Melissa Dougherty

Melissa is originally from Rochester, and she studied dance locally at Little Red Dance Studio, Burhyte Ballet School, and Garth Fagan Dance School. She graduated from the School of the Arts with a major in dance and continued to study dance at California State University Long Beach. She has worked professionally in both dance and theater in Southern California, as well as New York City. She worked as a dancer for Carnival Cruise Lines, and she performed in numerous musicals including Evita, Fame, Anything Goes, Will Rogers Follies and Guys and Dolls. Melissa is also a fitness instructor and is certified in Pilates mat and apparatus, barre, and Zumba. Melissa’s choreography styles include Broadway Jazz, Tap, and Contemporary. Melissa was recognized in 2018 for co-choreographing the AVDC’s award winning production number “Motown”, and received a Top Teacher Award. She also won a special award for her broadway jazz routine Bye Bye Blackbird (2018) at Starbound called the “Timeless Style” Award. AVDC is very happy to have Melissa.