Artistic Director Bio
Melinda Wilson
Biography
Dance Artistic Director
Curie Metropolitan High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Melinda Wilson holds a M.Ed. from DePaul University (Chicago) and an MBA from the University of Illinois with additional course work at Northwestern Illinois University. She has trained at Lou Conte Dance Studios, The Dance Center of Columbia College, the Joel Hall Dance Center, Moming Dance Center, Pineapples (London), The Dance Works (London), Centre de Danse de Paris (Goube of the Paris Opera Ballet), Batsheva Dance Company (Tel-Aviv), and Centre de Danse du Marias (Paris).
Melinda has danced with American Ballet Theatre, David Dorfman, Urban Bush Women and Timothy Buckley and has been a dancer on PBS' Bare Feet. She has choreographed 15 full musicals, created seven original musicals, 22 full length dance concerts and over 240 concert dance pieces which have been performed globally.
Her awards include Top 50 Global Teacher Prize, SHAPE America National Dance Teacher of the Year, IAHPERD Dance Teacher of the Year, Golden Apple Teaching Award, Livorno, Italy Choreographic Award, Barcelona Dance Grand Prix First Place in Jazz & Choreography, Dance Chicago Choreographer of the Year Award, three consecutive Suave Performance Plus Teacher Awards, Who’s Who Among Teachers, 10 Oppenheimer Teacher Incentive Grants, National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teachers for Exceptional Performance in the Motivation and Empowerment of Today’s Youth, BP America/A+ For Energy Grant recipient, Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Scholarship Recipient for Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education Program and the Successful Strategies Award for Dance Curricula (Volume IV).
She served as a test writer for the Illinois Board of Education’s Dance Certification section, is part of the Advisory Council for Illinois Democracy Schools, The American Writer's Museum and Ingenuity, a passing score reviewer for the National Evaluation Systems, Inc, a writer for Chicago Dance Magazine and Beginning Youth Division Dance Supervisor with the Joel Hall Dance Center. Currently Wilson is a founding member of Chicago Dance Collective and teacher of Ballet and Jazz, a board member of the Illinois Dance Festival, a member of Centre for International Danse - UNESCO and Dance Artistic Director at Curie Metropolitan High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
Biography
Dance Artistic Director
Curie Metropolitan High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Melinda Wilson holds a M.Ed. from DePaul University (Chicago) and an MBA from the University of Illinois with additional course work at Northwestern Illinois University. She has trained at Lou Conte Dance Studios, The Dance Center of Columbia College, the Joel Hall Dance Center, Moming Dance Center, Pineapples (London), The Dance Works (London), Centre de Danse de Paris (Goube of the Paris Opera Ballet), Batsheva Dance Company (Tel-Aviv), and Centre de Danse du Marias (Paris).
Melinda has danced with American Ballet Theatre, David Dorfman, Urban Bush Women and Timothy Buckley and has been a dancer on PBS' Bare Feet. She has choreographed 15 full musicals, created seven original musicals, 22 full length dance concerts and over 240 concert dance pieces which have been performed globally.
Her awards include Top 50 Global Teacher Prize, SHAPE America National Dance Teacher of the Year, IAHPERD Dance Teacher of the Year, Golden Apple Teaching Award, Livorno, Italy Choreographic Award, Barcelona Dance Grand Prix First Place in Jazz & Choreography, Dance Chicago Choreographer of the Year Award, three consecutive Suave Performance Plus Teacher Awards, Who’s Who Among Teachers, 10 Oppenheimer Teacher Incentive Grants, National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teachers for Exceptional Performance in the Motivation and Empowerment of Today’s Youth, BP America/A+ For Energy Grant recipient, Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Scholarship Recipient for Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education Program and the Successful Strategies Award for Dance Curricula (Volume IV).
She served as a test writer for the Illinois Board of Education’s Dance Certification section, is part of the Advisory Council for Illinois Democracy Schools, The American Writer's Museum and Ingenuity, a passing score reviewer for the National Evaluation Systems, Inc, a writer for Chicago Dance Magazine and Beginning Youth Division Dance Supervisor with the Joel Hall Dance Center. Currently Wilson is a founding member of Chicago Dance Collective and teacher of Ballet and Jazz, a board member of the Illinois Dance Festival, a member of Centre for International Danse - UNESCO and Dance Artistic Director at Curie Metropolitan High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.