Matt Lopez & Melissa Ramos

Matt Lopez

Matt Lopez first started dancing at the age of 10, performing for a Filipino dance troupe in New Hampshire. He attended Northeastern University in Boston majoring in theatre and later transferred to the University of Central Florida. While in Florida, Matt performed at Walt Disney World and had the opportunity to perform with Hillary Duff in the Christmas Day Parade televised on ABC.

Upon graduating from Central Florida, Matt landed a job as the mascot for the New England Patriots. In the spring of 2010, he was featured in the Go-Go Segment on “Live with Regis and Kelly.” His other notable past stage/television performances include dancing for Sean Kingston and Wyclef Jean on a kids programming show on PBS, as well as for Demi Lovato on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Matt now lives in New York City where he is dancing and choreographing with his partner, Melissa Ramos-Lopez, who previously danced for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets. In April 2012, Lopez was the audition facilitator for a Nicki Minaj performance and chosen as a lead dancer in Times Square for the debut of her album, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.” Matt is currently a choreographer for the cheerleaders of the five-time Super Bowl Champions, the New England Patriots. He has also choreographed for the pre-game performance at Madison Square Garden for the New York Knicks and for R&B/Pop artist, Sid Haywoode, whose song, “No Excuses” was #6 on Europe’s dance hit chart.

Lopez has taught hip hop/funk master classes across the United States and abroad in the Philippines, Japan, Colombia, Israel, Canada and the United Kingdom. In 2015, he was selected as one of the Top 12 Dance Convention Teachers in the U.S. by Dance Informa Magazine. Lopez currently teaches for group services at Broadway Dance Center and is teaching hip hop and street jazz on faculty at Steps on Broadway, Sarah Lawrence College, Dalton School, NY Film Academy and Wagner College.

Melissa Ramos

Born and raised in New York City, Melissa began her dance training at the age of 15 at Ballet Hispanico where she trained extensively in ballet, jazz and modern dance on scholarship for over two years. In the summer of 2008, she joined the Young Dance Makers Company, based in NYC, where she was given the opportunity to choreograph and perform in different venues and landmarks around the city.

Wanting to further her training she went on to study at Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center. While exploring different styles of dance she developed a great passion for hip hop and commercial street styles and began working with teacher/choreographer Matt Lopez. Working together has expanded her performance opportunities, creating flash mobs around the city to create awareness for various issues in society, shooting how-to-videos for Howcast.com as well as being part of various NYC showcases including the Steps Faculty Show.

In 2012, Melissa became a company member of the Pointillism Jazz Consort based in Ohio where she performed ballet, jazz and hip hop in a modern version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” In 2015, Melissa joined NBA’s finest dance team, the “Brooklynettes.” While being on the team she had the opportunity to model for the team’s calendar shoot in Barbados as well as represent the team for the “Watch Me Work Tour” in Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina and Chile. During the tour she had the privilege to teach dance clinics and speak to teenagers along with other panelists to inspire them and share her knowledge of dance.

Melissa enjoys teaching and choreographing hip hop and jazz for teens at Center Stage Dance and Theatre School as well as Beyond Dance based in New Jersey. She has taught at Broadway Dance Centers’ Children and Team Program, the American Musical Dramatic Academy and is also a regular substitute dance instructor for the musical theatre department at the New York Film Academy. With her partner, Matt Lopez she continues to co-teach and choreograph for competition teams in New Jersey and NYC as well as abroad in countries such as Colombia and England. This summer they are very excited to be choreographing for the New England Patriots Cheerleaders!