ABOUT MELENA

Melena Rounis holds many titles including choreographer, associate director, director, and performer. A true embodiment of passion and creativity in the world of dance. With over 20 years of experience, Melena has dedicated her career to sharing her knowledge and love for dance through various mediums, including film, television, and live performances.

Throughout her impressive journey, Melena has continuously pushed the boundaries of creativity. She believes in the transformative power of dance, using it to enhance storylines, convey relationships, advance technologically driven content, educate, and captivate audiences.

Melena's outstanding work as a choreographer on Netflix's 'A Week Away' the Musical earned her a well-deserved nomination for a 2022 Leo Award. Her talent and expertise have also been showcased in live projects such as the Sesame Street Live! tours, where she served as an Associate Director and Choreographer, Opening Ceremonies, Elvira Halloween engagements, theme park circus shows, as well as for groundbreaking research and development initiatives at Walt Disney Imagineering.

She has collaborated with additional renowned brands such as Dancing with The Stars, Honda, Kmart, Christian Louboutin, AIDS Health Foundation, and Knott's Berry Farm Amusement Park, leaving an indelible mark on each project. Melena has lent her choreographic touch to numerous film and television productions for networks such as HBO Max, ABC, Paramount+, Netflix, Comedy Central, Hallmark, CW, and SyFy.

A master of her craft behind the scenes and captivating performer, Melena’s talent has graced prestigious stages, including Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour and The Beatles LOVE in Las Vegas. She has mesmerized audiences on popular reality and award shows like The Grammy’s MusicCares, Latin American Music Awards, America's Got Talent, American Idol, and Next Top Model. She has even had the privilege of performing alongside legendary artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Pitbull, Maluma, French Montana, Daddy Yankee, and Vanilla Ice, highlighting her versatility and range.

Having grown up in Vancouver, Canada, Melena's dance journey began at the age of 10 training in jazz, and additionally modern, ballet, musical theatre, hip hop, and lyrical dance. Her dedication to honing her skills led her to receive a summer scholarship at Toronto Dance Theatre and pursue a BFA Dance program at Simon Fraser University. Her love for culture and dance led her to further expanded her versatility and repertoire by exploring hip hop, commercial dance and street styles like locking, breaking, popping, house, waacking, and voguing through drop-in classes and conventions. Melena’s love for salsa and partner dancing blossomed in Los Angeles, and she even achieved victory at the North American Bhangra Dance Championships with a group from Vancouver in her early 20s.

Beyond her own artistic and creative pursuits, Melena is a passionate educator who inspires and supports the next generation of dancers. She has taught and adjudicated extensively across Canada, the United States, Australia, and Mexico, imparting her vast knowledge through large-scale conventions, summer intensives, guest master classes, choreography sessions, and private lessons. Her teaching expertise spans a wide range of styles, including street jazz/jazz funk, hip hop, locking, jazz, musical theater, heels, lyrical, and even Pilates, for which she is certified. 

Melena Rounis is deeply grateful for her wealth of experiences as a student, performer, choreographer, and artistic mind. She continues to use her diverse background to create, educate, and entertain the world, leaving an enduring impact on the dance industry and inspiring countless individuals along the way.