Sheffield School of the Dance first began in 1943 when Allie Mae Sheffield allowed her 13-year-old daughter, Mary Lou to teach the neighborhood children how to dance in their living room. Mary Lou, who had studied under several Mobile teachers, shared her love of dance for the first time with little over a dozen students. She continued teaching her dedicated students in an added-on garage room while also using her summers off to further her professional training at the School of American Ballet in New York City. Several years later, with her training complete, the Sheffield business moved downtown to the Phi Delta Kappa Fraternity rooms and then the Saenger Theatre building. In 1956, with her husband, Herbert Noletto, and growing family, Mary Lou opened her dance studio on the corner of Dauphin and Rickarby. The Sheffield dance family continued to grow, gaining more students every year. Eventually Mary Lou's two daughters, Theresa Noletto Hutchins and Celi Noletto Shinn began teaching at the studio along with their mother and their two cousins, Madeline Avinger and Joanie Noletto. In the early 1980s, to accommodate the ever-growing population of students, another studio was opened in Tillman's Corner. Mary Lou has since retired from teaching, but continues to direct the school. Her two grandchildren, Katie Noletto and Colby Shinn have continued the family dance tradition at Sheffield's, and a former student, Courtney Baugh Crowe has returned to teach. In 2006, another studio was opened at the Spring Hill Shopping Center.
Former Sheffield students have gone on to careers in prestigious dance companies such as New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Alabama Ballet, Houston Ballet, the Rockettes, and the Tremaine Performance Company. Other graduates have performed for Disney, the MTV Video Awards, the Latin Billboard Awards, with popular artists such as Usher, in various shows in Las Vegas, and in widely-viewed T.V. commercials.