Leah is one of our FOCUS Company Pro dancers. We wanted to spotlight her awesomeness, and give you some insight to our competing program!

Getting to know Leah

This week in our Meet FDC PRO Series, I had the chance to sit down and chat with Leah Lederman! Leah has been a part of our FOCUS family since she was three years old. Now, Leah is a 16-year-old sophomore in highschool. As a Company PRO Dancer, Leah competes in tap, musical theater/jazz, and contemporary. To supplement her training, Leah also studies acro and ballet regularly. 

When asked to reflect on their experiences with Leah, studio-owner Monie Adamson, replied with:

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Leah, since she was just a little girl! She is an absolute delight to have in class. Such a positive energy, always eager, and willing to try new things and challenge herself to new levels! She has an amazing work ethic, boundless amounts of energy, and never gives up on herself, her teachers, or her classmates! She is so supportive of everyone else, is quick to laugh, and find the humor in things! She is a bright light and is going to go far in whatever she puts her mind to. She takes her training very seriously, and is always open to corrections and willing to try new things, which shows in her advanced dance abilities and execution. She has a fearlessness and a loyalty that is inspiring!”

-Monie Adamson

FOCUS Memories

Leah (green pants) and other FOCUS dancers at the Global Village Festival

Leah has been a part of our family for a while, and she has lots of fun memories from throughout her years. I asked her to pick just one of these memories to share with you all. She bounced back and forth for a bit about what her favorite memory could possibly be, she settled on one of the spirit rallies from Season 18. The wonderful parent club put on a huge water balloon fight for all of the dancers, and even got to dump an entire bucket of water on Shannon’s–one of our faculty members–head. 

I also asked Leah what her funniest moment she could remember was. She told me about the time that her tap team was about to go onstage for finals, and they were all running super late from a quick-change. As it turns out, the backstage was super slippery (especially in tap shoes), and as they were sprinting to go onstage, Leah slipped and fell right into Andrew Dove–another one of our Company PRO Dancers–causing him to also fall over. After some laughter, one of their teammates picked them both up and they ended up getting onstage right on time.

Leah’s Season 19 Solo: “I Loved You” can be viewed HERE

Leah’s solo last year was a beautiful contemporary piece. I told Leah that we would be featuring it this week (it can be viewed by clicking HERE), and asked her what she appreciated about her solo. She replied by saying that it was her very first contemporary solo, and that the style change was definitely an adjustment. That being said, she said that her solo really helped her to develop not only her technique but her own personal style, and how to emotionally connect with a piece.

Closing Thoughts

One of the last questions I asked Leah was about how FOCUS has shaped her as a person. She said that FOCUS has taught her how to work hard to achieve something. Further, her training here for so many years has taught her perseverance–how to not give up, but to push herself harder. Additionally, Leah said that FOCUS has helped her incredibly with school, and in life through time management. Overall, she would say that her motivation is the biggest thing she can attribute to FOCUS.

Finally, I asked Leah to give a younger dancer one piece of advice. She said that her advice would be to always try your best and:

“Work through the hard stuff.”

Recalling how fast her time at FOCUS has gone, she advises younger dancers to work to be the best dancer they can be by the time they graduate.