Melody Mennite Walsh

Melody-Mennite-The-Nutcracker.jpg

Melody Mennite was born in Santa Cruz and received her training at The Studio School of Classical Ballet and danced with Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Later she attended summer programs at Pacific Northwest Ballet School and with Suzanne Farrell. Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre audiences will remember Melody in leading roles, such as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Odette in Swan Lake Act II and Kitri in Don Quixote Pas de Deux, which she performed with the company at the Tanszommer Arts Festival throughout Austria and Germany. Melody excelled early on in contemporary works and was featured in many ballets choreographed by Robert Kelley, most notably Pivot and Variable X.

Melody attended the Ben Stevenson Academy (official school of Houston Ballet) for several summers on full scholarship from the age of thirteen. This led to a year with Houston Ballet II at the age of seventeen. The following year, she joined Houston Ballet. Soon after, Melody gave birth to a son, Isaac. After a lightning speed recovery, Melody continued dancing with the company and was soon promoted to Soloist. She was promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer in early 2008. Melody has performed the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy as a guest artist with Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre in The Nutcracker productions since 2006.

Melody has performed leading roles in works by Stanton Welch, John Cranko, Ben Stevenson, Marius Petipa, Jiri Kilian, Christopher Bruce, George Balanchine, Mark Morris, Paul Taylor and Harold Lander.  Stanton Welch choreographed the full-length "Marie" with Melody as his muse and title character, Marie Antoinette.  He choreographed a new production of "The Nutcracker" in 2016 with Melody as Clara.

Photo of Melody with Lucien Postlewaite in the 2008 production of "The Nutcracker" by Lynne Owen

 

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