Art of Hope interviews Leyna Doran, the Artistic Director of Ballet Hartford. Ballet Hartford is a professional ballet company located in the capital city in Connecticut. The company began in 2016 with the mission of creating art filled with the true, the good, and the beautiful. Since then, it has grown in size and carries out its vision to be "art for the city."
Born in California, Leyna Doran began her ballet training at the age of twelve at a local studio on scholarship. At fourteen, she was selected to be privately coached by Christina (Gibbs) Lyon, former dancer of American Ballet Theatre. Under Lyon’s tutelage, Doran attended American Ballet Theatre’s Detriot Summer Intensive (2006) and Kirov Academy of Ballet’s Summer Intensive (2008). A generous sponsorship to attend these intensives was provided by David Howard. In 2009, Doran was hired by the Crystal Cathedral to perform as a dancer in the Glory of Christmas productions. From 2010-2014, Doran received further training and dance education at Belhaven University. At Belhaven, she studied under the instruction of Laura Morton, Caleb Mitchell, and Ravenna Tucker. She represented the university at two American College Dance Associations (ACDA) and was awarded the Bezalel Award (2010) and Daniel Award (2014). In 2012, she accompanied a group of Belhaven students and faculty to perform throughout South Korea. Upon graduating summa cum laude with her Bachelor of Fine Arts (2014), Doran worked as a company artist with Ekklesia Contemporary Ballet. She began teaching at several ballet studios in the area alongside instructing ballet classes for different dance organizations at Yale University. In 2016, she began dancing for Vivid Ballet (Ballet Hartford) gaining opportunity to perform around the country. She performed choreography from Elizabeth McMillan, Silas Farley (New York City Ballet), Stephen Pier, Vincent Hardy (Complexions Contemporary Ballet), Steve Rooks (Martha Graham Dance Company), Michelle Thompson Ulrich (Ballet Austin), Caleb Mitchell (Houston Ballet), Miro Magliore, Victor Lozano (Julliard), and others. Most notably, Doran performed at the White House for an event held by the First Lady. In 2017, she was promoted to Principal Dancer and Ballet Mistress. Doran has been invited to teach at studios and summer intensives in PA, AL, CA, CT. She has attended Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet’s (CPYB) Teachers Workshop and studied Marcia Dale Weary’s syllabus under Darla Hoover, Alecia Good-Borgrove, and Rose Taylor. She continues to instruct and choreograph on a regular basis for dance schools in the Connecticut area. In 2019, Doran became Artistic Director of Ballet Hartford and has been grateful to carry the company forward with excellence and joy. Under her leadership, the company carried on through the pandemic, performing both virtually and in-person, and has enjoyed vibrant, full seasons with deep community ties.
