MELISSA LAURIELLO

Miss Melissa teaches Ballet, Tap and Freestyle on a Monday and Wednesday at Mereside Community Centre. Melissa is loved by our Adult Tappers and makes learning Tap when your brain doesn't want to work and your feet don't want to follow the beat fun!

Melissa started dancing at the late age of 12, in year 8 of school. Her friend dragged her along to a ballet class and 6 months later the friend had quit and Melissa was absolutely obsessed! "I ‘caught the bug’ and started racing though my grades and competing nationally in a Hip Hop dance crew called Midas. By 18 I had achieved my R.A.D Classical Ballet Intermediate, Tap and Modern I.S.T.D Advanced 1 certificates and Distinction in BTEC National Award (Dance) along side 4 other A Levels". Although she was training in Tap and Jazz she knew very early on that Musical Theatre didn’t suit her mind or body, "I didn’t know much about Contemporary dance but I was so consumed with Ballet and Hip-Hop that when I joined Telford Youth Dance Company in my first year of college, I found that my technical training combined with my grounded style made so much of the movement feel natural and exciting, I knew I was in love and wanted to dedicate myself to this style." Melissa started travelling to DanceXchange in Birmingham for regular Contemporary classes, and then at 19 she moved to London to complete a degree in Contemporary at TrinityLaban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

We asked every Footlights team member to answer the following questions so that we can get to know the person behind the purple t-shirt!