of-the-art dance facility that opened in August 2020 and features sprung floors and high ceilings. The overarching mission for all open school classes and company programs is high quality dance instruction, with a goal of providing a positive nurturing environment for each dancer to excel to his or her potential in the dance disciplines offered. The program has over 25 faculty members, 10 staff members, and several affiliated musicians, and Adult Pop-Up Classes are open to all experience levels.
Founders Nancy Tolbert Yilmaz and Mary Lynn Taylor lead the program, with Nancy Tolbert Yilmaz serving as Artistic Director and Mary Lynn Taylor as Associate Director. Nancy Tolbert Yilmaz is described as an accomplished dancer and performer with extensive dance training centered on Ballet, Tap, and Jazz, and she studied with Robert Joffrey of the Joffrey Ballet New York, David Howard, Pittman Corry, Igor Schwezoff, Gabriela Taub-Darvash, and others. She has performed and worked with The Sid and Marty Krofft Productions, Walt Disney Productions, Southern Ballet of Atlanta, Cobb-Marietta Ballet, Donny and Marie Osmond, Peggy Fleming, Ernest Borgnine, Tina Turner, Tony Orlando, and was a featured performer in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games performing with Gloria Estefan, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Faith Hill, Celine Dion, and Gladys Knight. She served a five-year tenure as president of SERBA, the Southeast Regional Ballet Association, then served on the National board of Regional Dance America, and has been honored many times for her contributions to the arts at the local, state, regional, and national levels. Associate Director Mary Lynn Taylor has been teaching ballet for over 40 years, including 38 years at Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance, began her training at the Atlanta School of Ballet, studied for ten years at the Decatur School of Ballet, was a member of the Decatur-Dekalb Civic Ballet Company for five years, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in Ballet and minoring in Theatre Arts. Her curriculum included special courses in dance teaching, modern technique, acting, pas de deux, choreography, and pantomime; she was a member of the Fort Worth Ballet Company and performed in The Nutcracker Suite, Coppelia, Aurora’s Wedding, and many other ballets, and she has taught at the Lena Pope Children’s Home, Texas Christian University Ballet Department, and was director of the ballet division of the Redon Cudney Performing Arts Academy, as well as a guest teacher at the Lilburn School of Ballet and Southern Ballet.
Roswell Dance Theatre presents an annual holiday performance of The Nutcracker and a spring show each year, performing classical and original works including Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Peter and the Wolf, Frozen, Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, and others. Other favorite annual performances include a Modern Company concert performance and a dancer choreography showcase that benefits a local charity. Community involvement includes a dancer choreography showcase that benefits a local charity, public appearances in the community, community outreach events, and an option to donate to Roswell Dance Theatre, with appreciation expressed for sponsors whose financial support helps them continue their work.
Upcoming and scheduled events include Adult Pop-Up Classes on Tuesday nights from 6:30–7:45 PM, a 26–27 Season Open House on August 15 from 10:00am–2:00pm, Hugs From Young Choreographers on August 21 and 22, 2026, Roswell Dance Theatre’s The Nutcracker from November 27–December 6, 2026, RDT Movement Collective’s Dance Off: Game On from February 26–28, 2027, RDT PrePro Company’s Snow White on April 2 and 3, 2027, and Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance Year-End Recitals from May 5–16, 2027. Weekly classes for RDT Company run September–May, with auditions in May for the following season, auditions for The Nutcracker in September, auditions for the PrePro Spring Show in January, and an August Nutcracker Boot Camp.
Last updated July 31, 2026.
• Ages: 2–18 years old
• Schedule: Weekly classes run September–May, with Adult Pop-Up Classes on Tuesday nights from 6:30–7:45 PM and additional events, auditions, and performances scheduled throughout the year.
The Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance opened in 1979 and, after 38 years, grew to over 1000 students and a resident performing arts company, Roswell Dance Theatre, which was founded in 1985 as a 501c3 resident performing company. The program operates year round with over 130 weekly classes, special events, camps, and rehearsals, and has trained thousands of young dancers, including children of some of the original students from 1979. Open School highlights include weekly classes from September–May, recitals and photos for all performing classes in May, auditions for The Nutcracker in September and for the PrePro Spring Show in January, and holiday breaks that follow most Fulton County School dates with some exceptions. Roswell Dance Theatre company highlights include August Nutcracker Boot Camp, weekly and weekend rehearsals, weekly classes September–May, The Nutcracker, HUGS, the PrePro Spring Show, the Movement Collective Spring Show, the RDA/SE Festival, and auditions in May for the following season.
The school and Roswell Dance Theatre work in a state-of-the-art dance facility that opened in August 2020 and features sprung floors and high ceilings. The overarching mission for all open school classes and company programs is high quality dance instruction, with a goal of providing a positive nurturing environment for each dancer to excel to his or her potential in the dance disciplines offered. The program has over 25 faculty members, 10 staff members, and several affiliated musicians, and Adult Pop-Up Classes are open to all experience levels.
Founders Nancy Tolbert Yilmaz and Mary Lynn Taylor lead the program, with Nancy Tolbert Yilmaz serving as Artistic Director and Mary Lynn Taylor as Associate Director. Nancy Tolbert Yilmaz is described as an accomplished dancer and performer with extensive dance training centered on Ballet, Tap, and Jazz, and she studied with Robert Joffrey of the Joffrey Ballet New York, David Howard, Pittman Corry, Igor Schwezoff, Gabriela Taub-Darvash, and others. She has performed and worked with The Sid and Marty Krofft Productions, Walt Disney Productions, Southern Ballet of Atlanta, Cobb-Marietta Ballet, Donny and Marie Osmond, Peggy Fleming, Ernest Borgnine, Tina Turner, Tony Orlando, and was a featured performer in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games performing with Gloria Estefan, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Faith Hill, Celine Dion, and Gladys Knight. She served a five-year tenure as president of SERBA, the Southeast Regional Ballet Association, then served on the National board of Regional Dance America, and has been honored many times for her contributions to the arts at the local, state, regional, and national levels. Associate Director Mary Lynn Taylor has been teaching ballet for over 40 years, including 38 years at Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance, began her training at the Atlanta School of Ballet, studied for ten years at the Decatur School of Ballet, was a member of the Decatur-Dekalb Civic Ballet Company for five years, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in Ballet and minoring in Theatre Arts. Her curriculum included special courses in dance teaching, modern technique, acting, pas de deux, choreography, and pantomime; she was a member of the Fort Worth Ballet Company and performed in The Nutcracker Suite, Coppelia, Aurora’s Wedding, and many other ballets, and she has taught at the Lena Pope Children’s Home, Texas Christian University Ballet Department, and was director of the ballet division of the Redon Cudney Performing Arts Academy, as well as a guest teacher at the Lilburn School of Ballet and Southern Ballet.
Roswell Dance Theatre presents an annual holiday performance of The Nutcracker and a spring show each year, performing classical and original works including Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Peter and the Wolf, Frozen, Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, and others. Other favorite annual performances include a Modern Company concert performance and a dancer choreography showcase that benefits a local charity. Community involvement includes a dancer choreography showcase that benefits a local charity, public appearances in the community, community outreach events, and an option to donate to Roswell Dance Theatre, with appreciation expressed for sponsors whose financial support helps them continue their work.
Upcoming and scheduled events include Adult Pop-Up Classes on Tuesday nights from 6:30–7:45 PM, a 26–27 Season Open House on August 15 from 10:00am–2:00pm, Hugs From Young Choreographers on August 21 and 22, 2026, Roswell Dance Theatre’s The Nutcracker from November 27–December 6, 2026, RDT Movement Collective’s Dance Off: Game On from February 26–28, 2027, RDT PrePro Company’s Snow White on April 2 and 3, 2027, and Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance Year-End Recitals from May 5–16, 2027. Weekly classes for RDT Company run September–May, with auditions in May for the following season, auditions for The Nutcracker in September, auditions for the PrePro Spring Show in January, and an August Nutcracker Boot Camp.
Last updated July 31, 2026.
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