When Stephanie Melnick isn’t working in the Admission’s Office or interning for the Pre-College program, you can find her choreographing for her hip-hop dance for MCDE’s spring showcase featuring a mix of songs by Jennifer Lopez and Iggy Azalea.
This is Steph’s fourth semester choreographing at Marist but she has danced since the age of four. Her biggest strength is in ballet, but she has also taken jazz at her hometown studio. After joining MCDE she tried hip hop, and has now choreographed multiple upbeat hip hop dances for the club. One of her favorite dance experiences was when she took a summer dance program with the choreographer for the Radio City Rockettes. They danced at the same studio, and Steph loved learning “actual Rockette choreography and hearing about her experiences.”
However, her inspiration for this semester’s MCDE dance originated from wanting to choreograph a mix of songs for her last semester with the club. She started with “Booty,” a song by both J. Lo and Iggy, and then began brainstorming ideas with a recent Marist alum to find two other songs. The finished product is a mix of three songs including J. Lo’s “Get Right” and Iggy’s “Bounce”.
Steph loves choreographing and says it never seems like work simply because she loves it. However, while choreographing is a lot of fun, it also requires a lot of work. “The most difficult part of choreographing is being able to find the time to choreograph new moves to teach at the next class,” she says. She uses time management in order to balance all she is involved in, including working, interning, acting as President of the Ambassador Program, and concluding her fashion merchandising capping.
Steph always brings her hard work and passion for her dancers each week. Her favorite part of choreographing is having the opportunity to “share something I love with people who are equally passionate about it.” It is easy to see that she loves to have fun in her class and always makes sure her dancers are comfortable with all of the moves before teaching the next part. She says, “It’s also really rewarding to see how your dance comes together at the end of the semester and to thank your dancers for all their hard work and dedication to making the dance so fun and enjoyable to watch.”
When asked, Steph says her favorite MCDE memory would be meeting her friends through the classes. “Without this club, I don’t think I would have as many close friends as I do who love something as much as I do. So many of my friendships have grown and evolved into more than just a ‘dance friendship’ and that’s what I am most grateful for.”
Stephanie looks forward to showing her friends and family what she and the club have been working on all semester. She is “most excited, and also sad, to share in this great experience one last time.”
Throughout her four semesters of choreographing, Stephanie has learned to bring the fun and passion she has for dance into everything she is involved in. “I am definitely going to miss this club and all the wonderful people in it when I graduate!”
It’s not over yet! Come watch Stephanie and her dancers illuminate the stage with their energy and passion on April 18 and 19!
Article and pictures by Daniella Inzerilli
MCDE Behind the Curtain 