Instructors
Our dance instructors are highly-qualified and experienced in various styles and techniques.
Melissa Hunsaker
Owner & Founder
Melissa is a Texas native, and grew up in the DFW area. She began taking dance classes at age 5 and started teaching dance when she was just 15 years old. Melissa has a B.F.A. in Dance from the University of North Texas.
Since 2001 Melissa's choreography has won numerous awards such as, "Best In Class", "Judges Award", "Most Creative Choreography" as well as over 100 Top Overall Scores at local and national competitions. She has worked at various schools and studios all across North Texas specializing in technique workshops.
In 2012, she began teaching Dance at a public charter school in the south Dallas neighborhood of Oak Cliff, where she built an educational dance program from scratch. The program has grown to over 200 students in daily classes and over 50 students on the dance teams.
Recognizing the strong interest in dance throughout the Oak Cliff community, Melissa opened Oak Cliff Dance, a studio space offering classes, private lessons, and custom choreography. Melissa strongly believes that dance should be available to everyone, and wants to create a place where students of all ages and all backgrounds can come together to learn the art form.
Kathryn Connelly
Kathryn grew up in the north Pittsburgh area in Pennsylvania. She began dancing at her local dance studio and joined the competition team quickly after. She won multiple awards and titles during her time on the team. She furthered her dance education and passion by attending Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, where she performed in multiple shows including yearly productions of The Nutcracker. She graduated in the National Honors Society for Dance Arts, and she received a promising artist scholarship from University of the Arts. She spent four years teaching and choreographing in the Pittsburgh area before moving to Dallas, Texas. Kathryn loves sharing her knowledge with children of all ages and she hopes to help nurture their passion for dance and performing.
