DE Alumni and now Principal Dancer Melissa Hough is teaching a Ballet Masterclass at DEI!! 
Monday, July 12th, 6:00-7:30 pm!!
(Intermediate/Advanced Ballet ages 9-18yrs)
Message us for details or Email to reserve your spot. deinfinity5678@gmail.com
Melissa Hough was born in Severn, Maryland, and began her dance training at Dance Explosion, under the direction of Colleen Parker. She also trained under Alla Sizova and Vladimir Djouloukhadze at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC. She has been a principal dancer with Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, and is currently with Norwegian National Ballet.
Hough received the 2017 Wilhelmsen Opera and Ballet Prize for her work as a soloist dancer and for her choreographic endeavors since coming to Norway. She was also recognized in Dance Europe Magazine’s 2015 Critics Choice for Outstanding Female Performance as Carmen in Liam Scarlett’s Carmen, which was created on her in 2014. She has appeared internationally in the filmed version of Alexander Eckmans’ A Swan Lake as the Black Swan.
As a choreographer, Hough has made both independent projects as well as commissioned works in Norway and The United States. Her work has been recognized by Dance Europe magazine’s critics choice several times and her work has also toured to St. Petersburg, Russia for the Diaghilev P.S. festival.
Hough’s repertoire includes lead roles in Carmen, Manon, Firebird, Swan Lake, La Bayadere, The Nutcracker, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. She has also danced works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, August Bournonville, John Cranko, Sir Frederick Ashton, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Mark Morris, Christopher Wheeldon, Twyla Tharp, Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe, Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon, James Kudelka, and Christopher Bruce.
Hough has created roles in ballets by choreographers Lucinda Childs, Mark Morris, Stanton Welch, Niccolo Fonte, Aszure Barton, Liam Scarlett, Alexander Eckman, Helen Pickett, and Jorma Elo. Hough was previously a faculty member of the New York City Dance Alliance, teaching ballet and contemporary. She has taught at various schools in Oslo, including the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, as well as served on the jury panel for the Nordic-Baltic Ballet Competition.
