Buying a new home is a big deal. For many homeowners, it's one of the most important decisions they ever make. When it comes to such a substantial choice, there are a lot of factors to consider, like:
Getting the answers to those questions can be hard but finding a trustworthy manufactured home company can be even more challenging. Sure, you could settle for a fly-by-night company or a shady mobile home dealer. But if you're like most folks, you want to work with a reliable company that has been in business for years. You need a team of professionals who can answer your questions, address your concerns, and sell you a quality home that will keep your family safe and sound.
Welcome to Ken-Co Homes Inc. - your premier choice for mobile home sales in Minturn, SC. Ken-Co Homes has been Lake City's go-to manufactured home since 1974. With several locations in South Carolina, we're the first choice for manufactured homes in the state. As longtime locals in the community, we pride ourselves on honesty, hard work, and running a manufactured home business that you can count on.
There's no secret sauce that makes Ken-Co Homes successful. We work hard, sell the finest Clayton, Destiny, Scotbilt, Homes, and treat our customers like we would like to be treated. That's why, when you meet our team for your home tour, you'll be treated with respect and greeted with a warm smile. Whether you have questions regarding financing or the fit and finish of a floorplan, we'll maintain that same level of kindness, courtesy, and honesty. That way, you know for sure that you have invested in a top-notch manufactured home that your family will love.
Unlike other manufactured home dealers, we have a full selection of Clayton Homes for sale with attractive floor plans to fit your unique lifestyle. When you choose Ken-Co Homes, you're also choosing:
We offer our valued customers a $500 guarantee that we will meet or beat ANY competitor who has a lower price on one of our homes with the same options. Don't believe us? Contact our office today!
With decades of combined experience, our team has the tools and know-how to make your buying process smooth and stress-free.
Buying a home can be challenging, especially with travel logistics and other factors at play. Our team can help answer any questions you have about buying a home and transporting it to a park or piece of private land.
When you buy from Ken-Co Homes, you're investing in a high-quality product that your family will love for years to come. With more than a dozen home choices, you're sure to find a new home that matches your lifestyle.
We'll work with you one-on-one to ensure you get the home of your dreams. If you have questions or concerns once you move in, give us a call - we're here to help.
We offer detail-oriented, experienced set-up crews that make living life in your new home easy and efficient.
At Ken-Co Homes, we offer flexible financing options to help make buying your dream home a reality.
Whether you're looking for a smaller two-bedroom manufactured home or a large, luxurious four-bedroom manufactured home, our friendly consultants are ready to help you build the home of your dreams.
"Is there a difference between a mobile home and a manufactured home?" is one of the most common questions we get online and in person. Today, many people use mobile home and manufactured home interchangeably. That's understandable because both types of homes share similar features and benefits for homeowners. However, understanding the minor differences can be valuable when searching for a new place to call home.
Unlike site-built homes, manufactured homes are built in a factory. Once completed, they're shipped to a specific location where the homeowner will live. The term "manufactured home" refers to any factory-built home constructed after June 15, 1976. That date is when the HUD or U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development implemented guidelines centered around manufactured home construction.
HUD code requires manufactured homes to be constructed on a base frame with wheels with a minimum of 320 square feet.
Thanks to fast build times and lower material costs, manufactured homes for sale in Minturn, SC is often more cost-effective for home buyers. Compared to traditional site-built homes, many manufactured homes can be up to 35% less than more traditional houses.
Any mobile homes built after June 15, 1976, are considered manufactured homes today, though many people use the term mobile home casually. In the past, these homes were used to travel and were more like the expensive RVs that people use today than true manufactured homes. Back then, mobile homes received a bad reputation due to poor build quality, but they've come a long way since that time. Today, mobile homes are safe, comfortable, and structurally sound, with many types of amenities and floor plans.
Manufactured homes are more popular in the U.S. than ever, and for good reason: prospective homeowners are looking for affordable, quality alternatives to traditional homes. That's especially true today, with inflation on the rise, necessitating more budget-friendly options for anyone who wants to put a roof over their heads.
If you're used to living in a traditional, site-built home, you may be wondering what the advantages are of buying a manufactured home. Here are just a few of the most common benefits of buying a manufactured home:
When you boil it down to the basics, buying a new home is all about the money. One of the most attractive reasons for buying a manufactured home is that they are often much less expensive than traditional site-built homes. Today, manufactured housing is considered a crucial part of the housing shortage solution and a viable option with inflation rising. According to statistics, the average square-foot cost of a site-built home is $107, while the average price is only $49 in a manufactured home. Whether you're sticking to a strict budget or your finances have changed due to poor economic conditions, going manufactured might be your best choice.
