MELODY MENNITE

A native of Santa Cruz, California, Melody Mennite trained at Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre and Pacific Northwest Ballet before joining Houston Ballet at 17. She quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a Principal in 2008. After 22 seasons with the company, she concluded her tenure in June 2024. Throughout her career, she performed leading classical roles, originated numerous works, and danced principal roles in ballets by Jirí Kylián, George Balanchine, Justin Peck, William Forsythe, Christopher Wheeldon, Twyla Tharp, and many others.

As a choreographer, Mennite has created 16 commissioned works, including Ana for Ballet Arkansas, Next of Kin for Houston Ballet Academy, and The 64 and 91 for Kansas City Ballet. Her ballet Floreciente, originally commissioned for Houston Ballet, had its West Coast premiere at Pointeworks' inaugural performance in June 2024. She also co-founded REACH, a project supporting arts education through new choreography. In addition to her stage work, she was the choreographer, lead actor, and dancer in the award-winning film Self Sabotage. Mennite continues to perform, choreograph, and teach nationally and internationally, integrating ballet technique with somatic practices for holistic movement training.

Her ballet Floreciente, originally commissioned for Houston Ballet, had its West Coast premiere at Pointeworks' inaugural performance in June 2024.