2018 "FOCUS ON YOUTH":
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Dancer:
Leslie Merced
Plainfield, NJ
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Leslie Merced is a Plainfield, New Jersey native. She began dance when she was two and a half years old, studying tap, jazz, ballet and lyrical. As she grew, she continued studying many different genres of dance. She attended high school at Union County Academy for Performing Arts from 2012 to 2016. She was inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA) during her junior year. Leslie also was involved in New York University's Future Dancers and Dancemakers program for two years and attended the Rutgers University Summer Intensive Conservatory for Dance in the summer of 2015. She was awarded the Governor’s Award in Arts Education during her senior year. Leslie studied at the Institute of the Arts Barcelona located in Sitges, Spain where she performed in the dance festival, Bailar Al Sol created by Andrea Kramer.
Leslie has worked with a variety of artists such as Carolyn Dorfman, John Evans, Melanie Gambino, Deborah Lohse, Tommy Scrivens, Andrea Kramer, Stephanie Tooman, Anna Morgan and Alexandra Wells, to name a few. Leslie currently attends SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Dance where she is pursuing her B.F.A. in dance. Leslie was selected to study dance abroad at Korea National University of Arts in Seoul, South Korea this upcoming fall semester. |
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Video above: This was Leslie's application video for study abroad in South Korea. The choreography includes Graham floor work and a Studio Improvisation.
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Future plans...
Leslie’s overall dream is to become a professional dancer performing with a major company and to eventually open her own dance studio to educate the next generation.
It is very important to her to give back to the community that gave her so much. |
Each featured young woman was asked this same question:
Imagine you've just traveled through time, and you find yourself in the year 2028. Where are you, and what are you doing?
I see myself dancing in a professional dance company and in the process of getting a studio opened where I can train youth to help them make their dreams reality. Most importantly, as a Latina in the dance industry, I want to inspire the young Latina community - to show them that they too can become professional dancers. To achieve this, I plan to integrate my Puerto Rican culture with my choreography and hope that my story resonates in the hearts of my audience.
Imagine you've just traveled through time, and you find yourself in the year 2028. Where are you, and what are you doing?
I see myself dancing in a professional dance company and in the process of getting a studio opened where I can train youth to help them make their dreams reality. Most importantly, as a Latina in the dance industry, I want to inspire the young Latina community - to show them that they too can become professional dancers. To achieve this, I plan to integrate my Puerto Rican culture with my choreography and hope that my story resonates in the hearts of my audience.
