Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Miles.
Melissa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in Michigan where I started dancing at the age of ten. After high school, I was awarded a scholarship to train at Broadway Dance Center in NYC. Not too long after that, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a dance career. Very quickly, I started teaching at professional studios like Millennium Dance Complex, at the same time auditioning for dance jobs. I first began performing in stage and club shows. Over the years, I expanded my resume to become widely diverse. I have danced on tv shows including 90210 and Carpool Karaoke. Award shows such as American Music Awards, Mtv Movie Awards, Billboard Awards, Latin Grammy’s and the Armenian Music Awards. I have also performed with the artists Gloria Gayner, Kirk Franklin, Lil Mama, Armenchik, and Little Boots. As I was pursing my dance career, I started receiving offers to choreograph different projects including music videos industrials, and commercials. I also became one of the lead choreographers for Knott’s Berry/Scary Farm including choreographing the Ed Alonzo’s theater shows and “The Hanging”, the popular long running stunt show for the Halloween season.
I have even had the opportunity to work with specialty acts such as bungee, sway poles, and ice skaters. Other companies I have worked with include; Ducati, Paul Mitchell, Adidas, Sony PlayStation, and the Clippers dance team, While teaching regular dance classes in LA, international dancers have come here to train from all over. Many of them have taken my class. This has lead to invitations for me to teach all over the world. I have been a guest teacher at Broadway Dance Center in Tokyo, and most recently became the first technical instructor and judged for World of Dance (WOD) Panama. I have had the pleasure of also teaching in Spain, France, Italy, Mexico, and Canada. Along with this, I travel the United States as a guest choreographer and instructor for conventions, workshops and local dance studios. I create competition pieces all over the country and have been awarded numerous choreography awards. I currently teach at The Edge in Hollywood and at DancelineLA in Culver City. Special thanks to my amazing agent Jim Keith at The Movement Talent Agency who understands who I am as an artist and helps get me work!!
Has it been a smooth road?
Pursuing a career in dance can be very difficulty. There is a lot of rejection. You have to really love it and be resilient. In Los Angeles, most of the time, when you do not book a job it has very little to do with your talent. Many times it’s who you know and what you look like. Often talent is low on the priority list. For myself and other dancers who have trained and worked hard most of our lives to build strong technique, this can be very confusing and hard on the soul. This is one career where being the best doesn’t necessarily mean you will get the job. The amount of work and auditions fluctuates and most dance jobs are only one or two days worth of work. You are constantly hustling and the number of dancers moving to LA to pursue a career continues to rise.
Many times, you have 300 dancers auditioning for one spot. With dance becoming very popular on tv, this has created an over saturation of dancers in the industry. There has also become a huge importance put on social media. How many followers you have can determine who books the job. A lot of followers on Instagram can outweigh experience and qualifications by far. You are seeing an increase of very young inexperienced Instagram “influencers” booking teaching and choreography jobs over the veteran master dance instructors who have had a very long and successful career with so much knowledge to share. With all this being said, I have been lucky to continue a very busy teaching career. I can’t imagine doing anything else.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I teach an intermediate/advanced level jazz class at the EDGE in Hollywood and an intermediate lyrical at DancelineLA in Culver City. All my classes are drop ins. My class at Edge typically is a bit more open in style. Sometimes I teach a more funky style jazz and sometimes it’s more lyrical contemporary. Each class is an hour and a half long. We start with a warm up and stretch, technique, and conditioning. Then we move into learning a dance combo. I have some students who have been training with me for years, but oftentimes, someone will drop into my class after not dancing for ten years. At the end of class they usually have the biggest smile on their face and tell me how good it felt to move and do my choreography! I encourage anyone to come try one of my classes!
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Los Angeles is one of the main cities to pursue a dance career! Not only are there opportunities to audition and work as a dancer, but also there are many professional dance studios to take class at and continue your training. These studios are where you will meet other working dancers, top choreographers, and instructors of your favorite class styles. This is one of the best ways to network for your career.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @1MelissaMiles
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1MelissaMiles/?eid=ARDsemmt1KnSZUf9az_SAUSF97uQYCRFdqiT9uQEHFxuhvzklApH6BQpOulDyjedk0lzc05S1EMxQ5FP
- Twitter: @1MelissaMiles
- Other: http://youtube.com/c/MelissaMilesChoreography
Image Credit:
Mimi Thomas, Star Action Shots
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