MELISSA THODOS
Dance Faculty

Melissa is Artistic Director of Thodos Dance Chicago, founded in 1992 as Melissa Thodos & Dancers. Training: Evanston School of Ballet Skidmore College in Saratoga, New York, Ruth Page Dance School, Dance Center of Columbia College, Lou Conte Dance Studio. Thodos founded the company following years of success as both a performer and choreographer with the Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble on the local, national and international contemporary dance circuits, performing her own work as well as works by Paul Taylor, Lar Lubovich, and many Chicago artists.

Thodos has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants ranging from Illinois Arts Council Fellowships in the 1980s and 1990s, to Ruth Page Award nominations in 1995, 1997 and 2004, and a 2004 Chicago Dance Achievement Award nominee. Melissa currently serves on the Illinois Arts Council Dance Advisory Panel, and also received an award from the State of Illinois in 2003 as a Greek American for nurturing and training dancers and choreographers in Chicago.

One of her signature works, Reaching There, won her international acclaim in Paris in 1988 at the Internationale Dance de Paris. Through her company, Thodos also participates in community outreach programs, bringing dance to inner-city and suburban school children. She has also set more than 20 works on high school and university dance companies. This year marks Melissa’s sixth as a faculty member of The Broadway Theater Project.

www.thodosdancechicago.org