Newport School of Artistic Movement / Pacific Dance Ensemble
Newport School of Artistic Movement / Pacific Dance Ensemble, 454 SW 7th Street, Newport, OR 97365
About
Newport School of Artistic Movement / Pacific Dance Ensemble offers creative movement that incorporates basic ballet and modern dance, fun choreography, and an introduction to dance terminology. Classes include leveled instruction in ballet, modern dance, jazz, African dance, Pilates, Qigong, yoga, and improvisations or “dance games.” Pacific Dance Ensemble members also take part in researching themes being developed into dances, choreographing and teaching dances to younger students, and producing original works that are showcased in performances.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Pacific Dance Ensemble cultural exchange trips to Japan lasted one month.
Newport School of Artistic Movement’s founding director, Nancy Mittleman, has been training dancers from preschool to professional for over 40 years, and the founding director has been training dancers from preschool to professional for over 45 years. Mittleman specializes in developing both technical expertise, stylistic versatility and individuality in the dancers she trains, and is known for a holistic approach to dance that integrates science, art, literature, music, math and more into lessons and choreography. Classes focus mainly on ballet and modern dance techniques, while also incorporating jazz and African dance, Pilates, Qigong and yoga, and all classes include improvisations or “dance games,” which increase students’ awareness of the power of “body language,” while enriching and developing their creativity, acting abilities and choreographic skills. According to Mittleman, classes are designed to develop the student’s technical skills and spark their creativity through a process of exploration and discovery.
Pacific Dance Ensemble is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing young dancers interested in dance as a career the opportunity to work and perform with professional artists, produce original works and showcase their talents. PDE members are chosen through yearly auditions, and all members contribute to choreography in addition to dancing the choreography of others, including guest artists. Themes for dances are drawn from literature, science, history, multi-cultural folklore and contemporary issues, and variations from famous choreographers are incorporated into the curriculum. PDE commissions dancers, choreographers and artists from across the country, and all shows employ professional set, costume and lighting designers.
PDE produces two to four shows per year at the Newport Performing Arts Center in Newport, OR, including “Dances from the Heart,” a free performance and benefit auction offered to the public free of charge, and the yearly spring “Family Classics” performance, which focuses on literary classics and features PDE dancers in the main roles supported by students from Newport School of Artistic Movement. All narrations for “Family Classics” are original adaptations written by Mittleman and narrated by professional actors. Monies derived from “Dances from the Heart” over and beyond the cost of producing the show go to PDE field trips and scholarships, and PDE supplies tickets and transportation to performances for its members.
PDE grew out of a smaller company of adult dancers directed by Mittleman and expanded in 1986 to include dancers ages 10 through adults. From 1990–2003, PDE had a long-term cultural exchange program with the Toshitsuna Company from Tokyo, Japan, which took PDE dancers to Japan for one month for cultural exchange trips that included home-stays while working collaboratively with Toshitsuna Co to develop choreography and perform. Activities in Japan included tea ceremony, visiting temples and historic sites, and going to traditional Kabuki theater. PDE’s work has included programs honoring the indigenous peoples of the Northwest, such as “An Indian Tale,” “A Dance Peace” and “When the Animals Danced,” and has produced works based on Japanese legends and African cultures and legends.
PDE has done lecture-demonstrations in schools throughout Lincoln County and continues to perform lecture demonstrations in the 17 schools of Lincoln County, OR. PDE has worked with the Lincoln County School District on projects integrating the literary and performing arts, including dance interpretations of student writings. PDE collaborates regularly with various dance, theatre, and orchestral companies, including productions with Red Octopus Theater Co. PDE had a cultural exchange program with the Toshitsuna Company from Tokyo, Japan and went to Mombetsu, Newport’s sister city, as Newport’s first student Ambassadors to travel there, where they also performed.
Students of Newport School of Artistic Movement have gone on to study and perform at institutions and companies such as Juilliard, Mark Morris Dance Group, The Jose Limon Dance, Martha Graham Studio, San Francisco Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet. PDE scholarships are available for PDE dancers to audition for schools of higher learning, conservatories and companies. Collaborative choreography became a mainstay of PDE’s workings, and improvisation exercises encourage students to work collaboratively and help to develop problem solving and leadership skills.
