Megan Zugelder May

The two greatest blessings in Megan Zugelder May’s life are her family and her career in dance. She is a wife and mother of three beautiful children who keep her very busy but fill her with an immense amount of joy and love! She was born and raised in Ohio where she trained as a competitive gymnast and dancer. Megan has studied a multitude of dance genres and pedagogies and worked with various artists, choreographers, and producers in the performing arts industry. Through hard work and perseverance, she was proud to be the Captain of her dance teams and achieve numerous titles such as Miss Dance Power USA, Miss Ameridance, and National American Miss Ohio. Her passion for choreographing, coaching, and teaching started at an early age and she is grateful to have shared her love of dance with thousands of dancers of all ages and abilities for the past 20 years. She feels fortunate to share her passion and talent with dance and has become a highly renowned and accomplished solo, studio, team, and musical choreographer. Megan strives to achieve excellence in every endeavor and inspires her dancers to do the same by building confidence and setting high expectations. She supports their needs by combining compassion and discipline to guide them to reach their fullest potential. 

Megan graduated college from the University of Cincinnati and was a dedicated member of their national champion and world-renowned dance team that was featured on the campus sidelines and center court, as well as at the World Wide of Sports in Orlando, FL and ESPN. In 2009, she was honored to represent the country as a member of Team USA in the inaugural World Dance Championship. After competing against 33 other countries, they were proud to take home the gold medal in all categories of dance, making her a 3-time World Champion and a pioneer to the mission of induction of dance as an Olympic sport. After graduating from UC, she pursued her Masters degree in education and graduated with honors. She continued her training and danced professionally for an arena football team, known as the Cincinnati Commandos, as well as an innovative contemporary/jazz company in Cincinnati, Ohio called Exhale Dance Tribe.  Megan continues to prioritize being a lifelong learner by training at conventions and being a member of the National Dance Educators Organization. Additionally, she takes immense joy in being a free-lance choreographer, master class instructor, and dance competition adjudicator. 

In 2011, Megan made a move to Charlotte, NC where she designed and implemented the first-ever inclusive and innovative literacy - dance program for all K-5 students at a Title I elementary school in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School District. Additionally, she donated her time and talent when she created an elite, competitive dance team. The program and the team received local and national praise for the positive impact and amazing accolades that were achieved over the years and helped energize other programs within the district. From these life-changing experiences, shared by both the students and Megan, Inspire Dance Company was established in the fall of 2015. Alongside co-founder Lisa Lewis, Megan has led her dancers to achieve greatness in the art and sport of dance, as well as in their life. Inspire has become a safe place for students to share their incredible abilities and passion for dance as they successfully train, perform, and compete throughout North and South Carolina and beyond!  Megan’s next chapter took her to a growing charter school in 2018 where she created a distinguished dance education curriculum and program for K-12 students. Throughout her career, she has seamlessly woven her extensive dance experience and training with her expertise in education and leadership; creating environments and opportunities that support inclusion, embrace diversity, promote overall health and happiness, and shine in excellence.

Faith and hard work’s fruition has provided affirmation and alignment for the next adventure to begin and to support the community and its surrounding areas in dance and other spectacular performing art mediums. Inspire Dance Company is proud of its expansion to the arts and to continue doing God’s work as Inspire Performing Arts Company. 

One of the most cherished aspects of her career is being a coach, choreographer, and creator of “Inspire” which has been an integral enrichment to the lives of so many children in the Charlotte community. Inspire has received rave reviews and amazing accolades over the years. But most importantly, it has positively impacted those who have been a part of Inspire. Megan is elated for another year to do what she loves with her dance family!