Our Staff

Each of our instructors gained their own sense of style and choreography experience while training during their young adolescence up through their college years. They have trained from young ages all over the United States in tap, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, acrobatics and clogging and have competed and trained with many professional dancers across the country. All instructors believe that determination, dedication, and development of dancers are the key to success at Academy of Dance. Instructors remain up to date with correct technique and terminology as well as new teaching methods by attending dance conferences yearly. Academy of Dance believes in forming a well-rounded dancer that is educated as well as able to perform any style of dance. Although each teacher has a specific area in which they concentrate, they are all well-rounded instructors with the ability to teach any style of dance.  Learning from every instructor can be expected over extended educational training.

 

     Miss Melinda is the owner, founder and program director of Academy of Dance. The studio opened in January 2001. Her past includes over 25 years of training and experience in ballet, tap, clogging and jazz. Throughout the course of training she has attended numerous conventions, competitions and continuing education classes. She was fortunate to study with the Arkansas Ballet Theatre in Fayetteville, which allowed her access to top notch ballet training.     

Melinda accepted an internship to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida where she did a work study program focusing on entertainment business. During the course of this program she worked in the character department of the Magic Kingdom and other resort restaurants. She portrayed Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters.

Since then, Melinda has also taught ballroom and social dancing. She currently holds membership in Dance Master’s of America, Inc. This is a national organization of certified teachers whose primary focus is continuing dance education. Members are certified to teach through writings and demonstrations.

Melinda is on staff at Fellowship Bible Church in Rogers where she serves in administration and as the Saturday night service worship coordinator. Dance, ministry and people are her true passions. She hopes to one day oversee her own dance company that focuses on ministry. She lives in Rogers and has an eleven year old son. She loves her friends and family dearly and never meets a stranger!

At the studio Miss Melinda’s primary focus is to oversee and ensure students have a positive learning experience each week. She is the programs manager for all curriculum taught and seeks out the best instruction possible for each class. She and her team manage details from every day activities to the fine tuning of year end production.

 

 

 Miss Holly is celebrating her fourth year of teaching with the Academy of Dance and has taken dance for almost 22 years. She began taking dance at age two in Hot Springs under Andrea Pierkowski at Andrea's Foundation for the Arts. Although she studied tap, jazz, ballet, lyric, and clogging, her favorites are tap and clogging. She began teaching at 14 and is known for being tough but very encouraging with her students.While studying at Andrea's, Ms. Holly participated in company, as well as competed in Dance Educators of America, Starpower, Talent on Parade, and Showbiz. In July of 2004, Ms. Holly ranked nationally at the Dance Educators of America nationals in Knoxville, TN. She was awarded #3 in the top 5 of Dance Educators of America Young Senior Solos, received the highest ranked platinum award for her solo, and was awarded the judges favorite pick for Crisp, Clean, and Clear sounds. Ms. Holly has studied under choreographers and dancers across the nation and loves participating in dance education workshops.While in college at Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport, she continued to study dance and took advanced tap and jazz from instructors at the college.Ms. Holly loves teaching and loves her students at the Academy of Dance wholeheartedly! She is looking forward to another great year!

 

 

Miss Liz will be joining us again in her third year at the studio! She is dearly loved by her students. Her sweet disposition and no-nonsense, fun-loving and structured teaching style makes her magnificent! She has taught ballet, tap, jazz, and cheer to students ages 18 months to adults. She began dance at the age of two at Ms. Karen’s Dance Studio in North Little Rock. While there, Liz studied ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, clogging, musical theatre, lyrical and pointe. After she graduated high school, she taught dance for two years in Maumelle, Arkansas. In college, she choreographed for her local Boys and Girls Club and her sorority, including stepshows and jazz routines. Liz will begin her first year as a Speech/Debate teacher at Rogers High School, and she will serve as choreographer for the students’ shows.

 

Miss Eliese was welcomed to the studio in the summer of 2011. She is trained in ballet, tap, jazz and ballroom. Miss Eliese come from a family of dance, as her mother owned and operated a dance studio for over fifteen years. We are super excited she has "dance in her blood". We may even see her mom around every now and then. Eliese has performed with the Tulsa Ballet Company in the world premiere of The Nutcracker and with the Texarkana Community Ballet, numerous times, where she had most of her training. She has performed jazz dance (group) and baton twirling competitvely and won first place overall in Tulsa for baton twirling. She is one of the teaching assistants for ballroom dance at the University of Arkansas and teaches private lessons in east-coast swing, foxtrot, waltz and cha cha cha. She is a full-time undergraduate mechanical engineering student, works as a tutor and sings. She is the founder of the Northwest Arkansas Jeep Club, an off-roading organization.

 

 

 Miss Cristina has taken dance lessons for sixteen years, as she began dancing at the age of 3 in The Colony, Texas. After Texas, she moved to Nevada and continued dancing. She then moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas where she danced at Flame Dance Academy for nine years. After Flame, she danced and taught at Attitudes Performing Art for two years. Although Cristina has danced in areas of ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, pom, and military, hip hop and jazz would have to be her favorite styles. She began teaching at age sixteen, and has taught hip hop, jazz, and pom from ages five to sixteen. She has also given several private lessons in jazz. Her senior year, she was on her school's drill team and was Captain. She has participated in dance company and has gone to several competitions and workshops. Also during her senior year in high school, Cristina received the privilege to go to New York City and dance in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! Cristina is very involved in Catholic Campus Ministry at St. Thomas Aquinas on campus at the U of A. Church and dance are her favorite activities. She loves spending time with her dog, Chuey. Currently at the University of Arkansas, she is studying Psychology and hopes to have an emphasis on child psychology. Cristina is looking forward to new beginning and meeting the Academy of Dance community!