Latin Coach
BIOGRAPHY
Melissa started dance early on with ballet as her first love. After training in New York as a teen, she decided that despite her passion, the ballet world was not for her. Luckily, she fell into ballroom, which turned out to be an even better fit for her.
Starting in a chain studio, she quickly became a successful teacher and competitor, winning RS Rhythm titles with several partners. She then switched to Latin, and began her partnership with her future husband, Erik Cyr.
Together with her husband, Erik, they advanced through the professional ranks, becoming National Canadian Open Latin finalists and U.S. Rising Star Latin Couple of the Year.
They also appeared in two dance series for Vietnamese television, with Melissa winning the second season with her contestant partner.
She has choreographed for Asia Entertainment, “Days of Our Lives”, and assisted choreographer Jean-Marc Genereux on “So You Think You Can Dance”.
Melissa is currently the Latin teacher at the prestigious Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) for the senior conservatory.
In 2014, Erik and Melissa opened DanceSport Place, an online “virtual studio” with the vision of bringing world class coaches to dancers everywhere. Their goal was based on two ideas:
- to make exceptional coaching available ANYTIME, ANYWHERE to all dancers at an exceptional value.
- to give world class coaches the freedom to teach what they do BEST, and share their talents with dancers all over the world.
Melissa is the spokesperson, writer and interviewer for DanceSport Place.
Titles & Accomplishments
- National Canadian Open Latin Finalist
- U.S Rising Star Latin Couple of the Year
- La Classique du Quebec RS Latin Champion
Coaching Style
Melissa’s graceful style and diverse dance knowledge base comes through in her video coaching. She helps dancers expand their training by introducing elements from her strong dance background and showing how they can be applied to create a well-rounded ballroom dancer.
Live Lessons
Melissa is available for private lessons, choreography, and pro-am competition. Message her here. For information on her group lessons for kids, click the image below.
