Melody Gabrielle
Melody has always been a dancer. According to her mother, Melody danced before she could walk, and she even danced in the womb. She began dance classes in ballet, tap, and jazz when she was four years old. By age six Melody focused her training primarily in ballet. She danced in Metropolitan Ballet Company of Wichita 1991-1994. She also attended a workshop with David Howard of New York.
In high school Melody turned her attention to musical studies, but she never lost interest in dance. She studied voice under Tacey Grey and later Deborah Baxtor, PhD. of Wichita State University. Melody has lead worship in both praise bands and choirs since an early age. Her training in music has been indispensable to her dancing. She has always intuitively felt that a dancer must be an extension of the music.
In 2004-2006 Melody was the musical director of a student praise band at Saint Paul's Newman Center at Wichita State University. It was here that she encountered many students her own age, particularly from other countries such as Africa, Brazil, and India, who craved an emotionally creative worship experience involving both music and movement. It was this work with these wonderful friends that paved the way for Melody's interest in liturgical/sacred dance
In college Melody's academic interests in anthropology and history, as well as fond memories of dancing the Arabian chorus in the Nutcracker, led to her discovery of belly dance. Melody began belly dance in 2003. She has studied with Dona Baba, Safira Zeki, and Maya Zahira. She has also attended numerous workshops with noted dancers such as Elena Lentini, Angelika Nemeth, Azziza, and Elizabeth Artemis Mourat. Melody is currently studying under Zada Al Gaziyeh and dances with Raghsidad dance company. In the future Melody wants to continue to explore dance creatively, and academically, while technically expanding her knowledge of ethnic dances to include various African, Polynesian, and Latin forms
Recently Melody has also discovered sacred/liturgical dance. She has participated in sacred dance workshops with Keri Sutter of Surgite dance company, and she is currently leading a sacred dance ministry at Saint Margaret's Episcopal Church of Lawrence, KS. She also enjoys dancing at drum circles and other spiritually related dance events. In her opinion dance and the body itself has suffered tremendous spiritual attach in western culture in modern times. Despite this fact she believes that people are hungry for the physical experiences of the spiritual which can be found in dance and the healing that ultimately occurs when body, mind, soul, and spirit are integrated in worship via dance.
Although Melody has had a great deal of dance training, she feels that it is her calling to reach out to the dancers without training or even the dancers that would not traditionally be called dancers. She believes dance is intimately connected with life. Dance is defined as rhythmic movement. If you listen to your body, you discover that the body is all about rhythm. The heart beat and the steady inhale and exhale of the breath are the basic rhythms of life, and in this rhythm we live and move and have our being. In other words, if you're alive you're moving to the rhythms of the body, and if you're moving in rhythm you're dancing. Life is dance. We are all dancers. Melody's life pursuit is to share her knowledge of the mystical power of dance which heals, inspires, and enlightens. She hopes that her efforts will allow individuals to cultivate their own mystical dance experiences as both spectators and performers.
Melody holds a Master of Arts from the University of Kansas in religious studies with an emphasis on sacred dances of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wichita State University in anthropology and history with a minor in music. She is also an accomplished lecturer in dance related topics. Melody has also authored several academic papers on various dance subjects.