Owning a manufactured home gives the homeowner long-term living options. Because basic manufactured homes are usually very affordable, families with enough land can start with a small home and add additional units as their needs change. Manufactured homes are also great as starter homes, especially for families that plan on building a permanent structure on their land in the future. Though it could be logistically challenging, manufactured homes can also be moved to a different site if the initial one was on rented property.
Manufactured homes have received a bad rap over the last few decades. In reality, most manufactured homes are purpose-built for longevity with structural integrity. Every manufactured home built today is subject to the HUD code adopted in 1976. This code is the only federally-mandated code in existence. It was designed to ensure that manufactured homes meet strict standards regarding fire safety, structural design, energy efficiency, transportation to home sites, and overall construction. All manufactured homes sold in the U.S. have a permanent red seal to confirm they meet HUD standards.
When you buy a manufactured home, you may be able to move in faster than you would via traditional routes. Some manufactured homes are even move-in ready in less than 45 days. Compared to a traditional home, once a new manufactured home is built in the factory, buyers usually find that installation is a quick process. Once the manufactured home is delivered, utility work usually moves quickly, regardless of whether you're moving to a park or transporting your home to a piece of land. Before you know it, you're eating, sleeping, and enjoying life in your new manufactured home.
When asked about the pros and cons, many buyers cite energy efficiency as one of the most significant benefits of owning a manufactured home. In general, manufactured housing is more energy efficient than traditional because HUD mandates ensure that homes have high energy efficiency ratings.
These ratings are achieved through upgraded insulation installation, on-demand water heaters, and energy-efficient windows. These upgrades often make entire manufactured homes Energy Star certified. It's no surprise that manufactured homes are 27% more efficient than they used to be with other additions like energy-saving appliances in kitchens and bathrooms.
If you've ever lived in an apartment complex before, chances are you heard sounds and noises through your walls that you never wanted to hear. If you hate hearing your neighbors and despise thin walls, looking for mobile home sales in Minturn, SC is a great idea. Why? Manufactured homes are typically built using separate modules, which reduces sound transference from room to room. When two or more modules are combined and insulated separately, buyers enjoy an even quieter, stronger home with less outside noise.
If there's one disappointing aspect of manufactured homes, the stigma seems to surround them. Yes, mobile homes from 30 or more years ago aren't exactly marvels of construction and deserve to be criticized. However, modern manufactured homes are cut from a different cloth and are often every bit as safe and luxurious as site-built homes.
Here are some of the most common (and annoying) mobile home myths debunked:
Modern manufactured homes are factory-built homes crafted with quality materials that meet comprehensive federal construction and safety standards. These standards, called the "HUD Code," outline how the homes must be built, including safety guidelines. For example, manufactured home builders must take strict measures to ensure their homes are resistant to wind. In terms of hurricanes and tornados, having such measures in place can prevent a tragedy from happening.
The bottom line is that manufactured homes are plenty safe and provide a quality product to people who want a lower-cost option over traditional housing.
One of the most repeated myths surrounding manufactured homes is that they are in poor shape and have an overall poor quality. Today, many manufactured homes are built with quality materials and care. It's not unusual to find a manufactured home with luxurious amenities and features lie state-of-the-art kitchens, high-end appliances, and chic open floor plans. At Ken-Co Homes, we can provide you with a complete list of available upgrades and amenities for you to enjoy in your new home.
Perhaps it's due to their popularity and lower prices, but we often hear that it's hard to find manufactured homes for sale. As seasoned home dealers, we can say this is categorically false. Whether you head over to Google and search for "mobile homes near me in Minturn, SC," or simply head to Ken-Co Homes' website, you'll see plenty of homes to choose from. Contact our office today for a full list of our homes for sale!
When it comes to home prices in today's day and age, manufactured homes are among the most affordable options available.
That's because manufactured homes cost less to construct than site-built homes, with the average price costing $92K for new construction and $60K for a pre-owned manufactured home, according to recent data. The cost of a traditional home is much higher, with an average of $408K, according to Statista data from 2021. Even though manufactured home living costs change depending on the community, they're often much less expensive than their site-built cousins in the long run.
This myth parallels the stereotype that manufactured homes are cheap and poorly built. Unfortunately, many people still believe that living in a manufactured home community isn't safe. They think that the parks are run down and riddled with reprobates. In reality, many manufactured home parks mimic gated communities with 24-hour security and mandated quiet hours. Some manufactured home neighborhoods even offer community-wide amenities like spas and pools. If you're a fan of the gated community lifestyle but don't want to pay hundreds of thousands for a site-built home, a manufactured home community could be your best bet.
