Melodie’s Dance Theatre was created in 1977 when Melodie Nay Danley and her mother purchased an existing dance studio. The studio’s original location was in the shopping center on Los Coyotes Diagonal and Wardlow Road in Long Beach.

For most of the first decade, Melodie was the studio’s only dance instructor. In 1987, Melodie’s Dance Theatre moved to its current location in the City of Los Alamitos. Following the move, the teaching staff grew to four teachers and the studio continued its success by winning several “Overall”, “Top Teacher”, and “Top Studio” awards in local competitions.

In 1997, Heidi Santillan-Fong and Kimmi Barnett partnered with Melodie, taking over as studio directors, allowing Melodie to focus on her true love of teaching tap. Heidi and Kimmi have been active in the studio since 1977, starting out as students and later moving on to teaching.

Most recently in January of 2020, the studio ownership changed to a solo ownership by Heidi Santillan-Fong with Kimmi and Melodie remaining as instructors and members of the MDT dance family. The studio has now grown to seven instructors with two assistant instructors.

Melodie’s Dance Theatre is proud to promote a friendly and family-oriented environment which fosters healthy competition and personal growth. We encourage our new students to dance in all of the shows and competitions along with our advanced students. All of our students are given equal opportunity to showcase their talents despite skill level and experience.

We look forward to dancing with you!