Dance Instructor
Leanna began dancing at age 3 and started her ballet training at age 11 in Ames, IA, under the instruction of Robert Thomas and Miyoko Kato Thomas, former Joffrey Ballet dancers. She was a member of the Iowa Youth Ballet for seven years and performed in Iowa State Center’s production of The Nutcracker for ten years.
Leanna graduated from the University of Iowa with a BA in Dance and a certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship in 2017. During her time there, she performed in numerous concerts in both faculty- and student-choreographed work, and in 2016, her choreographic work was selected to be performed in the Dance Department’s Undergraduate Concert.
Leanna has been dancing with North Pointe Ballet since 2019. Favorite roles she’s danced include Cinderella in Cinderella in the Park and Wendy in Peter Pan. She has 15 years of teaching and choreography experience at numerous dance schools, primarily in ballet and pointe technique, to students of all ages. She loves sharing the joy of ballet with her students here at BWCAS. Leanna lives in Akron with her husband, Kevin. She is so grateful to the Lord for all the artistic opportunities she’s been given.