bio
Born in Italy, Melissa is currently based in Berlin and works as a performer, dance educator and creative internationally.
Current and past collaborations include Anouk Van Dijk and Falk Richter (Münchner Kammerspiele), Laurence Yadi and Nicolas Cantillon (Cie7273) and Peter Svenzon (Art of Spectra).
After graduating in 2011 from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (UK) with an award for Outstanding Achievement, Melissa started off her career with the Akram Khan Company (2012), then with Istanbul State Opera and Ballet Theatre (2013 - 2017).
In 2016 she started a long-term artistic collaboration with the Aakash Odedra Company as performer, rehearsal director and associate artist whilst engaging with several other multi-disciplinary creative partnerships including choreographer Rosana Ribeiro/SELVA (AT) , Gizem Aksu (TR/DE), musicians Matthias Grübel (DE) and Jacopo Mariotti (IT), as well as video artists from Tobe Studio (IT).
Melissa is a current alumni of the Master Programme in Dance Education (MA CoDE) at the HFMDK in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and keeps on sharing her movement research and practice through workshops directed both to dance professionals and non-professionals.
I firmly believe in the substantial role of movement in everyday life and I am committed to undertake my artistic development starting from the fundamental assumption that dance enables true, unfiltered communication and connection between people.
Col•laboration and trans•action are key elements to my creative and artistic practice that is based on the concept of shared labour, a transformative dynamic which allows the creative process to be contaminated and enriched by the multiplicity of experiences of the parties involved that meet at a crossroad, an open space where diversity is the fundamental tool to facilitate confrontation, growth and action.
