Our Company

Our Leadership

Melinda C. Jacques, Studio Director & Artistic Director

Melinda began her dance journey at the age of 13 under the direction of Kathy Thomas. She attended Brenau University on scholarship, where she performed work by and studied under many renowned choreographers and graduated with a B.A. in Dance Studies in 2017. Melinda performed with Refuge Dance Company from 2017-2020 and then in 2020, Melinda co-founded professional Modern dance company, Profectus where she performed and choreographed for 3 seasons. In 2021 Melinda became the owner and director of En Pointe School of Dance and less than a year later in 2022, she founded the school’s pre-professional dance company and competition team, AVODA Dance Company. Melinda is passionate about telling stories through movement and that reflects in all of her choreography. She has been active in the Atlanta dance community for nearly a decade and in that time, has presented work at festivals, such as Fall for Fall, as well as choreographed and presented a successful evening length work, The Fine Line Between the End & the Beginning in early 2023. Melinda now works to give a professional level of performance experience to her Avoda dancers through her choreography and leadership of the company.

Additional Staff & Guest Artists

Nancy Glasscock

Assistant Choreographer
Nancy Glasscock joined us as a choreographer in 2023, collaborating with Melinda C. Jacques for our original ballets, Into the Wardrobe and Circumspect. In 2024, Nancy was promoted to Assistant Choreographer and will be serving the company in this capacity in most of our full length shows. Nancy is a professional performer and teaching artist. She spent 2 years in Modern company, Profectus, and this season is performing with Gwinnett Ballet Theatre.
Jordan Silas

Pre Company Instructor
Jordan joined the teaching staff at En Pointe in 2023 and has since become the lead instructor for our Pre Company level. Jordan has over two decads of experience in Ballet. She has danced several lead roles, including the iconic Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Most recently, she also has earned her PBT certification, which is a special cross training program for Ballet dancers. She now cross trains our Pre Company and Company dancers.
Zoe Otto

Interim Competition Team Director
Zoe joined Avoda's staff as assistant choreographer for the team in 2023. Zoe is graduating from Brenau University in 2026, where she has attended on scholarship, studying to earn her degree in Dance with a focus on pedagogy. Zoe has been teaching and choreographing since 2021. She has traveled the world to study dance, including attending the Staibdance in Italy Summer Intensive in 2024. Through that and Brenau, she has vast experience with contemporary dance. She is a new and fresh voice in the the dance community and we are thrilled to have her lead the team as the Interim Competition Team Director for the 2025-2026 season.