Melissa Chisena

Melissa Chisena trained as a classical ballet dancer and had the privilege of dancing and

touring nationally with Charlotte Ballet (formally known as North Carolina Dance Theatre) and

Richmond Ballet. She relocated to Philadelphia nineteen years ago and began dancing

professionally with Tania Isaac Dance, Jeanne Ruddy Dance, Stone Depot Dance Lab, Beau

Hancock, The Naked Stark, Tara Madsen-Robbins, Marie Brown, Jillian Harris, and started her

own company Chisena Danza. She has performed nationally and internationally at venues and

festivals such as Bates Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, Aaron Davis Hall-Harlem Stage, Dance

Place in DC, The Annenberg Center, The Suzanne Roberts Theatre, The Wilma, Performance

Garage and numerous colleges and universities throughout the US.

Her choreography has been featured at Charlotte Ballet, Richmond Ballet, American

Dance Festival, Regional Dance America, Ursinus College, Richard Stockton College, Philadelphia

Dance Theatre, Yes! Invitational, Come Together Festival, Inhale Performance Series, Grounds

for Sculpture, Vineland Regional Ballet, Providence Creek Ballet Theater, Philadelphia Youth

Dance Fest. and many other venues in the Northeast. She has been a member of the NADINE

Project, a collaborative choreographic residency in Connecticut for numerous years under the

direction of Janet Soares.

As a producer, Ms. Chisena has produced professional dance performances and festivals

including The Norristown Dance Fest and Evening of Duets. Currently she produces and curates

the Philadelphia Youth Dance Fest, an annual pre-professional dance festival hosting over 400

students from across the US. During Covid, Ms. Chisena produced an outdoor youth dance

festival at The Abington Art Center. She has worked as a stage manager at the Kimmel Center

for Regional Dance America Philadelphia and stage manages at Philadelphia Dance Theatre in

their productions of The Philadelphia Nutcracker and Breaking Ground each year.

Ms. Chisena currently teaches dance at Philadelphia Dance Theatre and Janice’s

DanceWorks. Her previous teaching locations have been Temple University, Ursinus College,

Bryn Mawr College, Eastern University and Dance Elite. She has guested at Vineland Regional

Dance, Providence Creek Ballet Theater, Stockton University, New Paltz School of Ballet, and

International Ballet Academy. She is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique.