Melanie Kregel has been teaching since 1989. She began teaching in Victoria, Texas at Busby Dancenter. She also has taught for The Jordan Academy of Fine Arts at Butler University and The Dance Refinery in Indianapolis, Indiana, and at Exclusively Ballet in Birmingham, Alabama. She returned to Austin to teach for Ballet Austin, Tapestry Dance Academy, and The Dance Studio. She was also on faculty for three years at the Star Charter School. She has directed Visions In Rhythm and Dance Spectrum, both youth dance companies in Austin, and is co-founder of Austin Metamorphosis Dance Ensemble. After dancing nine years with the Victoria Ballet Theatre, she attended Butler University where she graduated Magna cum laude with a B.A. in Dance Pedagogy. She then went on to perform with the Alabama Ballet. She continues her performance career presently with Austin Metamorphosis Dance Ensemble. During her career she enjoyed roles in "Nutcracker", "Les Sylphides", "Petrouchka", "La Viviandiere", "Giselle", "Swan Lake", and "Coppelia". She was also a guest dancer in the Indianapolis Opera's "Die Fledermaus" and in 1997 was invited to perform on an international tour to Taipei City, Taiwan. While dancing for the Alabama Ballet she performed in Johan Renvall's "Between the Lines" and George Balanchine's "Serenade".
"I believe in providing the best possible foundation of technique for successful careers in many forms of dance. I do not just teach steps, but the process necessary to make each movement brilliant. I achieve this through well-planned classes, detailed explanations of corrections, challenging each student individually, and connecting them to the history of dance. Above all, I'm passionate about dance and wish to impart that to my students." |