Are you giving serious thought to buying a manufactured home for sale in South Carolina? You're not alone - more than 365K people in the Palmetto State live in manufactured homes. At Ken-Co Homes Inc., we're not your average run-of-the-mill manufactured home dealer. We only do business with manufacturing partners committed to building top-quality products that our customers are proud to own.
If you're looking for modern amenities, energy-efficient appliances, unique floorplans, and homes constructed with quality materials, Ken-Co Homes is the company for you. Contact our office today to learn more about our beautiful Clayton homes for sale in Minturn, SC.
The holiday season is nearly upon us, and with it comes the inevitable end-of-year best-of roundups and reflections, and awards for things you didn’t know had awards, like, apparently, the ...
The holiday season is nearly upon us, and with it comes the inevitable end-of-year best-of roundups and reflections, and awards for things you didn’t know had awards, like, apparently, the Best Public Restroom in America 2015.
That illustrious honor was bestowed by Cincinnati-based business services corporation Cintas to the public restrooms in the 1.4-square-mile town of Minturn, Colorado. Astonishingly, the contest is in its 14th year, founded in 2002 “to honor businesses across the country that consider hygiene and style top priorities,” according to the company, and conducted via public nominations and online voting.
This year’s nominees included the facilities at a wine bar, an art museum, an underground salt mine, and a nursing suite inside a baseball stadium. Cintas said in a press release that it selected 10 finalists based on “cleanliness, visual appeal, innovation, functionality and unique design elements.”
According the release, the Minturn his-and-hers restrooms are inspired by the town’s history, designed to mimic a passageway into a Rocky Mountain mine. To create a piece of “functional art,” the local planning commission, town council, carpenters, public works department, concrete workers, steel artists, and plumbers collaborated to create what the company calls an “impressive ‘potty’ for the town to celebrate.”
And why not? Public restrooms are a necessary evil, so there is nothing wrong with making them vehicles for civic pride, as well designed as anything else in the built world. But while the opening image of the Minturn restrooms is a winner, the sculptural forms blending into the stunning scenery like a pair of glorified outhouses, the only available photos of the interior are less inspired. Also suspicious is the fact that no actual toilets are pictured in these images, unlike the third-place runner-up in this year’s contest, Charleston Distilling in Charleston, South Carolina, below.
Check out all the finalists here, and past winners in the America’s Best Restroom Hall of Fame.
rancis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health and one of the nation’s most renowned scientists, announced Tuesday that he is stepping down from his post by the end of this year. Collins, who was raised on a farm near Staunton, graduated from the University of Virginia in 1970 with a B.S. degree in chemistry. He directed the NIH for more than 12 years under three presidents, and is also known for leading the International Human Genome Project, which was successfully completed in 2003....
rancis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health and one of the nation’s most renowned scientists, announced Tuesday that he is stepping down from his post by the end of this year. Collins, who was raised on a farm near Staunton, graduated from the University of Virginia in 1970 with a B.S. degree in chemistry. He directed the NIH for more than 12 years under three presidents, and is also known for leading the International Human Genome Project, which was successfully completed in 2003.
It's been a privilege & honor to serve as #NIH Director for over 12 years. However, I believe no person should hold this position for too long. So with deep gratitude to this great agency & the people who carry out its mission, I've decided to step down. https://t.co/rwUnKiW3V5
— Francis S. Collins (@NIHDirector) October 5, 2021
Collins has returned to UVA several times to speak about bioethics, big data and most recently, the nation’s battle against COVID-19. Twenty years ago, when he addressed the Class of 2001 as its commencement speaker, he delighted the crowd by taking out an acoustic guitar at the end of his speech and serenading the class with his own version of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” Unfortunately, no videos of the event could be located, but his 2020 COVID-themed rendition of “Puff the Magic Dragon” provides a sense of his folksy charm.
Below, check out three stories about Collins and his visits and connections to UVA.
In an April 2021 webinar hosted by the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, Collins discussed the progress that has been made in the fight against COVID-19 and lessons learned.
“That’s something that [chief medical adviser to the president] Tony Fauci – who is somebody I have talked to probably three times today – [and I] are very much focused on,” Collins said about COVID vaccine skeptics. “How can we try to provide the kind of information that people need to understand why this is something they would want to do for themselves, for their family, for their community? Because it is about doing this not just for yourself, but also to provide this herd immunity, this blanket of protection across the whole country.”
