Meet the Instructors
You’re in Great Hands
Meet our talented team of instructors at The Dance Arts Studio. Focused on teaching exceptional technique and creating unforgettable experiences, our staff is committed to our dancers’ satisfaction and success. Read through our instructors’ bios below, and if you’d like to set up an introductory meeting, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Melanie Keen
Studio Owner - Director - Instructor - Choreographer
After watching a classical ballet on television, Melanie knew she wanted to become a ballerina. She enrolled in classes at the age of nine at the School of Dance Arts in Florence, S.C. under the direction of Barbara Counts and Shirley Jacobs. She joined the Civic Ballet Company, now SC Dance Theatre, at the age of ten. Over the next few years, she danced lead roles in ballets such as “Sleeping Beauty”, “Cakewalk” and “The Nutcracker”. She also performed tap and jazz as a member of the group “Jazzmatazz” and held key roles in “A Chorus Line” and “42nd Street” with the Florence Little Theatre. As a top ten contestant in the Miss South Carolina Pageant in 1989, she performed Kitri’s Variation from “Don Quixote”, under the instruction of William Starrett of the South Carolina Ballet.
Melanie danced lead roles at Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston under the direction of Radenko Pavlovich and Thomas Richards, and Barbara Howse-Meadows, renowned choreographer. She studied under former Prima Ballerina Patricia Miller Baker of the Joffrey Ballet, William Starrett of the SC Ballet, and the instructors of the Broadway Dance Center in New York City including Frank Hatchett, Jazz director. Her personal favorite performance was that of the Sugar Plum Fairy under the direction and choreography of the well-known Robert Ivey.
Melanie served as an assistant instructor starting at age thirteen and started teaching her own classes at seventeen. She taught for over eight years at the School of Dance Arts before moving to Charleston to attend the College of Charleston where she was a member of the dance team.
Melanie always dreamed of opening her own studio and that dream came true in 2002 when The Dance Arts Studio emerged. Since then, she has sought to change young dancers’ lives by sharing her passion for the Art of Dance and teaching them character, confidence, preparedness, and self-discipline- all valuable life skills. It is also a way to ensure physical fitness while having fun! She is excited for TDAS to begin its 23rd season and looks forward to sharing her love and passion for dance with many dancers in the years to come.
Get in touch to learn more!