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Melissa began her dance training at the age of five in her home town of Gatton in Queensland. Her first professional contract was in Queensland Ballet’s production of Giselle in 2000, whilst still in her final year at the Queensland Dance School of Excellence. In 2001 Melissa was accepted into the Queensland Ballet Professional Year, performing in François Klaus’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the 2001 International Gala and Don Quixote. She continued the program in 2002, performing with the Company in The Sleeping Beauty. Following graduation, Melissa performed in Klaus’s The Little Mermaid.
In 2003 Melissa became a founding member of the Tasmanian Classical Ballet Company. She returned to Brisbane in November 2003 to perform in Klaus’s Excalibur – The Legend of King Arthur and accepted a full-time contract with Queensland Ballet in 2004.
She has since appeared in all Company productions; featured roles include Rosita in Carmen, Dormouse in Alice in Wonderland, Marlene in Cloudland, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2008), Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire (2009) and both the fairy "Violente" and the Bluebird pas de deux in The Sleeping Beauty (2009).
In 2008 Melissa performed the tile role in The Little Mermaid and featured in Csaba Buday’s Partnered in Vis-à-vis Studio Series #3.
In 2009, Melissa performed in Gareth Belling's Refraction, Kim McCarthy's Nineteen, and Nils Christe's SYNC in ...with attitude 2009, as well as in Mario Schroeder's Erdbeermund in International Gala 2009. She also featured in the Pas de trois from Paquita in Vis-a-vis Studio Series #1, Suite de dance in Vis-a-vis Studio Series #2 and the Pas de trois from The Gathering in Vis-a-vis Studio Series 3. Melissa also danced the Holberg Suite and Pas de deux from Peer Gynt with Keian Langdon in Soirees Classiques #3.
Melissa has also toured internationally with the Company to Germany and Switzerland in 2006 and 2007, to Singapore in 2007 and to Japan in April 2008. She returned with the Company to Switzerland and Germany in 2009, adding Denmark to the Timeless Dances tour.
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