Breaking From Above | Season 1 | Monique Robert

Unlike her group mates in From Above, 23-year-old Monique was a late bloomer when it came to singing and dancing. As a child she was active in sports, which morphed into an interest in dance, which became her passion by the time she was 17. Monique completed an A level in dance at Lewisham College and then moved to London Studio Centre on a full scholarship. From there, she was a professional dancer with dance companies Zoonation and Boy Blue, and performed with artists such as Kanye West, Sugababes and Ne-Yo. During this time, Monique joined a pop band called Beyond. Although her time in the band was short-lived, she realizes that she had a passion for singing too. Soon thereafter, Monique successfully auditioned to become the fifth member of From Above.

“Music has always been there—I was a huge fan of Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five,” says Monique. “I listened to Luther Vandross, Kool & The Gang, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Sunday afternoons after church, I’d make up songs and dance routines. I was also into sports, swimming, and aerobics. I was studying science in school—until I saw a dance production and I knew I wanted to be a dancer. I had a real passion for it. I joined a singing group and we did some live shows with (British artists) The Sugarbabes and McFly, and I realized I wasn’t just a dancer anymore, I was an artist and I wanted to make the audiences would feel whatever I was feeling.”