Cited as one of “Tap’s Leading Ladies” by Dance Spirit Magazine, Melissa Tannús is a world renowned professional tap dancer, teacher and choreographer from Brazil. In addition to her solo career, Melissa is a member of the Syncopated Ladies, tap dance company worldwide known for their viral videos that reached over 50 million views online and were shared by artists like Beyoncé who shared on both her website and social media.
While in Brazil, Melissa trained at Studio Uai Q Dança and toured the country with the show Partituras as a member of Christiane Matallo’s tap company and the band O Teatro Mágico. Her talent and hard work was quickly noticed by acclaimed teachers such as the Emmy Award nominee Chloe Arnold, the Emmy Award winner Jason Samuels Smith and the Bessie Award Winner Michelle Dorrance, awarding her with scholarships to come train in the United States.
Ever since she moved to the United States, Melissa has been a member of some of the most renowned tap companies in the world such as Tapestry Dance Company, Sarah Reich’s Tap Music Project, Melinda Sullivan Dance Project, Jason Janas’ Co.MMIT, Rhythmic Tap Co. and Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies. She was also chosen to be a part of Universal Studios Hollywood’s weekly tap shows performing for nearly 20 thousand people a day.
Melissa has appeared on television several times including America’s Got Talent, the Late Late show with James Corden, So You Think You Can Dance, as a winner of the Crew Battle with the Syncopated Ladies and many other news shows such as Good Day LA and DC. She was also featured in articles on the New York Times, LA Times, DanceSpirit Magazine, Dance Magazine and also in various important websites such as the Huffington Post, Elite Daily, The Cosmopolitan, Elle, Self, MTV News and many more. Furthermore, Melissa was also featured on Visa’s Online Commercial “What’s Stopping You From Achieving Your Goals”.
Along with her extensive performance credits, Melissa has choreographed for the profes- sional adult tap company Footnotes Tap Ensemble and directed the adult multiform dance company Tapestry Too. In addition, Melissa was invited to and taught at several studios and tap festivals all over Brazil and the United States such as Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Millennium Dance Complex (LA), Pineapple Dance Studio (London), Sydney Tap Fest (Australia), Academia Tap Jazz Center (Chile), University of East Anglia (Norwich), DC Tap Fest, Portland Tap Festival, Las Vegas Tap Fest, Tap in Rio (BRA), Tap Week Brasil, Footprints Tap Jam the Syncopated Ladies Bootcamp (LA, NY, CHI, BRA) and many others.
Melissa continues to be passionate about tap dancing and aims to take her love for her art form and for her Brazilian culture all over the world, inspiring young dancers to go after their dreams, like she did.
Who are you, and why do you support O’Mara Sprung Floors?
I’m Melissa Tannús, a professional tap dancer from Brazil and I support O’mara Sprung Floors because it’s the best flooring in the market for dancers, specially tap dancers.
What do you love?
I love tap dancing, cooking, traveling, going to the beach, playing the guitar, watching my favorite movies and TV shows and listening to all genres of music.
Why do you dance?
I dance to express the feelings I can’t put into words through movement and sound. Tap dance is my true passion and my way of communicating and connecting to the people and the world around me.
Why do you choose to dance on O’Mara Sprung Floors?
I choose to dance on O’Mara Sprung Floors because as a tap dancer, it’s important for me to dance on resilient floors that produce a loud and clean sound and at the same time absorbs all the impact in order to protect my body from possible injuries. O’Mara Sprung Floors produces the best floors in the market, and I’m thankful I get to represent such an excellent brand.
How would you like the world to know you?
I’d like the world to know me as a Brazilian tap dancer that represented her country well in the dance scene worldwide and at the same time contributed to the growth and popularization of tap in Brazil.
Career highlights thus far:
Syncopated Ladies, So You Think You Can Dance, Universal Studios Hollywood, Late Late Show with James Corden, America’s Got Talent.
Hometown:
A city called Uberlândia, in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil.
Current Home Base:
Los Angeles, CA
Where have you come from?
I was a little girl from a small city in Brazil who always believed very strongly that all of her dreams would come true, and never took no for an answer. After a lot of hard work and dedication, I am extremely fortunate to be living many of my dreams today.
Where are you headed?
I want to be a bridge between Brazil and the rest of the world when it comes to tap. I want to take to Brazil the traditional aspects of tap dancing like dancing to jazz, and tap history, for example. At the same time, I want to bring to the the world the joy, the passion for dancing and the rich culture we have in Brazil. I want to be able to travel the world teaching, performing and sharing this love I have for tap dancing, and that’s where I’m headed.