Melissa Miller Fleming opened the Dance Mechanix School of Dance in 2002. She began her dance training at age of three and has been teaching dance for over 20 years.  She received her dance training primarily in the New England area and continues to study dance in Boston and New York. She is knowledgeable in many forms of dance including tap, jazz, lyrical, and ballet. She is recognized by Dance Teacher Magazine for participating and completing their Dance Teacher Workshop and continues to participate in similar workshops throughout New England.

Melissa has received training in the field of early childhood education. She earned her Bachelor's of Applied Science in Nursing and presently works as the school nurse for the Southern Worcester County Educational Collaborative.

Some of Melissa’s accomplishments include performing with the Worcester Ballet Society for two consecutive years in their productions of “The Dream” and “Gershwin”, working as the assistant Performing Arts Director at Sheppherd Hill High School for three consecutive years, and choreographing for area performing arts companies.

Melissa devotes herself to teaching children the art of dance. In her classroom, children learn how to express themselves through movement and at the same time, develop an everlasting appreciation for the art form.  

Nicole Rizzo began dancing at the age of four.  She received her dance training locally, competing in both regional and national level dance competitions.  During this time, Nicole received many high score awards, cash prizes and special awards for both group and specialty numbers.  She also participated in many master-level classes and workshops, taught by some of the most renowned instructors of the time.  Nicole earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education from Elms College in 1997 and her Master of Arts in Teaching in 2000.   She has taught in both Catholic and public schools at the elementary level. 

Nicole teaches all levels and types of dance at the studio.  At the dance studio, Nicole hopes to instill a love of dance and commitment in her students.  It is her hope that the girls have fun as they strive to become the best dancers that they can be.  Nicole is the mother of three-year-old Ariana who dances in the Kinderdance class at the studio.

Jenn Shea has been teaching at DMX for five years.  She has studied all  styles of dance since age three.  During her years of competition, she won various awards and medals in both Regional and National competitions.  She attended  Fairfield University where she was the President of the Dance Ensemble and continued to dance and teach.  During college, she took courses in modern dance  and also taught at a local studio.  Jenn has taken classes at Broadway Dance Center and attended workshops in New York City.  She now enjoys teaching modern, jazz, tap, and lyric to the DMX dancers.  

Jenn has a degree in Business Management with a concentration in Human  Resources and she currently works as the Human Resources Coordinator at Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple, P.C. in Worcester, MA.  Jenn has passed her love for dance on to her goddaughter, Alyssa, and hopes that she will continue the legend.

Ashley Massey began dancing at the age of three. She was an award  winning dancer in numerous solo and group routines at regional and national dance competitions. At a young age, Ashley began performing with the Albany Berkshire Ballet.Later, she performed in the opening number of the 75th Macy’s  Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Ashley’s professional studies include a BFA in Dance Pedagogy from the University of Hartford’s Hartt School, under the direction of Peggy Lyman and Dennis Price. While at the Hartt School, Ashley studied on talent scholarship with  such dance professionals as Peggy Lyman, Katie Stevinson-Nollet, Adam Miller,  Peter O’Brien, Scott Rink, Amy Marshall, Joyce Herring, and James Robey. She also performed in numerous works by Alla Nikitina, Dennis Price, and Jean- Grande Maitre.

Ashley teaches ballet, pointe, and modern at the studio and is excited to be a part of Dance  Mechanix School of Dance. In addition to her classes at Dance Mechanix, Ashley also teaches various styles of dance at the Patti Morris Dance Unlimited. Ashley is also responsible for bringing dance into the Millbury Public Schools aftercare program.

Currently, Ashley dances with Fusionworks, a professional modern dance company in Rhode Island. She also continues her studies of dance in New York City and attends workshops and auditions throughout the New England area.

Danielle Shaw has been taking dance since the young age of 2. She has studied in ballet, pointe, lyric, contemporary/modern, tap, jazz, musical theatre, and hip hop. Danielle competed for many years on regional and national levels, winning many high scores and special judges awards. After dancing competitively she went on to dance professionally for the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA for 2 years. It was through this opportunity that she was able to dance for the Celtics during half times and various time outs within the games.

At Salve Regina University, she was part of dance team and company. In the SRU Dance company she had the privilege of studying under Lindsey Craven. Danielle also choreographed for the dance team. Danielle is currently a student at the College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Ma where she is an English major. She continues studying dance and taking part in teacher workshops. Danielle is absolutely thrilled to be a part of the Dance Mechanix studio and looks forward to sharing her love of dance with her students.
 

Alicia Majeau has been studying dance since the age of three. She began studying with Melissa in 1998 and began her teacher training in 2001.Throughout her years of dance, Alicia has participated in many dance workshops and taken classes with choreographers such as Dan Karate, Mike Minnery and Stepp Stewert, as well as classes at the Boston Ballet. She has also studied and performed in both theatre and music.

Alicia is a PLATINUM award winning soloist and has won multiple judges' choice awards and titles at local dance competitions. Since choreographing her first dance in 2003, Alicia continues to enjoy choreographing as well as teaching. A member of the Class of 2008 at Shepherd Hill Regional High School, she is currently ranked number one in her class. She looks forward to continuing her dance education through high school and beyond.