ncore Dance Academy

Melissa Swatez

Melissa Swatez was born in Murrieta, California. She began her dance training at the age of 2 1/2 in California and Las Vegas.  At the age of eight she moved to British Columbia to continue her training. She was accepted into Encore Dance Academy's 1/2 day dance program for Elite dancers training in jazz, hip-hop, tap, ballet, modern, stage, pointe, lyrical, jazz, and contemporary. She received numerous top scoring awards as a soloist, duo partner, and in groups. She competed in both the USA and BC and attended The Dance Awards in Las Vegas, The Next Step and Dance Excellence in Los Angeles.      

After graduating in 2016, she realized her real passion was in contemporary dance, Melissa auditioned for and was accepted into Lamondance; a pre-professional contemporary company, where she trained for a year. She then wanted to study and train for her degree at SFU and is currently in her second year pursuing her Bachelor of Fine arts with her major being Contemporary dance. She loves working with children and has spent the last couple of years working as a part-time nanny as well as teaching dance. She has had the opportunity to train with many outstanding teachers in her life and has many amazing mentors that have helped her navigate her path in the dance community. She hopes she too can share her knowledge and experiences with her fellow students. Melissa looks forward to being back at Encore Dance Academy sharing her love and passion of dance with her students.