This week’s Hot Seat features Melvin LeBlanc, a local dancer who is currently touring the United Kingdom as dancer in the Lion King musical production. Born on the French side and raised on the Dutch side of the island, LeBlanc attended primary school at Methodist Agogic Centre (MAC) and then secondary school at St. Maarten Academy. He did some courses at University of St. Martin, but the dancer always knew deep down that he wanted to pursue the performing arts.
Read all about how he followed his heart and made his dreams come true:
Do you specialise in any type of dance in particular?
After finishing high school, I got myself into the martial arts movement organization, Soualiga Capoeira, founded and led by Mestre Graveto (Tyrone Phelipa). Learning this art form combined with music, dance and acrobatic was just an amazing experience.
Throughout the years, I joined and performed in dance groups with amazing friends such as MYSTERIOUS dance crew, BEEHYPE and Mikki G productions “Drama”. Within the groups, I started off with dance styles in hip hop and street jazz. With these groups, I performed in many shows and events on both the French and Dutch sides of the island, such as French Bastille Day; Fish Day, which takes place yearly on the French side; Youth Extravaganza at the Sunset Beach Bar competition; Maho beach hotel and more. I can still remember the excitement, even in rehearsals – the joy, fear and adrenaline I had when I performed within these groups. These years changed my life. I gained such confidence, discipline, passion and the most amazing friendships with such talented and beautiful people.
In 2012, I went to New York for a bit, along with best friends, and did some dance training in various dance styles like ballet, jazz, street jazz, hip hop and contemporary at Broadway Dance Centre (BDC). That was a life changing experience. When I came back to St. Maarten, I made a promise to myself that I would do as many classes as I could wherever I could. I took classes at Indisu Dance Theatre of St. Maarten (where I also took part in their company production of Hairspray) and at the National institute of Arts (NIA).
In 2013, I took a bigger step and quit my full-time job at a hardware store and just focused on my training at NIA. I was nervous when I did that. At first, I really doubted if I could make a living as dancer, but I followed my instincts and relied on my faith. I trained in ballet, jazz and contemporary. I’ve had the amazing support of Clara Reyes and Arlene Halley-Newhouse on my journey in training, including a “Horton technique” course taught by an American former Alvin Ailey teacher, Fernando Carillo.
In that same year, I took part in Nicole de Weever’s “Art Saves Lives” (ASL) program. With it came the opportunity to travel to New York with the foundation. I was super excited. I was fortunate to train at BDC again and at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre of Harlem, Steps of Broadway – and got to see, for the first time, a Broadway musical. I immediately got more inspired and said to myself, “I can so do that.”
When did you know you wanted to pursue dancing as a career?
From a very young age, I was very shy; but I had a great love for dancing, singing and acting – it was something I naturally and genuinely enjoyed doing. According to my mom, I have been dancing since I was a toddler. I would sometimes give a little show and dance my heart out to the family, which always ended with laughter. For years, my parents did not take it seriously. They always thought it was just a hobby, until I quit my full-time job to pursue a dance career. For them, doing something like that was just crazy, but they still showed me support and encouraged me.
If you weren’t a dancer, what would you have chosen?
I never had a back-up plan for a career. Dancing, acting, and singing were always the path I was heading towards, so I set my goals towards them. I had other career ideas I wanted to pursue, but I stuck with the gifts I was naturally given and decided to work on them. In the future, who knows, I would never say no to school to pursue another career that I love. If granted the opportunity, I would surely take it; but for now, I’m just focusing on the present moment.
What led you to London?
When I came back from New York with the ASL program, I knew I wanted more. I wanted to do musical theatre and acting. I did my research as to where I could’ve gone financially. I had to be smart and realistic about my decision. I knew that wherever I was going had to be more beneficial for me – and with time and careful thought, I decided that the UK was that place. I followed my heart.
In late December 2014, I left St. Maarten for the UK. Within two months, I was working part-time and taking dance classes at various dance studios in London. With faith, hard work and perseverance, I knew my career would flourish there. A few months later, I was fortunate to join the Noir dance company founded by Leon Benjamin, who is also from St. Maarten. We danced at Bristol dance festival, Bournemouth and One Dance UK festival.
Within a year, I expanded my dance training doing commercial styles at Studio 68 Professional dance program and modern style at Blake Arts training program. In 2016-2017, I made another big leap. I completed a Musical theatre course at Associated Studios. Here, I was being exposed to a world I was not used to. I remember being terrified on orientation day and doubting myself, thinking: “What am I doing?” I had to sing in a room full of experienced musical theatre students. I embraced every moment of fear and sang my life away. Founding Principal Leontine Hass, from whom I had the greatest support and encouragement, guided me all the way through. My agent was also instrumental in getting me numerous auditions for West End shows, cruise jobs, concerts, pantomimes, commercials and movies.
These times were definitely hard. I was filled with fear, anxiety and uncertainty. It was indeed physically and mentally exhausting. Being cut from auditions, not making the next rounds; making it to finals but at the end still not getting the job – it was difficult. London is expensive. For years, I had to work two part-time jobs to make ends meet, and still make time to do classes and audition. Budgeting and time management were the ultimate skills needed to survive. It was not easy, but giving up was not an option, so I persevered, pushed through and prayed a lot.
