Madelaine Mendez was gifted the name, “Little Rainbow Dancer" as a child and she feels that name has protected her. Photo by Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos

Madelaine McCallum Mendez is a gifted model, actress, choreographer, traditional dancer, and motivational speaker. Originally from Ile-a-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan, this multi-talented woman lives by a personal motto, “Allow Fear to Propel You Forward.”

She is also a widely recognized and applauded Key Note Speaker at Conferences worldwide. She receives accolades for her Key Note speech, The Fire Within. Mendez has a biographical film in the works that illustrates her bravery and determination when she was diagnosed with cancer a year after being told she only had a cyst. It illustrates the challenges and lessons she was gifted with because of her illness.

“This lump brought me many beautiful lessons. It brought me many beautiful people…I had a growth in my body since I was 17 years old,” she said. “That growth grew until it was cancerous and big enough to be a large 15 x 12 cm mass.”

In 2016, Mendez had the mass removed. Two days later she danced until the stitches were torn.

“Dancing is when nothing can touch me. It is when I’m flying. I’m floating. I don’t feel any sickness,” she said.

Mendez was gifted the name, “Little Rainbow Dancer" as a child and she feels that name has protected her.

“Dancing is ceremony. When I do presentations, I know I have been called there for a reason. There are invisible lines of connection that help heal us,” she said.

When Mendez dances she gets the same feelings as she experiences through sweat lodges, Sundance and other traditional ceremonies. She sees her talents as ways to spread healing and light and to build those connections of healing with everyone she encounters.

“When I get tired and I am asked to perform I am sharing my medicine, I am a warrior of the light, I treat it like ceremony,” Mendez said. “Somebody’s energy pulled me there, somebody prayed for help and so that is why I go when I am asked to perform or speak.”

She is currently working on fundraising for her biographical film Dancing Through. It details her journey with cancer. To view the promotional trailer and see some her endeavors you can visit, DancingThrough.org. It is a deeply moving and impactful promotional video to watch and, as one fan has stated, “Keep Dancing Through Our Hearts Madelaine!”