Leda Meredith
Dance
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Leda Meredith's dance career spans classical ballet, modern dance and theater. She was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre II, Edward Villella, Manhattan Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Ballet du Nord and others. She toured as Louise in San Francisco Opera Ballet’s Carousel, and appeared as Columbine for the Walter Verdehr Trio’s PBS presentation of Pierrot. Leda is currently Rehearsal Director of Dances Patrelle, and originated numerous roles for  that company including her critically acclaimed Lady Macbeth in Francis Patrelle's Macbeth. She was a company member of Jennifer Muller/The Works for over eight years and returned as Artistic Associate Director for The Works’ 25th anniversary season. She is an Adjunct Professor at Adelphi University teaching ballet, modern dance, choreography, and writing for dance, and the recipient of Adelphi's 2007-2008 Teaching Excellence Award. Her book Botany, Ballet, & Dinner from Scratch: A Memoir with Recipes was published by Heliotrope Books in July 2008.

As a choreographer, her works have been presented by the Joyce Theater, New York, Dansatelier, Rotterdam, Dance Loft, Switzerland, Western Washington University, as well as Dance Adelphi, Malaparte Theatre Company, the Gene Frankel Theatre, Dixon Place, the Hatch Saturday Series, Wong Dance, and the Arts on the Hudson Festival. Her piece, The Rorschach Test, was performed as part of the American Dance Guild’s 50th Anniversary Gala. You can view this work online at The Rorschach TestThis piece also appeared in the 2008 inaugural benefit performance for the Dancers' Emergency Fund. Recently, Leda choreographed, Exit: An Inquiry in memory of dancer Leonardo Smith, and Pair of Jacks, a duet with an original score by GrooveLily, for Dances Patrelle's New York season. Her work, Letters from Home,  toured with Wong Dance Company in March, 2008. She co-produced IndepenDANCE: A Benefit for the Invisible Children of Uganda in 2007, and created My Soul to Keep for the benefit. Her efforts have so far raised close to three thousand dollars for  that cause. My Soul to Keep  will be presented as part of the American Dance Guild's 2008 Gala in NYC on September 11.

Leda is one of the few officially accredited teachers of the Muller modern dance technique, as well as teaching ballet, partnering, composition and performance skills. She is an Adjunct Professor for Adelphi University's Dance Department, and a recipient of Adelphi's 2007-2008 Teaching Excellence Award. Leda is a returning guest instructor for Pennsylvania Regional Ballet, the Henny Jurriens Stichting in Amsterdam, Western Washington University, Koelnertanz in Cologne, and the Dance Loft in Rorschach, Switzerland, among others. She has taught for the Iles de Danse in France, for the Artist's Trust International Course in England, and as a guest instructor for Carolyn Carlson’s Atelier de Paris. Other dance programs she has taught for include the California State University at Los Angeles, SUNY Purchase, SUNY Oswego, and Brigham Young University in Hawaii. She has been a featured instructor for the Northeast Regional Dance Festival and the American College Dance Association.  For more information about Leda's classes go to Dance Class Descriptions.


A published author on many subjects, her writing has appeared in Pointe Magazine (including most recently the April-May 2008 issue), European Dance News,  the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's All-Region Guides, and The-Vu, among others. Leda is also a professional gardener and botanist and teaches for the New York Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Her book, Botany, Ballet, & Dinner from Scratch, will be published by Heliotrope Books in July, 2008. It is available for on Amazon here, and you can read a chapter of the book here.

Contact  Leda  Meredith