Melissa Panton’s passion for the performing arts led to a career as a performer, instructor, and choreographer. She began as a highland dancer at the age of three in her native Vancouver, B.C, and later moved on to jazz, lyrical, ballet, stage, and acting, with a specialization in hiphop and urban dance. Melissa’s professional career has enabled her to travel extensively across the world to perform and train. She currently resides in Toronto, Ontario.
Some of Melissa’s performance highlights include Repo! The Genetic Opera, Grey Gardens, Silent Hill, White Chicks, Shall We Dance, and Cheetah Girls working alongside some of Hollywood’s hottest stars such as Jennifer Lopes, Richard Gere, the Wayans brothers, Paris Hilton, and Drew Barrymore. She has also danced with some of North America’s leading recording artists- Shaggy, Grandmaster Flash, Ja Rule, 3LW, Hillary Duff, and Michael Buble on stage and screen. One of Melissa’s most fortunate experiences was to tour through Europe and the Middle East for two Canadian Forces show tours with Operation Apollo and Athena.
Currently, Melissa is focusing on choreography as half of the partnership “Mel & Chanti” with partner Chantelle Leonardo. Together they have worked with such artists as Cascada, Sam Roberts, Misstress Barbara, Shawn Desman, Dragonette, H-Boogie, George, Danny Fernandes, and Raven Symone. Their choreography can be seen on the TV shows Get Up ‘N Move, Life With Derek, Overruled!, Pop It! and The Listener, and commercials for Joe Fresh, Zantac, Virgin Mobile, and Bally’s Fitness. Melissa was also the choreographer for the CFL’s BC Lions Dance Team, and has extensive experience working with several professional dance teams including the Toronto Raptors, Vancouver Grizzlies, and NLL Vancouver Ravens. Most recently, Mel & Chanti choreographed a new video called “Pyromania” for recording artist Cascada, and are working on Family Channel’s new TV program “Baxter”.
Although a performer at heart, Melissa has always had an interest in the business side of entertainment. While building credits as a choreographer in Toronto, she began studying Arts Administration at Humber College, and gathering experience in production, casting, and stage management. She soon joined the team at da Costa Talent Management, where she now consults for the Youth and Urban Dance Divisions. She is also the director of administration for Groove Street Productions national dance conventions, and a faculty member of their all-hiphop convention “Street Groove”. She enjoys teaching workshops and adjudicating internationally, and has worked on the panel for the Hiphop Dance Canada Championships, for Skate Canada, George Brown College, OIP Dance Centre in Toronto, and Harbour Dance in Vancouver. Melissa has established a solid reputation in Canada’s strong dance community, instilling her knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm in all of her work.