Agapé Dance Academy
Agape Dance Academy Scotts Valley Studio, 2800 S. Rodeo Gulch Rd, #C, Soquel, CA 95073
About
Agape Dance Academy offers classical ballet training that includes pre-ballet classes, pointe training, and ballet and pilates instruction. Students take part in dance training, performance, choreography, Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) coaching, and community-based productions. The program describes itself as combining the rigor of classical ballet with the warmth of agapē love.
Melanie Useldinger founded Agape Dance Academy and served as Artistic Director from 2012 to 2025, and she contributes to the broader dance community through choreography, YAGP coaching, and community-based productions. Conrad Useldinger became Director of Agape in 2021 and acquired the studio in 2026, and he has been an active force in the Santa Cruz region’s dance community since returning in 2021. The leadership team includes Conrad as Owner/Director and Melanie as Founder, and the academy is described as the only school in Santa Cruz County focused exclusively on classical ballet training.
The staff includes teachers with extensive training and performance backgrounds. Melanie studied on scholarship with San Francisco Ballet, the Banff School of Fine Arts, and Pennsylvania Ballet, participated in the New York City Ballet Summer Intensive, is deeply versed in Royal Academy of Dance and Vaganova training methodologies, and performed professionally with San Francisco Ballet under Director Michael Smuin, Dance Theatre of Kansas, and San Jose Dance Theatre. Conrad holds an MA in Theatre Practices from Artez Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in the Netherlands, where he received the Artez Scholarship, and a BFA in Dance from Belhaven University in the United States, where he was awarded the Belhaven Dance Scholarship; he studied ballet under Caleb Mitchell, Ravenna Tucker, Laura Morton, and his mother, and has performed with project-based companies including Bal Malhada and Hao Expression, with his works presented at festivals such as Regional Dance America and The Young in Belgium. Anton Pankevic trained at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Russia, the School of American Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet School, danced with New York City Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Royal Ballet of London, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Ballet San Jose, and has worked as a ballet master and guest teacher with English National Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Wiesbaden Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, and Leipzig Ballet.
Additional faculty credentials include PointeSafe certified instructors for pointe training: Hannah Ruvo is PointeSafe certified, and Raina Sacksteder is a certified Pointe Safe Teacher through SF Performing Arts Physical Therapy. Raina attended summer intensives with American Ballet Theatre, Cincinnati Ballet, and LINES Ballet; studied with the dance faculty at Reed College in Portland, Oregon; performed with Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Alma Esperanza Cunningham Movement, eMotion Arts, Tandy Beal & Company, and Move Speak Spin; and taught at Motion Pacific, Elaine’s Dance Studio, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, and the Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center, where she also served as Director of the Youth Ballet Company. Riley Butler teaches ballet and pilates to youth and adults in Santa Cruz County, trained and taught at Santa Cruz Ballet Theater, and is currently studying sociology, computer science, and dance.
In 2024, through Santa Cruz Dance Theater, Conrad founded the Composers’ Forum, a year-round program mentoring a select group of students from the Santa Cruz area in choreographic creation and composition. Families have shared feedback such as a student describing Agape Dance Academy as playing an “incredible role” in forming their confidence, self-esteem, physical health, and character over six years of involvement, and other parents and audience members noting inclusive and supportive studio experiences, well-done performances with choreography, set design, and costumes, and shows such as Swan Lake and Appalachian Spring that moved them to tears and featured dancers who appeared well trained and connected to their instructors.
Last updated July 1, 2026.
Melanie Useldinger founded Agape Dance Academy and served as Artistic Director from 2012 to 2025, and she contributes to the broader dance community through choreography, YAGP coaching, and community-based productions. Conrad Useldinger became Director of Agape in 2021 and acquired the studio in 2026, and he has been an active force in the Santa Cruz region’s dance community since returning in 2021. The leadership team includes Conrad as Owner/Director and Melanie as Founder, and the academy is described as the only school in Santa Cruz County focused exclusively on classical ballet training.
The staff includes teachers with extensive training and performance backgrounds. Melanie studied on scholarship with San Francisco Ballet, the Banff School of Fine Arts, and Pennsylvania Ballet, participated in the New York City Ballet Summer Intensive, is deeply versed in Royal Academy of Dance and Vaganova training methodologies, and performed professionally with San Francisco Ballet under Director Michael Smuin, Dance Theatre of Kansas, and San Jose Dance Theatre. Conrad holds an MA in Theatre Practices from Artez Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in the Netherlands, where he received the Artez Scholarship, and a BFA in Dance from Belhaven University in the United States, where he was awarded the Belhaven Dance Scholarship; he studied ballet under Caleb Mitchell, Ravenna Tucker, Laura Morton, and his mother, and has performed with project-based companies including Bal Malhada and Hao Expression, with his works presented at festivals such as Regional Dance America and The Young in Belgium. Anton Pankevic trained at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Russia, the School of American Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet School, danced with New York City Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Royal Ballet of London, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Ballet San Jose, and has worked as a ballet master and guest teacher with English National Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Wiesbaden Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, and Leipzig Ballet.
Additional faculty credentials include PointeSafe certified instructors for pointe training: Hannah Ruvo is PointeSafe certified, and Raina Sacksteder is a certified Pointe Safe Teacher through SF Performing Arts Physical Therapy. Raina attended summer intensives with American Ballet Theatre, Cincinnati Ballet, and LINES Ballet; studied with the dance faculty at Reed College in Portland, Oregon; performed with Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Alma Esperanza Cunningham Movement, eMotion Arts, Tandy Beal & Company, and Move Speak Spin; and taught at Motion Pacific, Elaine’s Dance Studio, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, and the Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center, where she also served as Director of the Youth Ballet Company. Riley Butler teaches ballet and pilates to youth and adults in Santa Cruz County, trained and taught at Santa Cruz Ballet Theater, and is currently studying sociology, computer science, and dance.
In 2024, through Santa Cruz Dance Theater, Conrad founded the Composers’ Forum, a year-round program mentoring a select group of students from the Santa Cruz area in choreographic creation and composition. Families have shared feedback such as a student describing Agape Dance Academy as playing an “incredible role” in forming their confidence, self-esteem, physical health, and character over six years of involvement, and other parents and audience members noting inclusive and supportive studio experiences, well-done performances with choreography, set design, and costumes, and shows such as Swan Lake and Appalachian Spring that moved them to tears and featured dancers who appeared well trained and connected to their instructors.
Last updated July 1, 2026.
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