By VozEs
Ever since she was a little girl, Melody Shanahan has had a natural talent for dancing. Her mother says that even as a toddler, she was already dancing cumbias, playing dance games, and listening to traditional Mexican music.
At sixteen, this young woman of Mexican and Irish descent, born in the United States, has been accepted to Butler University, where she will complete her training as a dancer. She and her family are bursting with pride, and they share this with VozEs and its readers in an interview in which the dancer tells us about her relationship with dance and the journey that has brought her to where she is today.
What is your relationship with dance like?
Dance/Ballet is my life; I’ve been doing it since I was 6 years old. It’s where I have friends, mentors, and a social life—it’s my second home. It’s been my passion and my way of communicating for as long as I can remember; I express myself better through dance than with words. Dance is my career; through dance, I’ve won awards and scholarships and have been recognized by cultural and nonprofit organizations in North Carolina.
How does your identity come through in your life and your art?
I identify as a woman, a Latina, and a dancer in training. I express my art through dance, creating new choreographies based on my ballet training and my Mexican roots.
It's in my DNA. I embrace my roots so deeply. My mom was born and raised in Mexico, and she taught me to love the food, the colors, the music, and the traditions. All of that has influenced my dance ever since I was a child; I was exactly 10 years old when I started participating in international festivals, dancing ballet to Latin music.
More recently, two years ago, I started taking Mexican folk dance classes, and for the past year I have been performing and collaborating with folk dance groups in Greensboro, NC.
Dancing "La Danza del Venado" in Veracruz, Jalisco, and at Aztec festivals.
It also gave me the opportunity to blend classical ballet with Mexican folk dance.
“Ever since I started blending those genres, I’ve wanted to showcase my culture through my art. I thought it would be a great opportunity. This also includes the groups I’ve been performing with—they’re part of this experience too and are a huge help. I appreciate and remember all the artists I work with. To make this happen, you need practice and motivation—and we’ve got both.”
What do you consider your greatest achievement so far, given your young age?
Being a freelance dancer at my age and having the opportunity to perform my own choreography in theaters around Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh, always dancing ballet to Latin, Hispanic, and Mexican music for non-Hispanic audiences.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I see myself becoming a principal ballet dancer with a major company and performing all over the world, armed with my degree in Performing Arts.
In the future, I want to open my own dance studio where I can teach ballet and Mexican folk dance.
Who are your favorite dancers?
I have to say that it’s me—I’m my own favorite dancer—but the dancers who have had a huge influence on me and whom I’ve admired since I was a little girl are Misty Copeland and Elisa Carrillo.
What about your dance outfits?
I played the Sugar Plum Fairy in my dance school's production of *The Nutcracker*, one of my favorite dance roles, as well as Giselle, a variation of Kitri in classical ballet.
My own creation will be my latest work, *Juana Gallo*, a soldier from the Mexican Revolution—a classical ballet/folk dance piece recently performed at the Cary Arts Center in Raleigh, NC—and *Chacarrera del Violín*, a fusion of Veracruz, Mexico, and classical ballet, performed at the Knight Theatre here in Charlotte, the Cary Arts Center in Raleigh, and the Vandyke Theatre in Greensboro.
How do you manage to go to school and dance?
I decided to take my high school courses online in 2020 because I want to devote more time to my training in classical ballet and Mexican folk dance.
I take ballet classes five days a week in the afternoons, and I’m also in the “work-study” program at the dance academy I attend, where I assist the dance instructor two days a week (to help my parents a little with the cost of tuition).
I also take a Mexican folklore class every Friday via Zoom with a teacher from Mexico. My dad turned my garage into a dance studio so I can practice for my future performances as a freelance dancer at home.
I also have time to practice once a month with a Mexican folklore group in Greensboro.
It's not easy, but it's what makes me happy, and it's a great path for my future.
What would you like young people to do, feel, or think when they see you dance?
As a young Latina, I don't see much diversity in the world of ballet; classical ballet is also accessible to Latinos.
When I perform at cultural festivals, I often try to convey a message, like the one I performed last—“Sin Miedo,” a song against femicide—or “La migración es bella.”
Ultimately, my goal has been to touch people’s hearts, break down cultural barriers, and build a bridge so that young Latinos know that anything is possible, regardless of the color of our skin, our accents, or our backgrounds.
We just have to want it and work toward it.
I want young people like me to set and achieve goals in whatever way they can; developing discipline gives us a better chance of going to college, getting better grades, and having a brighter future.