Melissa Panetta
Originally from Montreal, Canada, Melissa Panetta is a professional dancer trained in all disciplines of dance. She is currently training at the Hubbard Street Professional Training Program (HSPro) in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to joining HSPro, Melissa danced with the professional company Thodos Dance Chicago. During her debut season at Thodos Dance Chicago, Melissa had the opportunity to perform the principal role of Helen Keller in Thodos’ original story ballet A Light in the Dark – the story of Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller. She also performed Brian Eno’s Acid Reign, Shannon Alvis’ Sunrise, and the remount of Bella Lewitzky’s Nos Duraturi. Prior to Thodos Dance Chicago, Melissa danced professionally with a Vancouver based company entitled DezzaDance, where she worked closely with artistic director Desiree Dunbar performing in multiple repertoire shows. In May 2016, Melissa graduated from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours with Distinction) majoring in dance and minoring in kinesiology. Melissa has also been privileged to work alongside multiple choreographers and perform in various shows and events including the remounting of Merce Cunnngham’s Native Green, Crystal Pite’s Singularity, Gioconda Barbuto's Cortical Shifts, and Wen Wei Wang’s Y?Y?Y? Melissa is thrilled to be part of the DancerMusic team!