In late July 2019, the UVA Board of Visitors voted to rename the Barringer Wing at the UVA Medical Center West Complex as the Collins Wing.
“Dr. Collins is known and respected around the world for his path-breaking work in genetics and the Human Genome Project,” UVA President Jim Ryan said at the time. “Throughout his career, Dr. Collins has also focused on the legal and ethical issues involving genetics. His careful, principled consideration of these issues, combined with his immense achievements as a scientist, make him an ideal person for this honor.”
In October of that year, Collins visited Grounds to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the renamed wing, and to help kick off the University’s Honor the Future campaign.
In a 2017 visit to the University, Collins said the field of data science is wide open and needs talented researchers who understand how to glean vital information from large data sets. “If you want to benefit humanity, there are massive projects out there for people who want to take on something hard,” Collins said. “The workforce will need well-trained data science people 10 years from now.”
Collins, who received a standing ovation for his talk, was joined that day by biomedical engineering professor Phil Bourne, now the head of UVA’s School of Data Science, which launched in 2019.
"Make Myself Me Again" is set to premiere on May 20th.If Cristina Vane's critically acclaimed debut Nowhere Sounds Lovely was her "road trip" album, then her much antic...
If Cristina Vane's critically acclaimed debut Nowhere Sounds Lovely was her "road trip" album, then her much anticipated follow up represents the return home; musically and personally. Out May 20th on Red Parlor Records, Make Myself Me Again finds rising slide-guitar star Vane growing roots in her Nashville home and taking a moment to grow into herself as well. "I've been trying to peel back the layers, to understand who I am, and I think that process has translated to this record," she explains, "The production is straightforward, more minimal, and a bit of a return to my rock roots but still paying homage to the music I've explored since then." Make Myself Me Again was co-produced by Brook Sutton (Blackberry Smoke) and Jano Rix (The Wood Brothers) and features appearances by Vane's world-class musician friends like Bronwyn Keith-Hynes (Molly Tuttle) and Billy Contreras (Béla Fleck).
This week, DittyTV premiered the music video for the album's first single, "How You Doin'," calling it "a feel-good piece of movie magic released in support of her innovative and infectiously-good upcoming studio album, Make Myself Me Again." With "How You Doin'," Vane channels what she calls "f*ckboy energy" and turns it on its head, oscillating between perspectives of the wanter and the wanted. GuitarGirl Magazine also sat down with Vane to talk about the inspiration behind the single, how her sound has evolved over the years, guitars, and much more. Fans can check out the video now at this link and listen to "How You Doin'" right here (available streaming in hi-res 24 bit audio).
Many songs on Make Myself Me Again delve into Vane's personal relationships, and document her quest to find strength and independence in a new town. The album's title track rings of tenacious resilience, with Cristina's beautiful yet understated fingerstyle and slide guitar playing. It is the sound of the calm that comes with finally feeling at home with one's self, conceived from the place of optimism that sometimes comes after a brutal shakedown. "Sometimes I lose, sometimes I win" sings Vane, "I'm gonna make myself me again...I'm giving up on giving in / I'm gonna make myself me again." Despite the myriad of musical touchstones, the record remains cohesive, centering itself around Vane's experiences and musicianship. "After being exposed to all of this music that I love, I'm slowly figuring out how to find my own voice," she says, "It is the sound of growing up." With class and adventure, Vane brings us all back home to ourselves on Make Myself Me Again, an album so honest that you'd be hard-pressed not to root for it, along with its vulnerable and tenacious creator.
Catch Cristina Vane On Tour:
May 6 - Providence, RI - Askew
May 7 - Brooklyn, NY - Jalopy Theatre
May 8 - Cambridge, MA - Atwood's Tavern
May 12 - Philadelphia, PA - 118 North (supporting Arlo McKinley)
May 14 - Washington, DC - Hill Country BBQ (supporting Stripmall Ballads)
May 20 - Nashville, TN - Dee's Country Cocktail Lounge - Album Release Show*
May 21 - Louisa, KY - Fallsburg Summer Stage*
June 2 - Knoxville, TN - Barleys Taproom*
June 3 - Lexington, KY - The Burl (supporting Town Mountain)*
June 4 - Asheville, NC - Isis Music Hall*
July 7 - Nescopeck, PA - Briggs Farm Blues Fest*
Aug. 18 - Minturn, CO - Minturn Summer Concert Series
Aug. 31 - Prescott, AZ - Folk Session @ Kiwanis Amphitheater
Sep. 2 & 3 - Pagosa Springs, CO - Four Corners Folk Festival
Oct. 22 - Greenville, SC - IPI Festival
*Denotes full band shows
For more tour dates and ticket information, please visit cristinavane.com.
