Originally from Montreal, Canada, Melissa Panetta is a professional dancer trained in all disciplines of dance. She is currently dancing at Theater Plauen-Zwickau under the direction of Annett Göhre. Prior to joining Theater Plauen-Zwickau, Melissa danced professionally with Tanzlin.z (Landestheater Linz) in Linz, Austria under the direction of Mei Hong Lin. While dancing at Tanzlin.z, she got the opportunity to perform in a variety of full length shows including Le Sacre du Printemps/Metamorphosen, Carmina Burana, and Cinderella. Prior to dancing with Tanzlin.z, Melissa trained at the Hubbard Street Professional Training Program (HS Pro) in Chicago, Illinois. While at HS Pro, Melissa got the opportunity to perform with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in both their Fall and Winter series. She has also been privileged to work with Peter Chu, Elia Mrak, Jonathon Alsberry, Shannon Alvis, Adam Barruch, Davide Di Pretoro, Meredith Dincolo, Glenn Edgerton, Anna Long, Kristina Isabelle, Troy Ogilvie, Jenna Pollack, and Alexandra Wells. Prior to joining the Hubbard Street Professional Training Program, Melissa danced with Thodos Dance Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. During her debut season at Thodos Dance Chicago, Melissa had the opportunity to perform the principal role of Helen Keller in Thodos’ original story ballet A Light in the Dark – the story of Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller. She also performed Brian Eno’s Acid Reign, Shannon Alvis’ Sunrise, and the remount of Bella Lewitzky’s Nos Duraturi.