Melody is a dancer from South London who discovered dancing through baby ballet. Growing up, her parents were both musicians who taught her Piano and Guitar, and they believed that she was always destined to pursue the arts. At around 6 she developed an interest in acting and performed in productions for stage, film, and television. such as “The Wizard of Oz” (Andrew Lloyd Webber, 2011) and the independent film “Common People” (2014).

By the age of 12, Melody’s dance journey expanded to include modern, tap, gymnastics, and street styles, and at 14 she was offered a place at The BRIT School to study dance. During her time there, she learned from incredible companies, artists, and works including Boy Blue, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, Simeon Qseya and Blue Makwana. Alongside her training at BRIT, Melody studied for over 10 years at her local ballet school with teacher Alice Oakley-Jones, Leaving with a high merit in Advanced 1 RAD Ballet.

After leaving BRIT, Melody went on to study at London Contemporary Dance School, where she graduated with a First-Class BA Honours Degree in Contemporary Dance. It was at The Place that she trained in more contemporary techniques and began to discover her style of movement. She trained intensely in an array of styles, with her favourites including floorwork, Cunningham, flying low and Improvisation. During her time at LCDS she had the opportunity to take part in an exchange and studied at California Institute of the Arts, where she also had a chance to Counter Technique, Commercial/Hip Hop and Adv Ballet. While at The Place, Melody worked with artists including Maxine Doyle, Richard Alston, Hofesh Schecter Company and Monique Jonas, and was also invited back to her old ballet school to perform and choreograph for youth ballet productions.

Melody is a very energetic and hard-working person, who aims to enjoy every lesson and foster a safe space for everyone. Outside of training, she is part of Premier Dance Theatre and performs across the south coast part-time with the company. She is passionate about making dance an inclusive and accessible practice for everyone and hopes to inspire others to discover the joy of movement and to see dance as something that belongs to everyone.

Photo credit: Josh Hawkins