More About Cristina Vane: Vane's debut full-length album, 2021's Nowhere Sounds Lovely, explored the depths of America's musical history from her unique perspective as an Italy-born daughter of a Sicilian-American father and a Guatemalan mother. Americana Highways called Nowhere Sounds Lovely the "best guitar record" they'd heard all year, and in Glide Magazine's review, they wrote, "Her sound is somewhat of a throwback, but her emotive, rich voice gives it a more contemporary sheet...there's also her finely honed guitar playing-earthy, not overly flashy, but with deep feeling and perfectly married on many tunes to her voice." American Songwriter made a complementary comparison; "Like a young Bonnie Raitt, Vane sings from both her voice and her supple, bluesy guitar playing almost simultaneously-her sound as earthen as the South Dakota landscape..." Rolling Stone agreed, noting, "Cristina Vane evokes Bonnie Raitt and early PJ Harvey." Vane's sophomore album Make Myself Me Again is due out May 20, 2022, on Red Parlor Records.
Town will bring the curtain down on their pre-season campaign this weekend with two matches taking place tomorrow, Saturday 23 July.Scott Lindsey’s men welcome Championship side Cardiff City to The County Ground at midday, with a team consisting mainly of youth and fringe players heading to The Crucial Environmental Stadium at 3pm where they’ll come up against National League South outfit Worthing.With the countdown to the new 2022/23 EFL Sky Bet League Two campaign well and truly on, tomorrow will ...
Town will bring the curtain down on their pre-season campaign this weekend with two matches taking place tomorrow, Saturday 23 July.
Scott Lindsey’s men welcome Championship side Cardiff City to The County Ground at midday, with a team consisting mainly of youth and fringe players heading to The Crucial Environmental Stadium at 3pm where they’ll come up against National League South outfit Worthing.
With the countdown to the new 2022/23 EFL Sky Bet League Two campaign well and truly on, tomorrow will be the last opportunity for Lindsey’s charges to get some competitive minutes in the legs before their season opener at Harrogate Town a week on Saturday.
Speaking to Town’s Media Team on the eve of game day, First-Team Head Coach, Lindsey, admits their clash with the Welsh side will be a challenging test.
“It goes without saying the Cardiff match will be a tough one and we’ll be fielding a strong side that will compete. We still have players in the squad that aren’t quite there yet with fitness, so this is another good opportunity for us to give them some valuable playing time.
“We know Cardiff will press high and come after us, so we’ll need to be good with the ball, keep our shape and do all we can to control the match. They’re an experienced side two divisions above us so we’ll need to compete and be confident.”
Like the majority of pre-season so far, the recently-appointed boss has upped the intensity of training for his players week by week so they’re approaching games slightly fatigued, with the aim of improving fitness and testing bodies - and tomorrow will be no different.
“We’ve done a lot of work coming into this game and this week’s sessions have been purposely concentrated around covering distances with the ball and testing bodies to reach the required levels, so once again players will be heading into the game slightly jaded, but this is what we want,” Lindsey commented.
“This gives us the chance to enhance fitness and assess where some of the lads are at, enabling us to then adjust the training regime for the season-opener against Harrogate.
“Some of our new signings have come in slightly later and are what I’d call ‘other club fit’ rather than ‘Swindon fit’, so these two games give us the chance to push them harder to get them up to speed.”
Cardiff City: The lowdown…
It’s been a topsy turvy few years for The Bluebirds with fans experiencing a blend of highs and lows under four different managers.
Neil Warnock’s resignation back in November 2019 after a poor start to their league campaign saw him replaced with Neil Harris, who guided the club to a fifth-place finish before suffering play-off semi-final heartbreak.
Then, after six straight league defeats the following season, Harris was shown the door and the reigns handed to Mick McCarthy in January 2021.
McCarthy started his tenure brightly, winning seven and drawing three of his first ten, guiding City to eighth in the league and earning a new deal in the process, but another poor run of form the following campaign saw him shown the door and Under-23s manager Steve Morison drafted in, with the former Millwall striker guiding the side to safety and extending his stay by a further 18-months.
Like Swindon, it’s been a busy summer of comings and goings in the Welsh capital, with 12 new faces joining the ranks, all on free transfers.
