Janelle Bell was born and raised in Odessa, Texas and began dancing at the age of 3. She continued dancing at local studios and her training led her to making the Panther Paws dance team where she served as a dance officer for the 3 years that she attended Permian. Throughout the years, Janelle has had the opportunity to take the stage in some once in a lifetime places and attend classes from many amazing choreographers and dancers. A few of those experiences include dancing with the Moscow Ballet’s Nutcracker, performing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York, taking class from many So You Think You Can Dance contestants and competing with national and international dance teams.
It was during her time on the Panther Paws Dance Team that she grew to love the idea of making a career out of teaching dance and that is just what she did. After graduating from high school, Janelle auditioned and made the Texas Tech Pom Squad for the 3 full years that she remained at Texas Tech University. The Pom Squad provided her with many priceless experiences and memories that include dancing at various Big12 football, basketball and volleyball games, attending NDA collegiate dance camps, competing in the NDA Nationals competition in Daytona, Florida as well as many performances and appearances around Lubbock including visiting the local children’s hospital to color and spend time with the sweetest of patients. While she was there, she auditioned and was accepted into the Texas Tech Dance Department where she majored in dance and minored in education. Her training included the styles of ballet, modern dance and jazz. The spring semester of her fourth year at Texas Tech is when she moved back to Odessa to complete the student teaching requirements at Odessa High School. After graduating with her degree, she was offered a teaching position at Odessa High as the Dance Department Head, levels 1-4 dance teacher and the Director of the Showgirls Dance Team for 2 years. In the fall of 2015, Janelle had her first baby boy and while life led her to chasing around a toddler, she realized that she missed being involved in the dance community here in Odessa. The two things that have been consistent in her life have been God and her passion for dance. She hopes to merge the two worlds together so that she can continue sharing about her love for dance and her Savior who has given her the ability to do what she loves. She is truly inspired by her students and believes that through dance, students learn some life’s most valuable lessons that will carry them through the rest of their lives. She also realizes that responsibility as a dance teacher and considers it to be one of the greatest honors! |