Steven Melendez is an advocate for equal access to the arts and understands, first hand, the transformative power of dance. Born in New York City, Steven began his ballet training while living in a NYC homeless shelter through a LIFT Scholarship at Ballet School New York at the age of 7. He went on to become a Soloist dancer with Ballet Concierto in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a Principal dancer with The Vanemuine Theater Ballet Company in Tartu, Estonia, and for over 15 years, performed with New York Theatre Ballet. He has been a national and international Principal guest artist and teacher and has worked across Europe, Asia, North, Central and South America. Steven co-choreographed his first large-scale work, Song Before Spring, which was named a Dance Europe critic’s choice “Best Premiere” of 2016. He served as the Hiland Artistic Director for National Dance Institute New Mexico where his dance film, Vastness, premiered on New Mexico PBS. Most recently, he served as Artistic Director of New York Theatre Ballet bringing free ballet events to tens-of-thousands of audiences members annually. He has been published by CNN and spoken on NPR, and is currently a member of the alumni advisory committee on diversity and inclusion for School of American Ballet. Steven is the subject of the 2024 Emmy-nominated documentary, LIFT.
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