Melissa Kitano

Melissa began dancing locally at the age of 6. She studied jazz, tap and ballet, and always knew that teaching would be her passion. To make that dream a reality, Melissa studied and earned her degree in Dance at U.C. Irvine. While at Irvine, she had the opportunity to study ballet and modern with some amazing personalities, such as, Jillana, Edward Villella, Alexander Godounov and Loretta Livingston. While still training at UCI, Melissa met Donna Blanchard and her time at The Dance Co began. She has been training students at TDC for over 20 years. Melissa recently earned the title of Ballet Mistress at TDC and now enjoys directing the ballets for the winter show each year.