When Le Classique Dance Company held its production, Alley Cats, a few months ago the choreography was excellent and the dancers were good but Leslyn Lashley was better than good. She is the kind of dancer who easily brings clarity to any dance and she moves so well you question whether she is programmed or something.
But after 28 years of dancing just for the love of it you would imagine that she ought to be good. Leslyn was three years old when she first started dancing, but she says she believes it must have started much earlier. Perhaps while still in her mother’s womb.
“I remember my first dance in front of an audience. It was at Kingston Nursery School and I was bold since back then. From the minute the music was on I was doing my thing and was by far the most fronted child,” Leslyn said.
Recapping her first experience adds a glow to her face and as she reminisces you get the feeling that little girl pops up every now and again. Leslyn admits she still likes being “front and centre” when dancing, but that is not all she thinks about.
The way she describes it, dancing became her life a long time ago in a very real way. She said there were days she had no bus fare to get to dance class, but she would still leave South Ruimveldt where she lived and walk to the National Cultural Centre.
For her the walking was no big deal, because her fulfilment came from dancing. As long as she was able to do that nothing else really mattered. Dancing pretty much occupied her time while growing up.
She said dancing even paid the bills after her mother died and she was left to care for a younger brother. Leslyn was just 20, but had been dancing for over ten years already when her mother passed away. By then she had received much exposure as a performer and dancer.
These last few months she had not been dancing because of a persistent knee problem; Alley Cats was her last stage performance. Since she has been dancing Leslyn has seen the hospital a considerable amount of times for various knee and ankle injuries including a serious fracture once. She has appeared on stage strapped up on so many occasions people thought it was a style after a while.
And that is another thing about her that makes you sit up and take notice. She brings something extra to a dance. She may be moving in time with a group but she dances as if it were her tune, her dance and everyone else just asked permission to follow along.
There is something gripping about Leslyn when she is on stage that draws you to her and the dance whether she is grooving to a hip-hop sound, gyrating to soca or floating during a ballet performance.
From watching her, you know she is experienced and that she is having a different kind of fun. She said dancing frees her and when she is in that world, this one disappears. She said the excitement that it gives her is unmatched.
Leslyn credits her ability to dance well to hard work. She said the time she has put in is reflected in the years she has been doing it. Added to that, she said, her foundation in dancing came from a good place. She started out with the National School of Dance under instructor Vivienne Daniel.
“When I first joined, I thought Ms Daniel hated me because she was always on my case. But she had seen my potential and believed I had it in me to be good. I was still very young so it was hard to figure out,” Leslyn said.
But before she did any figuring out, Leslyn left the dance school unknown to her mother. Then one day Ms Daniel showed up at her home to enquire why her mother had allowed her to drop out. After some patching up and much apologising to her mother and dance instructor she returned to dance school.
Some time after that she did leave and went on to dance with other people. The way she put it, “every little school around I tried”. She later went back to the National School of Dance and through a chance encounter in 2005 joined Le Classique Dance Company and has been there ever since.
She said Classique has a disciplined instructor in the person of Clive Prowell and he runs a tight ship. She said it could be fun at times but on most days it’s all business.
While she is not dancing right now, Leslyn supports dance and still follows what the other companies and schools do.
Outside of dancing Leslyn spends time in church and has been “keeping out of trouble,” as she puts it. Some time back she was baptised and is now a member of the Dominion House church which is located on North Road. There, she teaches dance to children aged nine to 12 years old and said that is her newfound joy.
She said people have talked all manner of things about her in the past and still do but her attitude has always been to ignore them. Her philosophy is: whatever they have to say could never be as bad as some of the things she has had to endure in life. And people have said hurtful stuff.
In addition to dancing, Leslyn is an actress and has been in several plays. A few of her performances have been rated creditably. She has been in the Link Show and even travelled with the cast to perform overseas.
There was a time too, when pageants were part of her life and she entered quite a few. She managed to win some titles including Miss Bartica Regatta, Miss Inter-Secondary School, Miss Georgetown and Miss Easter, while placing first-runner up in other pageants she entered.
She said modelling was another phase in her life and she has graced the catwalk for several local designers. She has since given all that up and is now focusing on her life as Christian.
Leslyn said she is planning to walk down the aisle very soon because she has met the man of her dreams. She has plans to become a mother also, but no matter what is happening in her life, she said, dance will always be a part of it. ianaseales@yahoo.com
