Melina of Daughters of Rhea

Melina of Daughters of Rhea (Melinda Pavlata), PhD, is a second-generation belly-dance artist, circus performer, choreographer, and writer. She cofounded the Daughters of Rhea Belly Dance Company, Cirque Passion European Family Circus, and the ALS Therapy Development Institute. She directs Moody Street Circus, a belly dance and circus arts studio in Waltham, Massachusetts. Melina was a Ben Franklin Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and an adjunct professor of French literature at Boston College before fully rededicating her life to her family legacy of belly dance and circus arts. She has been featured on 60 Minutes II, National Public Radio’s Marketplace, the New Yorker, and the documentary So Much, So Fast.

• daughtersofrhea.com