Our Instructors

Owner/Director since 2021

Melinda grew up in the small town of Maysville, Georgia and began dancing at the age of thirteen under the direction of Kathy Thomas-Law, the founder of the original En Pointe School of Dance. Melinda attended Brenau University on scholarship and graduated with a B.A. in Dance Studies and a minor in Small Business Management in 2017. Upon graduation, Melinda moved to Atlanta and began teaching at En Pointe while also dancing and choreographing professionally. She as performed in and choreographed for several local festivals and companies. Notably, Melinda produced the full length professional performance of her original 2-act Modern dance show titled, The Fine Line Between the End & the Beginning, which premiered in late 2022. Melinda became the owner of En Pointe in May of 2021. Since then, Melinda has over doubled the student count since her first year as owner, added Acrobatics to En Pointe’s offerings, and added our Company division and Competition team, Avoda Dance Company. Melinda strives to train the next generation of dancers, while focusing on each child as a whole, prioritizing their health and well-being, as well as their dance technique.

AVODA Competition Team Director since 2022 & Instructor since 2016

Danielle is a native of Upstate New York and relocated to Georgia in 2013. Her dance training began at Betty Jean's Dance Studio at the age of 3 where she studied Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Baton. By age 12, although she loved all styles of dance, she began to focus more on Tap and Jazz. Needing to broaden her horizons, she began training at Encore Dance Center, where she auditioned for their competition team. She became a member of the competition team and performed competitively for 5 years. Throughout the 5 years she took home numerous high level awards in group and solo performances, on both a regional and national level. After graduating high school, Danielle studied with Steffi Nossen Dance Company and performed with Dutchess Performing Arts Ensemble. She attended Berkeley College where she studied Accounting.

Instructor since 2019

A Lawrenceville native, Riley trained in classical Ballet, Modern, Tap, Jazz, and Contemporary since early childhood at The Studio School of the Arts. She joined the Northeast Atlanta Ballet under Jennifer Gordon, where she performed numerous principle and soloist roles in full length ballets. After high school, Riley joined the Nashville Ballet’s professional training division. A lover of contemporary dance, she attended the Alonzo King’s LINES Contemporary Ballet Discovery Project as well as the Summer Intensive on scholarship. Riley currently dances and choreographs professionally in metro Atlanta and surrounding areas. Performing credits include Bluebird Uncaged’s Uncaged Christmas, DanceATHENS, and Fulton County’s Dance In The Round. Most recently, Riley founded Gwinnett Dance Project in 2019 and serves as the Artistic Director.

AVODA Dance Company Assistant Choreographer since 2024 and Instructor since 2021

Nancy Glasscock began dancing at the age of ten, under the instruction of Lori Barrett, former owner of North Georgia School of Dance. In 2014 Nancy became a member of Praise in Motion, and in 2016 began training at it’s adjoining studio, En Pointe School of Dance, under the direction of Kathy Thomas-Law. As a member of Praise in Motion, she has performed and served across North Georgia and into Alabama. Since 2013, Nancy has spent her summers training at camps and audition only intensives with various companies, including the Atlanta Ballet, Joffrey Ballet School (South & NYC), International Ballet Intensive, Hosanna School of the Arts, and the American Ballet Theatre. The majority of which she attended on talent-based scholarships. Over the years, she has trained in Ballet/Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Character, Musical Theatre, and Hip-Hop. Nancy has since begun teaching and dancing professionally in the Atlanta area. Nancy spent two years dancing for Profectus from 2021-2023. Most recently, she has joined Gwinnett Ballet Theater for the 2023-2024 season. As Nancy works to further her career as a dancer and teacher she strives to use the knowledge and training that she has received to foster and mentor the technique and lives of the next generation.

Instructor Since 2023

Jordan Silas graduated from Kennesaw State University in 2019 where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a concentration in Ballet. During her time at KSU, she performed soloist roles in works by McCree O’Kelley (2016, 2018), Martha Goodman (2017) and Thang Dao (2019). She was also selected for the opportunity to study abroad on scholarship at the Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv, Israel. In addition to Batsheva, she has had the privilege of training at Atlanta Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre. Jordan has been teaching, choreographing, and dancing professionally in the Atlanta area for 5 years now, most recently with Profectus Dance Company. She is so excited to be joining such a positive and loving environment at En Pointe School of Dance!

Instructor Since 2023 & AVODA Competition Team Assistant Choreographer since 2024

Zoe Otto began dancing at the age of 6 under the instruction of Lori Barret, former owner of North Georgia School of Dance. In 2015, she became a company member with Praise in Motion and later became a dancer at En Pointe School of Dance under the instruction of Kathy Thomas-Law. Zoe is currently enrolled at Brenau University where she received a talent and academic based scholarship. She is working towards her B.A in Dance with a concentration in Pedagogy. During this past year Zoe has been able to focus on finding opportunities to further her experience regarding teaching. Zoe is passionate about helping young children find there passion for dance and is excited to further career and see them grow.

Instructor since 2024

Hayley McKinnon is a graduate of Belmont Abbey. She graduated with a degree in Educational Studies and minored in Dance Pedagogy. She now works as a Theology teacher at St. Pius X Catholic Highschool, when she is not in the studio. She has been dancing all her life and did all of her training with the Northeast Atlanta Ballet in Lilburn, Georgia where she participated in many shows such as; The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and more. She has experience in many different genres of dance such as; ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, tap, African, and musical theater. Hayley has been dancing professionally with the Gwinnett Dance Project for five years now and has served on the board for four years. She is currently named Vice President and has choreographed many pieces for the company. She is so excited to share her love of dance with younger students.