These include Andy Rinomhota from Reading, Mahlon Romeo from Millwall, Bristol City’s Callum O’Dowda, Jamilu Collins from German side SC Paderborn, striker Romaine Sawyers from West Bromwich Albion and experienced goalkeeper Ryan Allsop.
Their most recent additions also include Cedric Kipre from West Bromwich Albion on loan and former Forest Green Rovers midfielder Ebou Adams.
There’s been just as many players heading out the exit at The Cardiff City Stadium, with the likes Will Vaulks, Aden Flint, Marlon Pack, James Collins and Leandro Bacuna opting for pastures new.
Despite drastic changes to the playing squad, Steve Morison’s side have enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season campaign, claiming victories against the likes of Cambridge United, Newport County and Cheltenham Town, drawing away at Shrewsbury in midweek.
Tomorrow’s encounter at The County Ground will be their last before they begin their 2022/23 Championship campaign away at Norwich City.
There’ll be a few players taking to the field tomorrow who have had spells at both clubs, with Jonny Williams the most recent having joined Town from Cardiff last year.
While popular City figure Sean Morrison made this professional debut for Swindon and spent three seasons with us.
A brief insight into Worthing…
With Scott Lindsey leading his side out at SN1, a more youthful looking Town squad will be strutting their stuff at The Crucial Environmental Stadium under the guidance of Academy boss Jamie Russell.
The likes of George Cowmeadow, Harrison Minturn and Oscar Massey are expected to feature, along with Ricky Aguiar, who joined Town from the Mackerel Men back in August last year, and penned a new three year deal this week.
The midfielder went won both the Manager’s Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season awards in 2018/19, before retaining Manager’s Player once again in 2019/20. Aguiar played a total of 95 games for the club, scoring 15 goals in the process before completing a move to SN1.
Tomorrow’s encounter will be Worthing’s sixth pre-season friendly as they put the finishing touches to their prep for the new National League South campaign.
After suffering defeat at the hands of Winchester City in their first friendly, they’ve embraced wins over Whitehawk and Three Bridges, and picked up draws against Selsey and Premier League side Brighton.
Tickets for the game are available on the turnstiles, priced at £5 for adults while under-12s go free.
VAIL — Vail Valley Academy of Dance is excited to announce the addition of Lesley Tunstall as the Academy’s new artistic director. Tunstall will be teaching ballet alongside current teachers Anne Powell, Kristin Comerford and Morgan Flahive-Foro.Vail Valley Academy of Dance is a premier dance academy and has placed students professionally in ballet careers since being founded by Powell in 1989.With roughly 250 students enrolled in the school ages 3-18, Vail Valley Academy of Dance offers beginning dance, ballet, tap...
VAIL — Vail Valley Academy of Dance is excited to announce the addition of Lesley Tunstall as the Academy’s new artistic director. Tunstall will be teaching ballet alongside current teachers Anne Powell, Kristin Comerford and Morgan Flahive-Foro.
Vail Valley Academy of Dance is a premier dance academy and has placed students professionally in ballet careers since being founded by Powell in 1989.
With roughly 250 students enrolled in the school ages 3-18, Vail Valley Academy of Dance offers beginning dance, ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop, as well as adult tap and swing classes.
About Tunstall
Tunstall began her dance training in England and went on to perform throughout Europe. She received her teacher training in 2008 from the prestigious National Ballet School in Toronto, completing the accelerated two-year program. She also earned her Cecchetti Teaching Associate (Italian method) and until recently taught the teaching method of the Royal Academy of Dance. She owned and directed The Dance Academy of South Carolina for many years and has choreographed the Nutcracker Ballet for several schools.
She is passionate about anatomy and the wellness of the mind and body and relating it to dance, passing on this knowledge to her students.
“I am beyond excited to begin my first year as the artistic director of Vail Valley Academy of Dance and guide students to find their own innate grace and love of dance,” Tunstall said.
Anne Powell, founder, owner and director of the Academy, will continue teaching at the school.
“I am super excited about Lesley joining the Academy,” Powell said. “I am so confident in her abilities and her vision. Sometimes, having new blood and new perspective makes things better.”
Powell says she and Tunstall will be integrating their different backgrounds to deepen the experience for their students and strengthen the program all the way around.
Several students from the school have gone on to study at the year-round programs of ballet schools, colleges with outstanding dance curriculum and the training programs of professional companies.
“What we do is very gratifying,” Powell said. “We cherish being a part of children’s lives by helping them grow and develop, not only as dancers, but as young men and women.”