Arabella Meleo - Class of '22

Arabella Meleo – Class of ’22

by Jake Percey | Jul 18, 2024 | Uncategorized

Arabella Meleo (She/Her) is an Italian/Australian triple-threat based in the heart of Sydney. Arabella studied at the esteemed Brent Street Studios for 6 years, graduating from the Brent Street Academy, then continuing on to complete her Diploma of Musical Theatre. During this time, Arabella starred in the renowned Amazon Prime series ‘Dance Life’. Arabella has been taught and mentored by Australia’s leading choreographers including Cameron Mitchell, Cassie Bartho, Paris Cav, Veronica Beattie George, Sophie Holloway, and Stephen Tannos; working alongside Cameron Mitchell and Cassie Bartho for live and screen productions. Arabella then went on to perform with the NewGround Collective in the Mardi Gras Parade, and has just completed a contract onboard Sydney Showboats. Arabella is currently also working in TV, commercial live performance and live theatre. Arabella is proudly represented by Presley Management.

Arabella, I’m so excited to have you join us for Word on the Street today! Can you start us off with a little introduction about you, as well as your course and graduating year?

Thank you for having me! My name is Arabella Meleo, I’m twenty years old, and I am two years out of full-time – meaning I graduated Brent Street in 2022 from the Musical Theatre Course!

I can’t believe it’s been two years already! I’d love for you to think back to your time in the Musical Theatre course – what was a highlight for you, or a memory you’ll take with you forever?

It’s a little obvious; a highlight of my full time year was being a part of Dance Life. It was such an incredible experience with all the people that I love! I learnt a lot about the behind-the-scenes of the television world too, which I’m so grateful for. Without Dance Life and their crew running around the studios every day, I wouldn’t have been able to learn so much about that part of our industry!

Another one would definitely be travelling to Melbourne with the PA’s for Victorian Dance Festival. It was the most fun I’d ever had; getting to fly somewhere with all my friends at a ripe 18 years of age… with no parents… just to DANCE! So fun.

Arabella and the PA class of 2022 headed to Melbourne for the Victorian Dance Festival

Of course – how could we forget! It’s quite funny really, you’ve been a part of our Brent Street community for over a decade, coming through PTP and the Academy before the Musical Theatre course… but now you’re a familiar face on screens all over the world on Dance Life! I have to ask – the show predominantly followed the Performing Arts course, and you even mention travelling to Melbourne with the PA’s – how did this all play out while you were in a different course?

Arabella in her early days at Brent Street!

So a little fun fact… before PTP, I actually started at Brent Street doing ‘Act Lab’ on a Sunday for a year before I decided to start dancing in the Performance Training Program!

Anyway, yes… I guess you can say I weaselled my way into Dance Life! Most of my friends were in the Performing Arts Course and cast in Dance Life. Early in the year, there was a premiere event for Luke Cornish’s documentary on breakdancing, which all of the Dance Life cast were invited to. Naturally, I had some serious FOMO (and just wanted to go to a premiere!), so I introduced myself to Luke one day during our lunch break. I asked if I could have a ticket and to my surprise – he said yes! I guess the rest is history. Jade Barnes, the series’ Producer, said that they were actually hoping for someone with a theatrical stage presence to round out the cast… and I suppose I fit that brief!

What an incredible story! I guess we’ll never know what the show might have been like without you in it – but we could never imagine it to be that way now! What’s something that’s happened or changed in your life since the show, perhaps that you weren’t expecting? Is it for better or worse?

The show has definitely made an impact on my career. I’ve been blessed with so many amazing opportunities already that I perhaps wouldn’t have been offered otherwise. I’ve been very lucky to have this platform for my entry into the industry. I think the most impactful thing has been the response from everyone across the world! In particular, something I’ve loved has been meeting all the kids at Dance Life workshops across Australia. It’s really put the value and importance of the show into perspective, thinking back to how my generation was so deeply inspired by shows like So You Think You Can Dance, Dance Academy, Step Up etc. It’s been wonderful seeing how Dance Life is doing the same for the next generation!

Arabella at the Premiere of Dance Life (Amazon Prime): January 2024

I know – it’s so incredible to see all of these young dancers look up to you all so much. So, it’s been a wild couple of years with the lead up to and premiere of the show, but what does life look like for Arabella outside of Dance Life?

I made it out the other end! There’s been so much happening since graduating, and there is never a week that looks the same for me. I think that’s the beauty of our industry, our jobs are forever changing and hold some very exciting and different opportunities every time! Some weeks are packed with gigs, teaching, training, rehearsals with friends, other weeks can be really quiet. I rely heavily on my little paperback diary.. without it I definitely would not be able to manage my crazy schedules!!

They really aren’t kidding when they say that you’ll never dance as much in your life as you do in Full Time.. how do you go about keeping up training? And as you say – jobs can come and go week to week – how do you stay competitive in this industry?

No they weren’t kidding.. and they were RIGHT!! Now that I’m out of Full Time training, one battle I’ve had to overcome has been not being able to go to every class I see advertised. I’ve gone from doing four 1.5 hour classes each day, so I’m trying to not compare that to my training schedule now because I simply can’t match it. I still believe training in all styles and genres is so important, but when you have to make sure you’re using your energy, time, and money wisely to help yourself get where you want to be. I’m my own boss now, so I’ve had to start picking and choosing what I do strategically because there are some many variables in the real world to consider now; time, energy, money!

I think something that I do well to keep my competitive edge, is keep on top of my diary, scheduling and admin work. Being reliable in these areas as a freelancer is something that I’m good at and keeps me competitive!

Arabella working a NewGround Collective Mardi Gras gig, one of many since graduating (2023)

I agree, it’s so important to be reliable in the world of freelancing! Thank you for sitting down with me today, Arabella. It’s so exciting seeing your journey into the industry post-Full Time! Dance Life catapulted you into the spotlight, with you and the cast facing plenty of criticism and judgement from people across the globe. I’d love for you to leave us with some advice when it comes to facing critics and haters. What’s your advice?

Someone once said to me “If you’re not getting hate then you’re not doing it right!” And I wholeheartedly agree. I think a lot of us forget – we are choosing to create and be a part of ART in this life! Art is subjective and involves criticism. Art isn’t about how many likes or shares it gets, and art isn’t about having everyone like it. It’s about how many ideas it generates and how many conversations it starts, good or bad.

I quietly love a bit of criticism or judgement just as much as I love compliments and encouragement… It motivates me because it tells me that i’m doing my job correctly, and that job is to create art. As long as what I’m doing makes me happy, it’s not up to others to determine my happiness for me. Thank you for having me, I love you Brent Street fam!

–

Follow Arabella and keep up-to-date with her journey:
@arabellameleo