Steven Melendez
American classical dancer (born 1986)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steven Melendez is an American classical dancer. He is a principal artist with the New York Theatre Ballet and the company's Artistic Director. Formerly, he was a principal artist with the Estonian National Ballet and a soloist with Ballet Concierto in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[1][2][3][4]
Steven Melendez | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1986 (age 39–40) Bronx, New York |
| Occupation | Ballet dancer |
| Career | |
| Current group | New York Theatre Ballet |
| Website | www |
Early life
Born in the Bronx, New York City, Melendez began his ballet training at Ballet School New York at the age of 7, when he was rescued from a New York City homeless shelter and enrolled in New York Theatre Ballet's Project LIFT.[5] He is also a graduate of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre[6]
Career
Melendez has performed internationally[4][7] in works by Antony Tudor, José Limón, Agnes deMille, George Balanchine, Sallie Wilson, Frederick Ashton and Richard Alston. In 2011 Melendez performed in the premiere of Alston's work A Rugged Flourish.[8] In 2008 Melendez premiered Uinuv Kaunitar by Swedish choreographer Pär Isberg at the Vanemuine Theater.[9]
Melendez was a 2012 Clive Barnes Award nominee[10] and was a finalist at the 5th Rudolf Nureyev International Ballet Competition in Budapest, Hungary.[11][12] In 2013 Melendez spoke on the "Dancing Through Life, Living Through Dance" symposium as an alumnus of the Professional Children's School[13] Melendez performed with The Men Dancers: From the Horse’s Mouth at the 2012 Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in honor of Ted Shawn.[14]
In 2022, Melendez and the LIFT program were featured in the documentary Lift, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival.[15]