Melek grew up in a small town outside of Syracuse, NY. As a young girl she loved dancing, singing and swimming. She had an aunt who taught her to belly dance as it had been a family tradition brought over from her family from Istanbul, Turkey, where her ancestors danced for generations.
She moved to Buffalo, NY (where she currently resides) to attend and receive a Bachelor degree in business administration from Buffalo State College. She started taking formal belly dance lessons at a local studio.
Melek aspires to grow her passion of dance by continuing her dance education with taking workshops and classes with local dancers such as Annakiya (a belly dancer from Buffalo, NY), The Three Early Girls (a belly dance trio from Syracuse, NY); American Belly dance artists such as Maia Alexandra, and Nefretiti. Melek has also taken a workshop with the international belly dancer Naheda.
Melek is also a professional mermaid!
Over time Melek's love for the water grew and grew becoming an ocean activist and conservationist. Melek believes we need to treat the ocean and it's residence with respect and in doing so the ocean will treat us with respect and provide alternative food and natural ingredients such as seaweed and algae for uses in food and cosmetics.
Her love of mermaids led her to the love of oceans. Which is why she loves to become a mermaid to teach and see the joy a mermaid can bring to adult and childrens' faces. Teaching a child or adult about any part of the ocean from water safety to plankton is a joy and passion for Melek.