I got my first professional gig as a vocalist on television “Sky 1 Sing Ultimate Acapella” with the group, Gospel Essence. Later that year, I landed my first feature film as an ensemble dancer playing an Oxford graduate in the “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” movie. A few months later, I got an acting role playing a monk in an Indie film called “Desert River”.
In 2018-2019, I decided to go back and train at Associated Studios while I was still auditioning. I felt my hard work was paying off when I started getting call-backs from “Hairspray” on the Royal Caribbean cruise and “Hamilton” on West End and “The Lion King” UK/Ireland tour – all were different in styles.
What is it like being on tour with The Lion King?
What an amazing experience “The Lion King” has been. I started rehearsals in late July 2019 and the opening night was on September 12, 2019, in Bristol. I’ve met such loving, amazing, talented people from America, the UK, different parts of Africa and some fellow Caribbean folk. For some, it was their first time being in the UK pursuing what they loved doing.
What is your role in the production?
My role in the production is ensemble dancer along with four other males. In my track, I play various characters in the show, such as animals like the wildebeest, ostrich, hyena and giraffe, plants and ancestral bodies. In my track, there are also scenes that would involve puppetry work, dancing in Ballet, Modern and Afro Caribbean styles, and acting and singing in multiple African languages. The opening night was such a huge moment of life. I felt such gratitude being on stage, being a part of a musical adaptation of a beautiful Disney story I grew up watching as a kid.
What was the auditioning process like, and how did you react when you found out you had been chosen?
This “Lion King” audition process was a journey and could be challenging at times. This was my fourth time auditioning, so I knew what I needed to work on. They know exactly what they want and what’s required of you to do this show. They look for strength, flexibility, stamina, and technique. As I progressed, the job became more physically demanding with repetitions and dance routines and partnering doing lifts. Apart from being exhausted, there was some anxiety and fear, but I made it to finals.
After a while, my agent called and said I got an offer to do “Hairspray” on a Royal Caribbean cruise. I was super excited and could not wait to get started, but was still encouraged to do my finals in “The Lion King” and so I did.
After weeks of preparing documents for “Hairspray”, my agent called me when I had just arrived home to tell me that I got an offer for “The Lion King” UK and Ireland tour. I couldn’t believe it. I was super thrilled to have been given an opportunity to work on such a classic Disney production, which was one of my dreams come true. I could not refuse.
What is the most challenging part? The most exciting part?
The most exciting part of my job is playing the giraffe in the opening number, “The Circle of Life”. It’s the most interesting for me because I walk across the stage, 14 feet tall with the sun rising behind me. To me, that’s one of the most iconic visuals of the show for the audience and I sometimes get a peek of the kids’ faces being in awe when they see this tall animal on the stage – it’s very rewarding for me.
My track involves stilt walking. I was fortunate to have previous training in stilt walking – thanks to my capoeira years. It’s different from what I’m used to because I’m using both legs and arms, and this involves some core work and having layers of costumes on.
The most challenging part of the job is staying physically fit and healthy for the job. With such a job, injuries are prone to happen. There have been times where I couldn’t do shows because of slight injuries. Doing eight shows a week is a lot on the body, especially being a dancer, which is why the company provides a physio. Apart from the physio, I have to constantly keep my body in shape by practicing yoga, constantly going to the gym, swimming and of course having a balanced diet.
In early March 2020, after six months of touring on the show, the COVID pandemic shut down the production in Edinburgh. At that time, everyone thought this would take a few weeks until we got back to work, but a few weeks turned into months of uncertainty and lots of restrictions. The months off did give me time to rest the body, but made me aware of my mental health and that it needed to be taken care of more. I was severely missing my family.
That was indeed a dark moment for me, but I still felt very blessed and grateful considering that people had it far worse than I had. Though we weren’t working, the company was still providing an income. At that time, no other companies were doing that – most companies/shows were even forced to let their employees go.
I went back to London where I shared a flat with two friends and started therapy, which helped my mental health significantly. When restrictions were slightly lifted, I went back home to St. Maarten after six years to see my mom, dad, brothers and friends – and to rejuvenate and restore. This pandemic has definitely taught me that mental health care is of vital importance and that I should not take that long to visit home again!
Nearly two years have passed, 20 months to be exact; and in November 2021, “The Lion King” UK/ Ireland tour finally returned to rehearsals. That first rehearsal was an emotional one. The joy on everyone’s face was memorable. We were all excited to be back at work. Our return performance was on December 31, 2021, in Dublin.
It’s been almost one year since we started back, and we are loving every moment. This is a show where I can grow professionally and artistically. After auditioning within the company, I got a new role to play one of the lead characters – “Banzai” – a male hyena who’s a member of the Shenzi clan and lived in exile from the pride lands but was then recruited by Scar to assist in the murder of his brother Mufasa. Last night, I was super thrilled to make my debut playing Banzai. I just know that with continued faith, hard work, perseverance and confidence, the best is yet to come.