Awards connected to this work include an Honorary Award from the Oregon Arts Commission for 20 years of excellence in dance education, Oregon Dance Association’s “History in the Making” award to Mittleman in 1989, and numerous awards from the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts in 1993, 1997 and 2016, as well as awards from The Confederated Tribes of Siletz and Georgia-Pacific. PDE is committed to bringing cultural enrichment and education to both the dance community and the community at large.
Last updated June 12, 2026.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Pacific Dance Ensemble cultural exchange trips to Japan lasted one month.
Newport School of Artistic Movement’s founding director, Nancy Mittleman, has been training dancers from preschool to professional for over 40 years, and the founding director has been training dancers from preschool to professional for over 45 years. Mittleman specializes in developing both technical expertise, stylistic versatility and individuality in the dancers she trains, and is known for a holistic approach to dance that integrates science, art, literature, music, math and more into lessons and choreography. Classes focus mainly on ballet and modern dance techniques, while also incorporating jazz and African dance, Pilates, Qigong and yoga, and all classes include improvisations or “dance games,” which increase students’ awareness of the power of “body language,” while enriching and developing their creativity, acting abilities and choreographic skills. According to Mittleman, classes are designed to develop the student’s technical skills and spark their creativity through a process of exploration and discovery.
Pacific Dance Ensemble is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing young dancers interested in dance as a career the opportunity to work and perform with professional artists, produce original works and showcase their talents. PDE members are chosen through yearly auditions, and all members contribute to choreography in addition to dancing the choreography of others, including guest artists. Themes for dances are drawn from literature, science, history, multi-cultural folklore and contemporary issues, and variations from famous choreographers are incorporated into the curriculum. PDE commissions dancers, choreographers and artists from across the country, and all shows employ professional set, costume and lighting designers.
PDE produces two to four shows per year at the Newport Performing Arts Center in Newport, OR, including “Dances from the Heart,” a free performance and benefit auction offered to the public free of charge, and the yearly spring “Family Classics” performance, which focuses on literary classics and features PDE dancers in the main roles supported by students from Newport School of Artistic Movement. All narrations for “Family Classics” are original adaptations written by Mittleman and narrated by professional actors. Monies derived from “Dances from the Heart” over and beyond the cost of producing the show go to PDE field trips and scholarships, and PDE supplies tickets and transportation to performances for its members.
PDE grew out of a smaller company of adult dancers directed by Mittleman and expanded in 1986 to include dancers ages 10 through adults. From 1990–2003, PDE had a long-term cultural exchange program with the Toshitsuna Company from Tokyo, Japan, which took PDE dancers to Japan for one month for cultural exchange trips that included home-stays while working collaboratively with Toshitsuna Co to develop choreography and perform. Activities in Japan included tea ceremony, visiting temples and historic sites, and going to traditional Kabuki theater. PDE’s work has included programs honoring the indigenous peoples of the Northwest, such as “An Indian Tale,” “A Dance Peace” and “When the Animals Danced,” and has produced works based on Japanese legends and African cultures and legends.
PDE has done lecture-demonstrations in schools throughout Lincoln County and continues to perform lecture demonstrations in the 17 schools of Lincoln County, OR. PDE has worked with the Lincoln County School District on projects integrating the literary and performing arts, including dance interpretations of student writings. PDE collaborates regularly with various dance, theatre, and orchestral companies, including productions with Red Octopus Theater Co. PDE had a cultural exchange program with the Toshitsuna Company from Tokyo, Japan and went to Mombetsu, Newport’s sister city, as Newport’s first student Ambassadors to travel there, where they also performed.
Students of Newport School of Artistic Movement have gone on to study and perform at institutions and companies such as Juilliard, Mark Morris Dance Group, The Jose Limon Dance, Martha Graham Studio, San Francisco Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet. PDE scholarships are available for PDE dancers to audition for schools of higher learning, conservatories and companies. Collaborative choreography became a mainstay of PDE’s workings, and improvisation exercises encourage students to work collaboratively and help to develop problem solving and leadership skills.
Awards connected to this work include an Honorary Award from the Oregon Arts Commission for 20 years of excellence in dance education, Oregon Dance Association’s “History in the Making” award to Mittleman in 1989, and numerous awards from the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts in 1993, 1997 and 2016, as well as awards from The Confederated Tribes of Siletz and Georgia-Pacific. PDE is committed to bringing cultural enrichment and education to both the dance community and the community at large.
Last updated June 12, 2026.
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