Melissa Medeiros, Owner and President of Unique Steps Dance Academy in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, performed with Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Additionally, she received her BFA from Dean College and holds a masters’ degree in expressive therapies with a focus in dance movement therapy from Lesley University.
At their studio, they are not about just creating great dancers. They are about creating great people. They firmly build their studio on the foundation that they must respect and love one another first and treat everyone with respect regardless of any differences they may have. They believe in fostering positive self-esteem and self-awareness through their programs by building their dancers up, not tearing them down. It is an important focus of all of their programming that participants leave feeling good about themselves. Their program encompasses several aspects. They have a training track which includes a performance team who does not compete but rather shares their love of dance with the community through local performances at fundraisers, nursing homes, and schools. These dancers perform at a yearly recital as well. They also offer a therapeutic track which is designed for dancers with varying levels of social-emotional and cognitive delays. The goal of this program is for these participants to be able to enjoy the art of dance and also the therapeutic benefits of movement.
In addition to their standard dance classes, Unique Steps offers a therapeutic dance program for children with varying physical and social-emotional disorders. We offer small group classes as well as one to one if needed. Melissa Medeiros is a registered dance therapist in the state of Massachusetts, a mental health counselor, and has a Master’s degree in expressive therapies with a concentration in dance movement therapy from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In Melissa’s opinion, their dance studio is distinct from other dance studios because of the high quality technical training that their dancers get. They know not only WHAT to do but also WHY and HOW. Melissa wants them to understand the importance of moving smart to prevent injury.
Melissa has had too many “proudest” moments coaching to count! Some of her “proudest moments” occurred when one of their autistic children gets to perform on stage and then their parents cry tears of joy because they never thought it was possible, when one of Melissa’s company girls nails something she has been working on for so long, and watching their students all grow into loving people. These are just three examples.
In Melissa’s opinion, the biggest mistake she sees dancers make has to do with the “tricks” they perform. Unfortunately, Melissa believes the world of competition focuses on tricks and that leads to kids under-rotating their hips to get the leg higher, or forcing turnout from knees. Some flashy tricks look good now but the moves can result in hip replacements in their 20’s and blown knees.
Melissa’s goal for the studio is to really increase the awareness around their conservatory program so parents understand the high level, well rounded instruction they can receive locally.
Melissa decided to found Unique Steps because she was tired of the old school “disciplinarian” mindset of making dancers feel bad. She wanted to empower dancers and lift them and up and still give them amazing training.
At Unique Steps, they do not cut corners. They invested in amazing, safe flooring for injury prevention. Their staff has incredible credentials and all of them have performed professionally. They have degrees in Dance which shows that they have worked on their craft. This is not just fun to them. They take it seriously and still have fun doing it.
If you would like more information about Unique Steps Dance Academy, visit their website at http://www.uniquestepsdance.com, email them at uniquestepsdance@gmail.com or call them at (508) 643-3100. You can also “Like” them on Facebook and connect with them on LinkedIn.
Anyone who has danced at Unique Steps is invited to comment on their blog.
Some flashy tricks look good now but the moves can result in hip replacements in their 20’s and blown knees.
