About

Melissa “Miss Mo” Allen has been teaching dance and Pilates for over 30 years. A Northern Californian and graduate of the University of California, Berkeley where she studied Martha Graham, Melissa started dancing professionally at age 18 and has held contracts for the NBA, Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey Circus and Harrah’s Casinos and has toured nationally with the Broadway show Saturday Night Fever. Since calling St. Louis her home, Miss Mo has worked as an i-Candy girl at Harrah’s, a member of the Kari James Dance Ensemble, “Mini MoLove” of Rock Steady Heels and as an aerialist for shows at the Pageant and the Fox Theatre. She has produced and performed in shows for the STLFringe Festival and even created the Fringettes, a cheer squad for local theatre. After a 2022 dance trapeze collaboration with Leverage Dance, Mo returned to the stage in summer 2023 as Leading Player in Pippin at COCA.

Melissa studied the work of Joseph Pilates under Elizabeth Larkam with Balanced Body and has experience with Feldenkrais, Alexander, Limon, Graham and Horton Dance and movement techniques. She has been teaching Pilates since 1999, managing studios in San Francisco and Las Vegas and St. Louis. After taking a break to raise five kids, she’s back to cultivate a safe space for learning about the body-mind-spirit connection. Because she has over 35 years of teaching experience in dance and Pilates, Melissa has a discerning eye; especially when it comes to anatomy, technique, musicality and presence. This is tempered with radical acceptance of injuries, imbalances and compensation patterns. She finished massage therapy school at the Healing Arts Center, studying under Tom Tessereau in 2008. She most recently completed her license to teach Zumba and has no hang-ups or snobbery when it comes to getting the blood flowing but will not hesitate to offer proper alignment, safe pathways and optimal expression for efficiency and style. She has recently completed a certification in Neurokinetic Therapy and is excited to apply recent breakthroughs in neuroscience to Pilates and dance. You’ll find her every Tuesday teaching Cardio Dance at Yes Honey in the Grove and Friday Pilates Mat at Central Studio. Starting her GYROTONIC journey with Anne Thomason has fulfilled a long-time dream and has helped Melissa prepare for, and recover from, breast cancer in 2025. Melissa practices radical acceptance of each person and body in her classes and just wants to move with joy.