Role: Choreographer
Company: Perform Boot Camp
Track Record:
Passion and patience helped dancer Fleur Mellor turn a hobby into a career.
Give a brief outline of your career to date.
I started off at a local dancing school, then studied A Level dance and finally did a BA Honours degree in Theatre Dance. When I graduated I toured as a dancer all over the country and around the world, including Israel, where I had my very first contract, working for seven months in a show. Then I moved into choreography and production which has got me to where I am now.
What was your favourite subject at school?
English Literature. I absolutely love reading, always have done. I’m a massive bookworm and particularly love sci-fi books or a good thriller. Dancing was more a hobby of mine when I was at college and then the penny dropped that I could actually make a living out of it.
Did you go onto further/higher education?
Yes. I did a three year degree course in Theatre Dance at the London Studio Centre, plus I’m always taking additional courses. I love learning.
How did you get into your area of work?
After my degree I started auditioning, got myself my first few jobs, then my first agents. I kept auditioning, getting more and more work and it just grew from there. Suddenly you’re doing it, you’re performing. That progressed into other opportunities for me, the more I worked with different directors or choreographers, the more I got to assist or to help them out. From there I moved into choreography and production as well.
Were there any particular essential qualifications or experience needed?
The most important thing for me was to have the core dance training to be able to work professionally at that level. In addition to strength of training, you need a professional approach and a good knowledge of the industry in which you are working. If I hadn’t have had my degree in Theatre Dance, it wouldn’t have stopped me though. I just loved learning and wanted a degree, but to get ahead in choreography, it’s really about practical application. You need to get out there and just do it.
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
You really need to have a lot of patience and organisational skills. You also need to be flexible and versatile in your approach because with anything creative, it can change all the time.
What does a typical day entail?
The first thing I do when I get up is to check my emails and then respond to them. These could be emails about marketing or from the production team. It’s important to keep on top of them. Then I take a look at my social media and maybe do a few posts. Social networking sites are a good place to connect with people. At the moment, I’m listening to a lot of music from CATS for the Perform Boot Camp youth production at the SSE Arena in August. This is my research period, when I do all my homework about a show. For me, I like to listen to the score until I know it inside out, until I know every accent, every instrument, every tiny sound in the score. I absorb it all first and then I get to work on the choreography. I like to understand the show musically, then I go in with the movement.
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
One of the best things about my job is being in the position to be able to shape my own vision of things, to have my own artistic control. A lot of time in the arts, you don’t have control over what you’re doing. With Perform Boot Camp, we have control over what way we want things to be. It’s very exciting getting to create on a regular basis, to work with some fantastic people and to have some incredible experiences. There’s no time to be bored. No two days are the same in this industry, and while that can be a blessing, it can be a curse as well, depending on how you feel about it. The instability can be challenging. Sometimes I wish I was doing more regular hours and that I knew what my schedule was for the next six months, then other times when’s it’s an exciting roller-coaster, I’m glad I don’t know. It can also be challenging juggling so many working relationships with different individuals and venues. But the upside of that is when you get those working relationships just right, like we have with the SSE Airtricity sponsorship for CATS. This is a relationship which we are really looking forward to developing and growing as we go along.
Why is what you do important?
It’s important because I love it and if you work in an industry that you love, it will give you back far more than you give it. I also like the fact that this industry is inclusive. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your background is or were you come from, anybody can be involved with performance and theatre. For example with CATS at the SSE Arena, we have some young people with experience taking part and then others who have never really performed before. For us in this situation it’s all about providing young people with self confidence and life skills whatever they decide they want to do in life.
What advice would you give to someone looking to follow a similar career path?
First of all, you have to work really hard and be prepared to commit. You can’t be part-time in this business, you have to give it your all. Also, be proactive, stand out, get yourself noticed. Network and make the most of social media too. Most importantly just get yourself out there and do something, make something, get yourself noticed.
If you weren’t doing this what would you like to do?
Something crafty and creative. I’d be a maker of some kind. I used to dabble with interiors, so I’d definitely do something visual.
What is the one piece of advice you would give to yourself on your first day?
Be yourself. Don’t waste time trying to be someone else.
Describe your ideal day off.
The sun is shining and I’d potter around a vintage market, then have some fantastic food with my partner Peter or with friends. When you work in this crazy busy industry you really appreciate a relaxing day off.