Melissa Pastrana as a child model/performer was in 12 "Star Style Magazines" alongside Jessica Sutta from the "PussyCat Dolls". She was picked for the Univision Network "Sabado Gigante" at an early age, and never missed an opportunity to appear in local TV commercials. Her main focus for 23 years has been professional dancing and choreography and as a"Thespian" in High School and as a full scholarship student in the BFA Performing Arts program at New World School of the Arts. She has trained with legendary artists in history books such as Twyla Tharp, Daniel Lewis who worked under the renown Jose Limon, Edward Villella who worked along side George Balanchine, 5 time Emmy winning Director Jerry Zacks, among other nominated directors who have continued to push her skills to a whole new level. She was first discovered as an adult in show biz by Liberman Broadcasting, after they searched 6 states They made Melissa Pastrana a Series regular. Melissa Pastrana was Season 1 Winner of a Reality Television show similar to "Dancing with the Stars' In Spanish channel and she won by 4 Million Fan Votes. Featuring her in People Magazine 7 times, Yahoo News, Google TV among other publications nationwide and international. She has performed in Music Videos with Nicky Minaj, Chris Brown, Principal Dancer/Actor for One Direction, Lil Wayne, Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, Drake, Elvis Crespo, Fatman Scoop... just to name a few. Although Melissa Pastrana has been acting since a child, she merged her extensive stage experience with TV/Film after working with international Latin celebrities with. In a short amount of time Melissa Pastrana co-starred with Oscar Nominated actor Said Faraj opposite Matt Damon in "Green Zone" as well as with John Newton from the popular television show "Melrose Place". Melissa finds the time to give back to society through charities, foundations and various causes such as One Billion Rising against women being abused in other countries, "Hear the Runway" Foundation to promote self-esteem to deaf individuals, Breast Cancer events, "Love Can" Campaign awareness to stop children in hunger etc. Melissa Pastrana received a full scholarship in the MFA Filmmaking/Directing program at New York Film Academy, which is one of the top film schools in the world where Guest Speakers such as Steven Spielberg, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman have not only taken their children to learn but also recommend aspiring filmmakers all over the world to get training.
