Nora COTTER
BALLET

Nora Cotter was born in Buffalo, NY and began her dance training at the 12. Ms. Cotter graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts High School with a concentration in Ballet and as a North Carolina Regents Scholar. Nora continued her education at Mercyhurst College where she earned a BA cum laude in Dance. While in school, Ms. Cotter performed leading roles in Giselle, Raymonda, Symphony Italienne, Stars and Stripes and Coppelia. She also had the opportunity to work with Configuration Dance Theater, performing works by Joe Cipolla and Harrison McEldowney. Nora holds a Masters Degree magna cum laude from NYU in Dance Education, with a concentration in American Ballet Theater Pedagogy. While attending NYU, Ms. Cotter also worked at the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center as an Assistant Resident Hall Director for two years. Nora is certified in all levels of American Ballet Theater's National Training Curriculum and has taught as an adjunct professor at Marymount Manhattan College and as a guest teacher at American Ballet Theater's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. She has also worked with Dance Educators of America, both judging and teaching the Ballet portion of regional and national workshops. Currently, Nora teaches all levels of Ballet and Pointe in Trumbull, CT at the Performing Arts Center of Connecticut and in Princeton, NJ at Princeton Dance and Theater Studio.          

He has worked with Finnish National Ballet, Rotterdam Dance Academy, was Artistic Director of Compamia de Danca de Aveiro in Portugal, where he has choreographed four original works, one of them a colaboration with University of Avairo and the Filarmonia das Beiras for the Mozart year. He has worked as Ballet Master with Nevada Ballet Theater, Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporaneo National Ballet of Belgradeand and Ayumi Ballet in Tokyo Japan. He has taught at the Vaganova, Escola De Danca do Conservatorio Nacional, Escola Superior de Danca, Companhia de Danca de Lisboa, Companhia de Danca de Almada, Ballet Gulbenkian, Centro Em Movimento, Forum Danca, CeDeCe, Cinevox Junior Company in Switzerland, Companhia de Danca de Aveiro, Atlanta Ballet, Emory University,  and the University of Georgia.

Mr. Manso de Sousa started folk dancing with Milly VanKonsky, and won a bronze medal for Scottish Highland dancing.  He received further ballet training at the San Francisco Ballet School, Oakland Ballet, School of American Ballet in New York, and under the direction of Maggie Black, David Howard, Melissa Hayden and Edward Villella. Mr. Manso de Sousa directed his own dance group MAN-SO-DANCE, directed and choreographed for Subtropics Dance Festival, the Young Artist Series at Florida International University and the South Beach DIFFA Gala at the Jackie Gleason Theater, where Mia Michaels choreographed a special solo for him.

As a choreographer, he has collaborated with flutist Nestor Torres for Juego Del Arte, Teatro Avante, Artz-In-The-Hood, Alaska Dance Theater, Sangre De Cristo Civic Ballet, Miami Hispanic Ballet, and New World School of the Arts, Maximum Dance Company, LAMBDA Showcase, and Discovery Channel. Paulo was commissioned to create the image of First Night at the Colony Theater 2000, and works for the Red Cross Dance for Life Gala at the Gussman Theater 2001, 2002, 2003, for Dia Mundial da Danca for the Auditorio Municipal Eunice Munoz, and Hansel & Gretel for the Voorhees Ballet Theatre. Mr. Manso de Sousa has an extensive repertory in classical ballet, contemporary ballet and modern works from Balanchine to Paul Taylor. He has appeared in MTV music videos with Gloria Estefan, Laura Brannigan, Indoor Life, and Puma to name a few.

Residing in Newnan, Georgia, Mr. Manso de Sousa brings his vision and renowned international artistic experience to Southern Arc Dance Theatre and Southern Arc Dance Center, which he founded in 2013 to share his passion for dance and to educate a new generation of dancers. Mr. Manso de Sousa continues to be requested as a guest instructor and guest choreographer, nationally and internationally.

In addition to dance, Paulo enjoys entertaining, experimenting with new recipes, and quiet sunsets in his backyard with his family and dog, Othello.