Melissa Penn

Melissa Penn began studying ballet at the age of three under the tutelage of Laurie Papovich. During her 13 years of dance training with Ms. Laurie, Ms. Penn competed in the Dance Masters Jr. Miss, Teen Miss, and Miss Michigan Competitions; she was awarded a Cecchetti Summer Dance scholarship and attended Cleveland Ballet, Boston Ballet, BalletMet Columbus and Milwaulkee Ballet summer programs. Melissa performed for 6 years in regional Nutcrackers, and her regional ballet credits include Peter and the Wolf, Sleeping Beauty and Coppelia. After graduating high school in just three years, Melissa furthered her pre-professional training at BalletMet Columbus in Ohio, studying with world renowned teachers Yoko Ichino, David Nixon, April Berry and Susan Hadley.

Ms. Penn made her professional debut in 1997, with Ballet Memphis, under the direction of Karl Condon, performing in The Nutcracker and appearing in The Power of One, choreographed by Chuck Davis and Dennis Wayne, and in the Ballet Memphis production of Coppelia. Melissa spent the 1998-99 season with the Nashville Ballet dancing and touring with The Nutcracker and Swan Lake under the direction of Paul Vasterling. In 1999, Melissa received a contract with the Charleston Ballet Theatre. She performed in Jill Eathorne Bahr's Seven Deadly Sins, The Nutcracker and excerpts of Fosse.

Ms. Penn joined the MSCA artistic staff in 2000 and is proud to be a co-director of the studio's ballet and competition companies. One of her greatest achievements is the artistic collaboration for creating Nutcracker Nouveau. Melissa is a member of the Cecchetti Council of America and is currently working on her Grade III and IV teachers certification.  In addition to her devotion to ballet, Melissa is also a fully certified Stott Pilates instructor. She earned her full certification in Stott Pilates from Equilibrium in Bloomfield Hills, where she is currently working as a Senior Trainer.