Meet Melissa
Many years ago …
Lying in a hospital bed on the Upper East Side, as a saline solution drips into my malnourished dancer’s body, diagnosed with an unnamed viral infection and extreme exhaustion, (due to excessive competitive pushing, and goal-chasing), the doctors and nurses look worried.
Two weeks later, as I walk along gritty East Village Streets, without energy, unable to take another step, I rest on a stoop and listlessly watch the pigeons. Dazed, in a trance-like stupor, I marvel at the bird’s quirky walk and effortless transformation into angelic flight.
Resting nearly passed out, I hear whispers inside my body, “A last, the war is over, let’s be friends”.
My story is simple. Dance was my first love.
After some uninteresting college years, I surrendered to the inevitable and moved to New York, to dance professionally.
Those years in New York City were magical and tough. I had the good fortune to meet, study, and perform with postmodern legends in dance, theater, and art. My relationship to performance art was blown wide open.
However, I was emotionally a wreck but hardly stopped to notice. Injuries, cutthroat competition, city life, and the unhealthy lifestyle of an undernourished modern dancer slowly dissolved my well-being and passion for dance.
Seriously ill, fresh out of the hospital, shaken and confused, my whole life began to unravel.
Thanks to my amazing teachers and supportive community, I was able to transition from brute force to a kinder, gentler, and more conscious way of being.
The Alexander Technique opened the transformational door through its clear and structured mind-body alignment approach. Steve Paxton and his brilliant movement exploration (Contact Improv) inspired me to trust in gravity, momentum, and flow states. Body-Mind-Centering pioneer Bonnie Cohen introduced me to my innate body wisdom through experiential anatomy and evolutionary developmental movement practices.
My exploration of somatic healing continued with Peter Levine’s groundbreaking trauma work and body-centered psychotherapy with Pat Ogden.
Great Hindu, Buddhist, and shamanic masters have expanded my world in ways that are beyond measure.
All these paths and great teachings share one profound commonality: the body and its innate wisdom are the doorway.
Today, I know that all transformational growth results from being in collaborative harmony with the wisdom of your body.
For over 30 years, my work has been evolving: teaching at international dance festivals and universities in North America and Europe. I have educated Alexander Technique teachers and developed curriculum for the Alexander Bewegung (Movement) Institute in Linz, Austria. I have directed and educated performing artists in the theater, music, and dance departments at Santa Fe University of Art and Design, teaching movement awareness with a specialty in Stage Presence.
As an embodiment expert, I have guided creatives of all ages and disciplines – from established artists looking to maintain their edge, to young performers yearning to find their ‘special sauce’, to burned-out business professionals searching for a reboot. They all share the need to realize and express their unique creativity in a challenging world.
In 2020, during the early days of the pandemic when the world went into lockdown, I freaked out. The university and my private practice screeched to a halt. Everyone advised me to pivot to online teaching. Being a techno-phobic hands-on body person, I had a huge learning curve to jump over. Just turning on Zoom was an event. I reached out to my early mentors and received comfortingly familiar guidance. They soothed my frazzled nervous system by suggesting the work be guided, not with physical touch, but with powerful energetic presence. Recalling my years on stage, I knew what to do. Those first few weeks of working online were exhausting and exhilarating. As I persevered, my energetic presence grew, and I learned to appreciate the technology.
Today, the majority of my work is online in my virtual studio. However, twice a year I offer in-person transformational retreats, in magical places. Plus, should you find yourself in West Cork, Ireland, please drop by for a cup of tea and some hands-on in my cozy studio.