World-famous dancer teaches Western students

When someone hears about Jodi Melnick's impressive reputation, they may expect a snobby, calm, cool and collected woman. What you would be greeted with, however, is a steady stream of sound effects and an unbelievable amount of passion. In a matter of minutes, Melnick had turned a bunch of beautiful movements into a solid method of expression using a select group of students. Her teaching style, consisting of an eclectic mix of easy-to-understand terms and sometimes comical sound effects really got the message across. Melnick won the performance award at the Bessies this year (the Bessies are like the Oscars, but for dancers) and she is here to teach and put together a routine that Western will be taking to the American College Dance Festival in Utah this March. The performance will also be in the Annual Spring Dance Concert. Melnick grew up as a gymnast, which meant she had to take dance classes. As a young woman, she fell in love with jazz and wanted to be a jazz dancer when she got older. As she matured, though, she decided to try a modern dance class, and fell in love with the style. This does not mean she quit trying and learning new things, however. She has also taken a ballet class or two, and she does yoga and chi cong, which is an ancient style of exercise, having to do with the unity of body and mind. Growing up in New York, she had a wide variety of places where she could go to grow as a dancer. Now, Melnick travels all over the world. She has danced in Russia, had a solo at the Dublin Dance Festival and was at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Feb. 2008. She also works with Trisha Brown on operas and has traveled to Paris to do so. When asked why she chose to dance, she said, "It's the thing that gives me a great amount of pleasure…if something gives you pleasure, do it intensely." When asked what she would say to anyone out there who dreams of becoming a dancer, she simply looked up and said, "How do you tell a dancer not to dance?" For Melnick, dancing is something as simple as brushing her teeth or drinking coffee. It is a part of daily life, and it will stay that way for as long as she had a breath left in her.