In all of her creative endeavors, Melanie aims to clarify individual and collective knowledge within the dance field. Named one of Dance Magazine’s “30 over 30” in 2021, she cultivates new ways of thinking about movement by holding space for exploration, while simultaneously aggregating, unearthing, and organizing relevant context. Her career includes a wide range of choreographic, educational, scholarly, and dramaturgical positions and projects, all in support of her mission to deconstruct traditional hierarchies in dance.

As an artist, thinker, writer, and educator specializing in jazz dance, Melanie centers the West African roots of jazz dance via the historically-informed technique, Neo-Jazz. Characterized by eight specific elements that call back to earlier jazz styles and aesthetics, Neo-Jazz aims to unseat the privilege of Eurocentric dominance in contemporary jazz dance.

In an effort to advance recognition and awareness of this form — and all jazz dance styles and techniques, Melanie founded Jazz Is… Dance Project, an organization dedicated to the dissemination of jazz dance education, choreography, performance, and scholarship. As of 2021, Jazz Is… Dance Project operates two primary programs: Jazz Dance Direct, an online resource hub of information about jazz dance, and The Woodshed, an artist retreat program. Melanie continues to investigate her choreographic voice through Jazz Is… Dance project. Her jazz choreography is frequently commissioned by college programs across the U.S. Recent commissions include: University of Utah, Arizona State University, Western Michigan University, University at Buffalo, and Salve Regina University. In 2016, Melanie's choreography for the Wooly Mammoth Theatre Company’s production Women Laughing Alone With Salad was recognized with a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Choreography.

With over 25 years of teaching experience in universities, K-12 settings, festivals, and intensives, Melanie is recognized as a leading dance educator. From 2008-2016, she directed the dance program at American University and has held a number of faculty positions throughout the country. Utilizing a three-pronged approach to inquiry — pedagogy, choreography, and research, Melanie’s extensive experience in the field deeply informs her work as a Dance Scholar. She believes through the process of documentation, reflection, and deep questioning of what we know, value, and create that progress and growth are possible. With this research-focused mindset, Melanie has acted as a scholar-practitioner for leading dance organizations including, but not limited to Jacob’s Pillow, Lumberyard, Stephen Petronio Company, Dance/NYC, Gibney Dance, and the International Association of Blacks in Dance.

As a Dance Dramaturg, Melanie works in a wide variety of dance genres. From 2016-2020, she was the Dramaturg / Audience Educator at Lumberyard, making her the only full-time institutional dramaturg for dance in the USA, and she is honored to be among the dramaturgs affiliated with Urban Bush Women’s Choreographic Center. Other dramaturgy collaborations include: Susan Marshall & Company, Raja Feather Kelly, Kimberly Bartosik/daela, Alice Sheppard/Kinetic Light, Maria Bauman-Morales/MBDance, Ephrat Asherie Dance, and Helen Simoneau Danse.

Melanie holds a BA in dance from Western Michigan University, an MA in Dance, and a Graduate Certificate in Secondary Teaching from American University, and movement analysis certification from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York.. Currently, Melanie serves as an Associate Curator at Jacob’s Pillow (Read the 2021 Statement from the Curators here), the Founding Director of Jazz Is… Dance Project, among other projects.