Getting to Know You: Melissa Dorcemus
This year, we’re thrilled to welcome a new face – Melissa Dorcemus – to a new program: Arts Exploration Skills. Here’s some background on both the program and the woman running it.
In Arts Exploration Skills, students have an opportunity to spend a semester focusing on one of LIHSA’s core arts programs for up to four semesters and subject areas. They will get to immerse in the content areas one-by-one to whet their appetite and truly explore potential career paths. The experiences will include hands-on projects and interactions with other LIHSA students in the programs.
For this first semester, they are focusing on Production Managerial Arts. They are working on set design, painting and creating mini-models. With a smaller class size, the focus can shift to mirror the students interests. This year, students have expressed interest in costume design, so already Melissa is looking for ways to incorporate sewing.
We’re lucky to have Melissa leading this program. With an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts and a Masters in Special Education, she has spent the last 13 years in special education settings in New York City.
Melissa grew up in Huntington and went to SUNY Buffalo for school. She studied fine arts, focusing on old photography techniques and Japanese printmaking. She was fascinated by the processes of using glass plates and developing photos and the chemicals needed for print making.
As a mom of two, ages 6 and 4, Melissa continues to create art, but has gravitated toward more accessible art forms that she can do with her children like painting, making puppets, and sewing. She often makes clothes and costumes for her kids. Like in college, she likes to figure out how things work.
Outside of LIHSA and creating with her family, Melissa is – as she puts it – a “slow but passionate” runner. This fall she’ll be running two half marathons: in The Hamptons and Philadelphia. “Very slowly,” she adds.
One of the things Melissa really likes about LIHSA already is the sense of community. It may be a small school, but it has expansive connections. She also loves how friendly everyone is to each other.
Melissa is excited to create a class with a framework that can be built on. She wants to offer students different levels of participation that match their different abilities to express themselves. She’s eager to find spaces where her students can excel and truly be part of the LIHSA experience.
Welcome to LIHSA, Melissa! We are thrilled you’re here! (Keep scrolling down for more photos).
