Our Company

Our Leadership

Melinda C. Jacques, Studio Director & Artistic Director

Melinda began her dance journey at the age of 13 under the direction of Kathy Thomas. She attended Brenau University on scholarship, where she performed work by and studied under many renowned choreographers and graduated with a B.A. in Dance Studies in 2017. Melinda performed with Refuge Dance Company from 2017-2020 and then in 2020, Melinda co-founded professional Modern dance company, Profectus where she performed and choreographed for 3 seasons. In 2021 Melinda became the owner and director of En Pointe School of Dance and less than a year later in 2022, she founded the school’s pre-professional dance company and competition team, AVODA Dance Company. Melinda is passionate about telling stories through movement and that reflects in all of her choreography. She has been active in the Atlanta dance community for nearly a decade and in that time, has presented work at festivals, such as Fall for Fall, as well as choreographed and presented a successful evening length work, The Fine Line Between the End & the Beginning in early 2023. Melinda now works to give a professional level of performance experience to her Avoda dancers through her choreography and leadership of the company.

Additional Staff & Guest Artists

Nancy Glasscock

Assistant Choreographer
Nancy Glasscock joined us as a choreographer in 2023, collaborating with Melinda C. Jacques for our original ballets, Into the Wardrobe and Circumspect. In 2024, Nancy was promoted to Assistant Choreographer and will be serving the company in this capacity in most of our full length shows. Nancy is a professional performer and teaching artist. She spent 2 years in Modern company, Profectus, and this season is performing with Gwinnett Ballet Theatre.
Riley C. Bryson

Company Instructor
Riley teaches our company dancers on Monday nights and also choreographed our annual Nutcracker Suite, which premiered in 2022. Riley also serves as Artistic Director and dances with Gwinnett Dance Project.
Zoe Otto

Guest Artist
Zoe will be joining us on stage this December as our Dew Drop Fairy in Nutcracker Suite. Zoe is a student on scholarship at Brenau University studying to earn her degree in Dance with a focus on pedagogy.
Jordan Silas

Guest Artist/Pre Company Instructor
Jordan will be joining us dancing the role of Sugar Plum Fairy this December. Jordan is a professional performer and teaching artist. She most recently spent 2 seasons with Profectus and is now a free-lance artist.
Mark Burns

Guest Artist
Mark will be joining us as the Sugar Plum Cavalier for our Nutcracker Suite. Mark has many years of experience in ballet and is a renowned instructor and dancer.
Brendan Lee Morgan

Guest Artist
Jordan will be joining us this year as the cavalier for our Arabian dance in Nutcracker Suite.