Melissa Chisena

Melissa Chisena had the privilege of dancing and touring nationally with North Carolina Dance Theatre and The Richmond Ballet.  Currently residing in Philadelphia, PA, has danced with Jeanne Ruddy Dance and Tania Isaac Dance.  She has performed nationally and internationally at venues such as Bates Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, Aaron Davis Hall-Harlem Stage, Dance Place in DC, The Annenberg Center, The Suzanne Roberts Theatre, The Wilma, St. Lucia, and numerous colleges throughout the US.  Her choreography has been featured at North Carolina Dance Theatre, Richmond Ballet, American Dance Festival, Regional Dance America, Ursinus College, Richard Stockton College, Philadelphia Dance Theatre, Yes! Invitational, Come Together Festival, Grounds for Sculpture and many other venues across the Northeast.  She is currently a member of the NADINE Project, a collaborative choreographic company Connecticut, Stone Depot Dance Lab, Beau Hancock, The Naked Stark, Tara Madsen-Robbins, and runs her own company, Chisena Danza.  She is the ballet mistress at Philadelphia Dance Theatre and Janice’s Danceworks and is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique.  She has also taught at Temple University, Ursinus College, Bryn Mawr College, Eastern University, and Dance Elite. She was the producer of An Evening of Duets, and Norristown Dance Fest for a number of years and is currently the director and founder of The Philadelphia Youth Dance Fest and World Dance Sampler Summer Intensive.