Mary Lou Sheffield-Noletto

Artistic Director Emeritus

Mary Lou Sheffield-Noletto was the founder, artistic director and emeritus of Sheffield School of the Dance. At age 5, Mary Lou began studying tap, ballet, and acrobatics and went on to perform in many local shows. In 1943, at age 13, Mary Lou began teaching dance to four neighborhood children in her family’s living room and converted garage. Within a year, she was teaching 12 students and presented her first recital in the Providence Hospital auditorium.

At the age of 16, she enrolled in the School of American Ballet in New York City. She spent summers in New York but would return to Mobile in the fall to go to school and continue teaching dance. During this time, her dance school began to grow and expand — she had 100 students enrolled while attending high school. In 1949, she received a job offer from the world renown Radio City Rockettes. She politely turned down that offer and took a National Tour with “The Manhattan Rockets” staring the legendary Ben Blue.

In 1950, Mary Lou opened her first studio in downtown Mobile, and four years later, after marrying her beloved Herbert Noletto, she moved the studio to their home at Dauphin Street and Rickarby Place. Working at the Mobile Theatre Guild with Father Anthony Zoghby she choreographed many musicals and received the Saint Genesius Award for outstanding achievement. In 1964, Miss Mary Lou presented the first full length dance recital on the iconic Mobile Civic Center Theater stage, where Sheffield “Showtime” resided for 60 years. In 1993, she was honored by the City of Mobile with her first Key to the City and “Mary Lou Sheffield- Noletto Day” proclamation honoring her 50 Years of Dance Excellence. In 2011, she was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Dance Masters of America, for 50 years of membership. In 2013, she celebrated 70 Years of Excellence at “Showtime 2013” with the first ever Sheffield Reunion, attended by nearly 100 alumni. The anniversary also saw a featured spread in the international publication, Dance Studio Life Magazine, showcasing Sheffield School of the Dance as a “Studio With Staying Power.”

In 2018, Miss Mary Lou and Sheffield School of the Dance celebrated their 75th Diamond Anniversary with a celebration at “Showtime 2018”, where she received her second “Mary Lou Sheffield-Noletto Day” Proclamation from Mayor Sandy Stimpson and her second Key to the City of Mobile, Alabama. In 2023, at the Sheffield 80th Anniversary celebration, she shared the stage with 150 alumni & current students, making “HISTORY” with a once in a lifetime finale performance at “Showtime 2023.” In 2024, Mobile icon Ron Barrett produced the final show at the Mobile Civic Center Theater — “Play It Just One More Time”, where Sheffield School of the Dance and Miss Mary Lou were headliners. On that momentous evening, she received her third “Mary Lou Sheffield-Noletto Day” Proclamation and third Key To The City of Mobile, Alabama.

Miss Mary Lou gained her angel wings on October 7, 2025 at 95 years of age. Her legacy is etched into the generations of lives she’s touched and inspired, forever.