Classic Melodies
Performance Institute
Meet the Team
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Contemporary. Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet
Melodie Stacy is a graduate of the University of Louisville, with a B.A. in Communications, Vocal Performances & Theater. She has trained with world renowned vocal instructor Ray Holcomb and Actors Theater Casting Director Zan Sawyer Dailey. She has also received training from the Chicago Improv Troupe as well as the incredible collegiate staff of the University of Louisville. Melodie has been teaching and coaching voice and drama for 18 years. She has taught at numerous vocal and dance studios throughout the Kentuciana area and directed at The Kentucky Center for the Arts with Louisville Repertory Company. Melodie has taken students to NYC and performed Off-Broadway, placed students in top colleges throughout the U.S. including Pointe Park, Otterbien, Roosevelt, Stephens, Northern Kentucky and Wright State just to name a few. 100% of Melodie's graduating seniors have gone on to further and better their lives and careers past the high school level. Melodie began the musical theater department 14 years ago and since then has directed students at the U of l Playhouse, Kentucky Center for the Arts, Spalding University, the Cliffton Center, and on Theatre Row in New York City. Melodie opened the Mizell Theater, Classic Melodies Black Box Theater, in 2005. Since then she has produced and directed dinner theater shows at our own theater. She teaches students the value of the full theater experience and makes sure that they are well prepared from the tiniest of performers, to the most advanced, to rise to their fullest potential. She has had performers win unlimited vocal titles, including having students in the second round of American Idol, Kentuciana Idol finalist, and Coca Cola Talent Top 5. She focuses on the student as a performer and as a person with all of the talents that God has given them personally and professionally. She hires the best teachers with the highest credentials and is very selective in the teachers and people who are brought in to work with America's future leaders and performers. The school has a hiring policy second to none. You will find no better or more highly qualified instructors in this area because she will not sacrifice quality for quantity.
Melodie Stacy
Contemporary. Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet
Bill Stacy is the Owner and Technical Director of Classic Melodies Performance Institute. He graduated from UofL with his Bachelors Degree and went on to open the studio which is in it's 26th season, as well as coach at different schools and colleges. He has been building & designing the sets here at Classic Melodies as well as designing light, sound and building our in house Black-box Theatre. He has teaches acting class here at CMPI in addition to tech in theatre. He conceives of and builds every set you see in our shows as well as running the lights and sound. In addition to being the technical director here at CMPI for the last 25 years, he is also the technical director and teaches the tech program at Anchorage Public School.
Bill Stacy
Contemporary. Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet
SIERRA STACY (Dance Director/Top Note Choreographer) - graduated with her BFA in Acting/MT emphasis from Wright State University and now lives in NYC where she teaches, choreographs and performs. She is a Louisville local who graduated from YPAS as a vocal major/musical theatre minor. She has greatly enjoyed crafting the syllabus for all levels of dance and setting choreography on Top Note. She loved her time at CMPI and values the training she received there growing up. She is beyond thrilled to be able to share some of what she has learned with the current CMPI student. She has worked Off-Broadway and at regional theatre's around the country. In Louisville you may have seen her at Derby Dinner Playhouse, or at Stage One Family Theatre. Some of her favorite roles include Sarah Brown,Guys & Dolls, Flaemmchen GRAND HOTEL, Cinderella INTO THE WOODS, Roxie CHICAGO, Meg LITTLE WOMEN among others. Sierra enjoys the opportunity to pass on her passion for the theatre to the next generation of artists. Dream big and then train to make those dreams a reality! www.sierrastacy.com
Sierra Stacy
Contemporary. Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet
We are excited to welcome Cynthia Bronner to our Faculty as a Master Ballet Instructor! She was the Co-Director of the University of Louisville Dance Academy and Dance Theatre. Cynthia taught in the Academy full-time beginning in 1980. She holds an M. A. in dance from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Louisville.
Some of her former student’s achievements include: Wendy Whelan, who was named the assistant artistic director of the New York City Ballet. Clinton Luckett, another former student, was named assistant artistic director of American Ballet Theatre in 2016. Suzanne Wilham, another former student, was the associate director of the Jubilee in Las Vegas. Former students have danced with American Ballet Theatre, the American Repertory Theatre, Complexions, the Dallas/Fort Worth Ballet, the Eugene Ballet/Ballet Idaho, Dance Kaleidoscope, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, the Louisville Ballet, Miami City Ballet, the Nashville Ballet, the New Jersey Ballet, the New York City Ballet and the San Diego Ballet. She has had students attend Alvin Ailey School, the School for the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, the Dance Theatre of Harlem School, the Harid Conservatory, the Houston Ballet Academy, the Joffrey Ballet School, the National Ballet of Canada School, the Orlando Ballet School, the Pacific Northwest Ballet School, the Pennsylvania Ballet School, the Rock School, the Royal Academy of Dance (the school for the Royal Ballet in London), the Royal Winnipeg School, the School of American Ballet (the school for the New York City Ballet), the San Francisco Ballet School and Walnut Hill. We are excited she has chosen CMPI to continue her teaching
Cynthia Bronner
Contemporary. Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet
Kendra has been studying performing arts since she was a young child and is excited to be able to make a career out of her true passion. She has a Bachelors Degree of Science in Theater and a Bachelors in English from the Universtity of Louisville. She has had the opportunity to train with a vocal coach from the New York Metropolitan Opera. She finds great joy in teaching and sharing her knowledge to students. she loves watching them grow as performers. She has performed at CMPI with Top Note Sr. Musical Theater and most recently the production of "A Midsummers Nights Dream." She has also directed Charolette's Web, Alice in Wonderland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory most recently.
