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Meet Melena Rounis

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Melena Rounis.

Melena, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in Vancouver, Canada, and began my training in gymnastics at the age of five. When I was ten years old, my gym friend’s mom suggested I try to dance. I took one 45 minute recreational jazz class for a couple of years and that’s how I fell in love with dance! My dance teacher suggested I take ballet if I was really going to become serious about dance. So I dove all the way in to make up for lost time taking between eight to ten hours of ballet a week! I completed my Elementary ballet exam & Pre-Intermediate exam (R.A.D.), I believe the names of the levels are titled differently now. I also added modern, musical theatre, tap, hip hop & lyrical dance over the years. I often spent my evenings and weekends performing or attending drop in classes and conventions in commercial dance, hip hop & street styles (Locking, Breaking, Popping, House, Waacking, Voguing).

Upon high school graduation, I received a summer scholarship to train at Toronto Dance Theatre, and then attended Simon Fraser University (BFA Dance program) to further learn & train in Graham, Cunningham, Limon & Horton techniques. Simultaneously I performed for the CFL (Canadian Football League) BC Lions Felions & was apart of a Semi Professional dance group in Vancouver. I even traveled to New York with an Indian Dance group from Vancouver to compete in & win the North American Bhangra Dance Championships! I had the opportunity to travel overseas to China & Macau with an Asian influenced Vancouver Dance Group to perform in the Macau international Dance Festival and experience a cultural exchange in Beijing. It was pretty amazing. Two years into my BFA I ended up leaving university early as I auditioned for a new show that was going up in Singapore and booked the job. I moved to Singapore for what ended up only being a three month contract, but such an amazing experience.

When I returned, I began working in film & television in Vancouver as a featured soloist and group dancer in a variety of shows and series, this is where I started assisting and learning about choreography for film and television. I was fascinated by this world and knew it was where I ultimately wanted to work at some point in my career. During my downtime from set, I would travel to Los Angeles and New York to further my training and education. In 2005, I booked a US National tour with Puerto Rican Reggaeton artist Don Omar. Upon completion of the tour, I opened a drop-in dance studio in Vancouver called Drive Dance Centre. Two months into the studio being open Cirque du Soleil called and offered me a contract in The Beatles LOVE in Las Vegas at the Mirage Hotel & Casino. I moved to Las Vegas and ran my studio from there with a business partner who was in Vancouver for over a year and a half before selling my half of the company to her. Talk about burning the candle at both ends!!

I worked at LOVE for four years and moved to Los Angeles officially, but briefly, in 2012. I worked on American Idol and with Daddy Yankee in the first few months of my time in LA and received another call from Cirque du Soleil to join the cast of Michael Jackson, The Immortal, World Tour, my dream show! I joined the tour in Taipei and performed to live music played by many of MJ’s band members in Taiwan, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, United States & Mexico. It was easily the highlight of my career.

I also met my now husband on this tour! He was the acrobatic captain, strength & conditioning coach on the tour and we moved to Los Angeles together in the end of 2014 when the tour closed.

In the last six years living in LA, I have performed on America’s Got Talent, Next Top Model, Latin American Music Awards, Penny Dreadful; City of Angels, Motherland, The Magicians, A Series of Unfortunate Events as well as MusiCares with Sir Paul McCartney, and various other artists like Pitbull, Maluma, French Montana & more.

I have become more and more focused on working as a choreographer during my time in Los Angeles’ & my most recent body of work as a choreographer can be seen on Netflix around Easter 2021, titled ‘A Week Away’ the Musical (@aweekawaymovie). Other choreographic endeavors include Associate Directing and Choreographing two tours for Sesame Street Live! (‘Let’s Party’ and ‘Make Your Magic’), as well as epic Research and Development projects for Walt Disney Imagineering that I wish I could talk more about, Knott’s Berry Farm Amusement Park, Universal Dance Awards, Dancing with The Stars, Honda, Comedy Central, Kmart, AIDS Health Foundation, ABC’s reality hit ‘The Proposal’, and a live performance/ fashion experience based off of a fictional book written by Christian Louboutin showcasing the fashion collaboration between Louboutin & Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

2020 started with a bang, choreographing a segment for a 41 city music tour & beginning to move from choreography project to choreography project… optimistic that 2021 will bring about some of these experiences so I can continue to share my passion for the art of dance and storytelling through it!

Has it been a smooth road?
I don’t think any road is ever ‘smooth’ for any artist. The bumps and struggles along the way are what help mold us and feed our art. I’m grateful for these moments, though they can be trying. I think the biggest struggle in my journey to where I am today was the lack of guidance or information that was available to me. There are so many amazing resources and programs for dancers today so make sure to take advantage of them!

In 2009 I created a program to give dancers guidance, training, networking opportunities & tools, I wish I had, to become successful in the world of dance. It was very rewarding and well received for five years but I had a huge falling out with my business partner & best friend over the program unfortunately and was on a world tour while this issue occurred. It was so hard to walk away from what I had created in the name of my peace of mind, not to mention let go of someone I thought of as family. Thankfully my blessings have far outweighed my struggles since this difficult decision!

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I specialize in several areas in dance; Performing, Creating and Educating. I am proud of the variety of training I received as well as sough out because I feel confident in sharing my knowledge to young dancers as an Educator. As a Performer my training gives me the confidence to support the execution of any movement thrown my way. And as a Choreographer my diverse and eclectic training has given me an arsenal of tools in my belt. I am proud to have been & to continue to use these skills across all three platforms for the last 20+ years. Oh, & I am a certified Pilates Instructor with a niche clientele in pre & postnatal Pilates as well!

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Hollywood is such an entertainment Mecca, this is why we chose to come to LA when our tour closed. If someone was just starting out in LA, I would recommend several things to them. Your reputation will make you or break you. Be kind to everyone and always maintain professional & positive relationships. Never underestimate anyone or assume anything. Stay focused on your craft and learn as much as you can about the history, foundation of dance styles, and artistry of dance. There are so many amazing influencers on IG and other platforms but also dig deeper because sometimes the best resources are not always on the surface. Lastly, the same folks you see on the way up, you will see on the way down, so always remain authentically YOU and treat everyone the way you would want to be treated.

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Nate Griffin – photo with myself and Bailee Madison

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