Melendie was born in Davao, within the Mindanao island of the Philippines. At a young age, she demonstrated a great interest in dance.  Though dance lessons were typically accessible only to wealthy families, Melendie’s mother sacrificed much to enroll her in a ballet class at age 9.  The following year, Melendie was spotted by a gymnastics scout and her parents allowed her to be trained in the sport.  Melendie continued nurturing her dance ambitions, though, training and performing often while also competing in regional gymnastic competitions for several years.  Desiring to share her love of dance with her cousins and neighbors, at the age of 14 Melendie also began teaching ballet.  With the help of her handy father who built her portable ballet barres, her first “home ballet studio” evolved in their living room. 

While she continued to compete in gymnastics in high school, Melendie’s true love and passion was for ballet.  Noticing this, and despite the additional time and money that would need to be sacrificed, her mother enrolled her in the prestigious Locsin Dance Workshop in Davao City, an hour-long bus commute from their rural town.  Three days a week, Melendie would rush to take public transportation right after school in order to be on time for her ballet classes in the city in the evenings, returning home late at night.  At age 16, Melendie also became a dance teacher at Curay Dance Studio in her town, where she taught throughout her high school and college years.

After high school, Melendie continued to be active in dance while attending Ateneo de Davao University, where she graduated with a B.A. in Communication Arts.  As a member of The Terpsichorean Dance Club at the university, she would often perform as a backup dancer in a number of celebrity concerts.  Melendie also continued training at Locsin Dance Workshop throughout college.  Noticing her talent, Agnes Locsin, then Artistic Director with Ballet Philippines, encouraged Melendie to audition for the country’s elite dance company.  However, being only a year away from graduation, Melendie decided to postpone a possible professional dance career while she finished her degree. 

A dance career would have to wait a little longer, though, as Melendie felt compelled to serve a mission in the north with her church upon graduating.  It was there that she met her future husband, Rex, who returned to the States shortly after their meeting to pursue his degree.  The two corresponded by mail for almost two years while Melendie finished her mission.  They were married in 1993, and shortly afterward Melendie immigrated to the States.  Nearly a decade later, when their second child was three years old, Melendie and Rex opened their original ballet studio in Mesa, Arizona. 

Melendie has performed as a dance soloist in numerous productions as well as choreographed for notable productions.  Some highlights of performances and choreography include:
Swan Lake, Free to Choose, My Turn on Earth, Sleeping Beauty, A Show in the Shoe Kingdom, Eve in Paradise, Saturday’s Warrior, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Mahiwaga and Buhay ng Tao.