Kendra Potts
Contemporary. Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet
Savanna McFarlan is a college graduate from Jacksonville University class of 2018. She obtained her Bachelors of the Fine Arts in Dance with Magna Cum Laude, Dean’s Honors, and as a member of Alpha Psi Omega Theater and Dance Honors Society Phi Iota Cast. APO helped her branch into the musical theater world choreographing/performing in multiple cabaret fund raisers, Spring Awakening and Children of Eden. During her freshman year she helped start the Sirens dance team for JU and later received a scholarship to attend the Florida Dance Intensive. Along with attending and performing at the American College Dance Festival all 4 years. As a Louisville native, she graduated as Dance Major of the Year from YPAS class of 2014 and trained at the University of Louisville Dance Academy for 10 years.
Savannah
Contemporary. Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet
Mr. Zehnder joined the faculty at Trinity High School in 1991. His list of credits includes touring the world as music director/tour manager/keyboards /vocals for 60’s legend “Gary Lewis and the Playboys” and was music director, keyboardist and vocalist with Louisville’s own Monarchs for 31 years. Mr. Zehnder has performed off-Broadway in the role of Mr. Mushnik in “Little Shop of Horrors” and aboard the Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship as he does every year with major cruise lines & fellow headliners from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. John is the former music director of the International Championship Louisville Thoroughbred Chorus. He was the concertmaster Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly! Liberace in Concert, Eddie Arnold in Concert and keyboardist for Bowser from Sha Na Na
Eddie Mecca (Carmine) from “Laverne and Shirley”, recording artist Eddie Holman, Ron Dante of the Archies, Dennis Tufano of The Buckinghams and Sonny Geraci of Climax, Billy J. Kramer and Gary U.S. Bonds. A graduate of Kentucky Country Day. He attended the University of Louisville School of Music. Mr. Zehnder was a member of the Louisville Orchestra Board of Directors. He graduated from the Kentucky Police Academy in 1999. In Mr. Zehnder’s spare time he owns and operates Louisville Model Shots, a professional digital photography/videography/photobooth studio with his wife, Shannon
John Zehnder
Contemporary. Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet
Miss Nakoma is thrilled to have her students back on stage! She has been dancing for nearly 20 years and is ready for the next 20. Miss Nakoma has trained and performed with the University of Louisville Dance Academy, the Youth Performing Arts School, University of Kentucky Department of Dance, University of Kentucky Opera Theatre, the Louisville Ballet School, and Waterworks Dance Theater. Merde to all the young artists on stage!
Nakoma
Contemporary. Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet
Christina is an adjunct voice instructor at Bellarmine University as well as an
independent teaching artist and church musician in Louisville, KY. She earned a
master’s degree in Kodály music education in 2018 and a master’s degree in vocal
performance in 2019. As a performer, she made her international debut as a
soprano soloist for performances of Vivaldi’s Gloria in D and J.S. Bach’s
Magnificat in D in Costa Rica and has been the soprano soloist in Mozart’s
Requiem in D Minor and other masses and oratorios. She has been seen as a
Storyteller/Mama Euralie understudy in Actors Theatre of Louisville’s production
of Once on This Island, directed by Robert Barry Fleming. Other roles include
Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Veronique in Le Docteur Miracle, and others. She
has been a guest teaching artist with Kentucky Opera and featured on several other
masterclasses, theatre camps, and teaching workshops. She believes that everyone
should be able to enjoy music and the art of singing and is happy to be able to
provide a safe space for her students to explore, discover, and develop their singing
voices and musicianship skills
Christina Booker
Contemporary. Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet
Shannon began dancing at age 7 at local dance studios. She won her first national title with her tap group, when she was 10. In 1993 Shannon began teaching and choreographing her own classes. She has since produced many award winning routines. Shannon was a dance major at The Youth Performing Arts School and is working towards her Psychology degree at the University of Louisville. She is very busy these days with her 2 beautiful children, Tristen & Kolby. Shannon also works in the offices of Meeting Challenges.
Adrian Lopez
Contemporary. Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet
Shannon began dancing at age 7 at local dance studios. She won her first national title with her tap group, when she was 10. In 1993 Shannon began teaching and choreographing her own classes. She has since produced many award winning routines. Shannon was a dance major at The Youth Performing Arts School and is working towards her Psychology degree at the University of Louisville. She is very busy these days with her 2 beautiful children, Tristen & Kolby. Shannon also works in the offices of Meeting Challenges.
Lydia Sircy
Contemporary. Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet