Melinda Hedenberg grew up in Western New York where her dance training began at the age of 5. During her early years, Melinda competed at the local and national level earning top honors for her group and solo performances. As a teen, Melinda continued her dance studies at Broadway Dance Center, conferences and intensive workshops under master teachers. She joined the Buffalo City Ballet in 1996 and performed in classical ballet roles of The Nutcracker and Giselle.
While earning her undergrad degree in Secondary Education from Niagara University, she was a member of the dance team and began teaching dance part time. After graduation, Melinda was invited to teach full time at her home studio and took on more administrative tasks. Her students have gone on to dance professionally and become dance teachers themselves. Her choreography has been featured in productions of The Nutcracker and her work has received recognition at the competitive level. Her students have gone on to dance professionally and become dance teachers themselves. After relocating to Northern Virginia, Melinda continued to teach competitive dance as well as work as assistant studio director for several competitive studios.
As an educator, Melinda earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Scranton and has experience teaching all ages, preschool to high school. In 2015, Melinda was honored with the ARMY Hoops Hysteria Leadership Award and the Jostens Renaissance Educator of the Year. She earned her Educational Specialist degree in K-12 School Leadership in 2018 while teaching high school English. Since 2019, Melinda has served as a middle school administrator in FCPS, supervising performing arts instruction and productions.
