Melissa Toogood (dancer)

Melissa Toogood is a New York Dance & Performance "Bessie" Award winning performer. She is both dancer and rehearsal director for Pam Tanowitz Dance and has assisted Tanowitz on numerous creations including works for Ballet Austin, the Juilliard School, Rutgers University, the Fall for Dance Festival and others. Melissa was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. She has taught Cunningham Technique since 2007 and is a 2013 & 2015 Merce Cunningham Fellow. She has performed with Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion, Kimberly Bartosik, Rosie Herrera Dance Theater, Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener, Miro Dance Theater, Stephen Petronio Company, Sally Silvers, The Bang Group: Tap Lab and many others. Toogood has been on faculty at Bard College, Barnard College, New York Theater Ballet School and has staged Tanowitz's work at Princeton University and Cunningham's work at Bard College. Dance Magazine named her in its 25 to watch in 2014 and featured her in the inaugural episode of Behind the Curtain (2015). Melissa is a native of Sydney, Australia and holds a BFA in Dance Performance from New World School of the Arts, Miami FL.