Leigh Grant is a ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

 

Hi, Friend. I'm Leigh. I have been dancing ballet for nearly four decades. I dance, and I teach the art of dance, because I want to put beauty in the world. I want a dance space free of harmful practices: one that is joyful and is an environment that fosters humanity through artistry.

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Cadenza Ballet is my love letter to the non-traditional dancer community. Building on all the tools I cultivated trough auditing the American Ballet Theatre's National Training Curriculum Teacher Training Program in New York City in 2019, I am developing my own curriculum that encapsulates everything ballet is: purpose, passion, joy; a movement meditation that cleanses the soul. Cadenza is a a sanctuary for those who want to dance ballet, discover its magic, and see how much a dance education transforms one's life.

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Dancing since age 5, I turned professional (as a freelance ballet dancer) at age 13, and I "retired" at age 23 from injuries. I returned to ballet at the end of my college days, craving an artistic outlet. 

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In 2018, I wholly immersed myself in ballet training again. I've since had the opportunity to continue learning from major ballet dancers and master teachers including: Runqiao Du, Kathryn Morgan, Allison Debona, Skylar Brandt, and so many more. It has truly been a highlight and invaluable experience for me. In 2020, through School of Philadelphia Ballet (then Pennsylvania Ballet), I booked a professional role in Bill T Jones production of Deep Blue Sea. Unfortunately, after only one paid rehearsal, the pandemic shut production down. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to meet and work with Bill T Jones and his company.

 

I later found a home at Berks Ballet Theatre. There, I was invited to get back on the stage in The Nutcracker by Artistic Director Nathan Bland. Since relocating to Santa Fe, I've had the opportunity to perform in Don Quixote with Dance Arts Los Alamos

 

I've gone through many emotions and experiences in my dance life: all the highs and lows. These experiences make me uniquely poised to be a ballet teacher. I understand firsthand the physical demands, emotional complexities, and courage it takes to step into the studio. I teach from a trauma-informed position, ensuring that each of my students feels respected and cared for. A life-long learner, I'm continually honing my understanding of technique, building better modalities to implement in my classrooms, more effective descriptors, all rooted in the current dance science and medicine.

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Welcome, Friend. I can't wait to dance with you.
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