About Canopy: Staff

Executive Director

Melissa Roberts

Melissa Roberts is the Director of Canopy Studio, a non-profit aerial arts center located in Athens, Georgia. She teaches adult, teen and kids’ trapeze, fabric and lyra at Canopy. Annually, she directs five large-scale productions and several smaller shows at the studio. She has over 30 years of movement training—starting with gymnastics and dance at an early age. She continues to train in many U.S. Circus Schools including the New England Center for Circus Arts, the San Francisco School of Circus Arts, NYC's Trapeze Loft, Cirque School LA, and the Boulder Circus Center as part of the annual Aerial Dance Festival. After several years of training, she began to perform consistently with Nicole Mermans and Andrea Fors (now at The Dair Project in Atlanta). Through their collaborations, she was able to increase her exposure to different equipment and speciality partner choreography. Over the years, she has continued to bring an interest in invented appartus to the Repertory Company.Her particular specialties include the dance trapeze, spanish web, fabrics, lyra, aerial cube, steel chain, three-dimensional triangle and a seven foot rectangle. She performs in several venues in the Southeast, but mostly enjoys opportunities to collaborate with modern dancers and musicians in the local Athens community. As the studio director, she is commited first and foremost to teaching and outreach that reflects Canopy's mission.

When she’s not directing and teaching at Canopy, Melissa is an Adjunct Professor with the College of Environment and Design at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on community design, cemetery interpretation and historic resource assessment. She enjoys running, gymnastics, cemetery documentation and spending time with friends and family. When traveling, she attempts to takes contortion classes… and shops to increase her platform footwear collection.

Outreach and Children's Programming Coordinator

Ann Lily Woodruff

Ann Lily Woodruff is the Outreach and Children's Programming Coordinator at Canopy Studio. She began taking trapeze classes in 2000 with Susan Murphy, since then she continued the never ending journey into aerial dance as a student, teacher, and performer. Ann has taught Middle School Special Education outside of Boston and Atlanta, but has returned to Athens and now teaches several children's trapeze classes every week. Ann's perfect meal of glitter cupcakes would be eaten on the beach while wearing sequin tutus, but she is happiest in air.

Volunteer Coordinator and Office Assistant

Vince Walzberg

New on the scene with just a year of aerial work under his belt, Vince is happy to be a part of the amazing family of artists and performers that is Canopy. He found his way to circus arts through juggling when he first came to Athens from California in 2009. He got started with the UGA juggling club, Neverthriving. Under Neverthriving he was introduced Poi (the art of fire spinning) and managed to find his way to Canopy Studio as well. He is now teaching kids classes, providing office support, and volunteer coordination at Canopy. He is deemed "the keeper of the crazy". In his spare time he helps run the local fire spinning group, Pyrokinetics as well as has his hands in a few things around town. He greatly enjoys teaching and sharing his passion for circus arts, both aerial and flaming, and is happy to support Canopy in all of it's amazing endeavors and daring adventures.

Additional Staff

Canopy's additional teachers include:

• Emily Pitts
• Regenia Abbott
• Amy Schmidt
• Holly Blanchard
• Eleanor Kuntz
• Megan Dunn
• Laura Conroy
• Micki Waldrip
• Amber Jarrard