Staff

Melissa P., Artistic Director  Melissa received her training at the Ballet West Conservatory as a scholarship student under the instruction of William F. Christensen (founder of Ballet West and San Francisco Ballet).  As a classically trained dancer Melissa has performed with multiple ballet companies across the United States and Europe including: Ballet West, Eugene Ballet, Ballet Idaho, Ballet Long Island, Pirouettes, Utah Regional Ballet, and Central Florida Ballet.  She has held contracts with Cunard and Norwegian Cruise Lines through Jean Ann Ryan Productions as well as with Disney on both AEA and Non-AEA stages.  She is a staff member at the prestigious North Carolina Theatre Conservatory, received a B.A. in Theatre Arts and Administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and holds a graduate certificate in Arts Administration also from UMASS.

Sarah G., Studio Manager (Office & Administration).  Sarah is a veteran performer, instructor and manager from Baltimore, MD. Her career as a musical theatre performer started at the age of 2 with the Baltimore Actors Theatre and continued for the following 30 years. She is a proud alumnae of Carver Center for the Arts and Technology in Baltimore County. For her undergraduate degree, she attended Syracuse University and received a BFA in theatre performance; her time at Syracuse included many productions, both onstage and backstage, studying abroad in London, England and the ignition of her passion for arts administration. In pursuit of a career in Arts Admin, she attended the Emerging Leaders program with Loyola Maryland and recieved her MBA in 2014. 

While pursuing her graduate degree, Sarah accrued more than 10 years of instruction experience in gymnastics, dance, theatre, acting, choral and vocal music and spent many happy years in professional child care. She previously worked for School of Rock in Baltimore and Columbia, in administration and operational management, before relocating to the DC area. Her free time was spent performing in professional stage productions in Baltimore and beyond; some of her favorite credits from that time include a Wicked Stepsister in Cinderella with the Atlanta Lyric Theatre, creating the role of Carrie Pietzel in Murdercastle with the Baltimore Rock Opera Society, helming multiple seasons at Glass Mind Theatre as the Associate Artistic Director, conceiving the movement direction for Watership Down for Frith & Inle, winning the Broadway World award for "Best Actress" for performance of Tracy Turnblad in the Baltimore county premiere production of Hairspray with Cockpit in Court and numerous other credits as performer, designer, writer, director, singer, choreographer and movement/fight choreographer that she doesn't have room to list. 

Certifications & Continuing Education: Introduction to Dance Medicine & Survey of Injuries in Dance (NYU School of Medicine, In Progress)

Jessie A., Studio Manager (Curriculum & Performance) has substantial performance and teaching experience across Ovations’ dance disciplines.  She attended Temple University for two years where she studied Art, Dance and Therapeutic Recreation before transferring to University of Maryland, Baltimore County where she pursued a B.A in Dance. She continued at UMBC and achieved her Master of Art in Teaching (M.A.T.) in Dance K-12 in 2014. Jessie is certified through Grade V in Cecchetti Ballet and competed in Regional and National events while growing up. While at UMBC, Jessie was selected to be a student demonstrator for Elizabeth Walton, one of the original members of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and was selected to perform with Baltimore Dance Project, the Modern Dance company in residence at UMBC, under the direction of Carol Hess and Doug Hamby.

She has taught since 2008 and has been a dance teacher in the Bethesda community since 2014. Jessie has been involved in curriculum development, administrative roles, and performance company leadership. At Ovations, Jessie teaches Ballet, Modern, Lyrical, Jazz and Contemporary and is one of the Nutcracker teachers and Competition Directors for our Competition Team. 

Jessie strives to make dance accessible to all students and to help each student find their own individual journey to success. She lives in Frederick, MD with her husband, Joey, her two kids, Noura and Rami, and a whole slew of fur-babies.

Amanda S. has more than a dozen years of experience in dance instruction.  She can teach all forms of dance offered by Ovations, including ballet, hip hop, tap, lyrical, Jazz, and musical theater, and is qualified to teach all ages of all disciplines.  She has served as director of a musical theater performance company, developed dance curriculum, and trained and supervised new teachers.  She focuses on maintaining a positive atmosphere in the classroom.  Amanda received a BA in Music Theater, with minors in Dance and Business Administration from the American University in Washington, D.C.  

Kristen B.   is originally from Baltimore, MD where she gained extensive dance experience in multiple genres such as; Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary, Modern, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Ukrainian dance. She spent five years as a core member of St. Paul’s School for Girl’s dance performance group, Inertia. Throughout her 18 years of dance experience and training, Kristen has found a love for choreography and teaching. She became an instructor for dance classes when she was just 15 years old beginning with two-year-olds and working her way up to instructing adult classes. She has taught at multiple dance studios in both Baltimore and the Washington, DC area over the past four years. Her passion for dance and instruction has inspired her to work towards her goal of creating a dance media company where dancers not only will receive technical training but will learn how to brand themselves through multiple forms of media.  She is currently a student at American University majoring in Public Relations and Strategic Communications with a minor in Marketing.

Lori W. has more than 20 years of dance teaching experience, in ballet, tap, jazz, street jazz, and musical theatre.  She has taught children ages eighteen months to eighteen years, as well as adults.  She has been involved in all aspects of dance instruction and studio work, including extensive experience in choreography, curriculum development, and administration.  Lori has been involved in leading roles with performance companies, including in music direction and set design.  Lori completed coursework leading to a Bachelors in English Language and Literature at the University of Maryland, College Park.  

Maddie A. fell in love with dance when she first started dancing at age three. She has more than 18 years of ballet training, as well as college level dance training in a variety of forms including ballet, modern, jazz and tap. Maddie was a member of the audition only dance troupe at Franklin & Marshall College.  Maddie has held lead roles in several productions including Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker.  

Certifications & Continuing Education: Master of Arts in Teaching - Elementary Education (American University, In Progress)

Matthew P. is joined the Ovations Studios team for the 2022-2023 year after relocating to the East Coast from Las Vegas, NV. A graduate of Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi, Matthew received a B.F.A. in (Modern) Dance studies. His numerous accomplishments include receiving the Belhaven University Belazel Award, selection for Bal Malhada (a five week dance tour of South Korea) and five seasons as a company member of the Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theatre (know the Contemporary West Dance Theatre). During his time with the company, he performed classic contemporary-modern and neo-classical repertoire choreographed by Alvin Ailey, Ulysses Dove, Elisa Monte, Milton Myers, Hope Boykin, Jeon James, Avree Walker, and company director & co-founder Bernard H. Gaddis, among others. He would also pick up a leadership role as a co-artistic director of LVCDT’s Jr. company the LVCDT2. In November of 2018, The Murder on Vehement Hill would become Matthew’s first full- length ballet and choreographic debut.

Leslie A. founded Ovations Studios in 2017.   Dance was her sport from age 4 through college.   Growing up, she danced with the Dallas Ballet and held roles in numerous professional performances of The Nutcracker and other productions.  In college, she performed with The Arts House Dance Company at The University of Pennsylvania.  After college, she was a private equity investor for three decades, first with The Carlyle Group and later with her own firm that she founded and operated in NYC and DC.