Leyla Boissonnade The Face of the Bay Area Dance School Sarah Martinez
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rofessional dancer Shanna LaFleur famously said, “It takes an athlete to dance, but an artist to be a dancer.” Plastered on the wall of Bay Area Dance School, this quote continues to inspire the very nurturing, healthy, and well-rounded environment that many young dancers have enjoyed for the past eight years. Founder Leyla Boissonnade has created a very unique and innovative environment for young dancers in the Bay Area by integrating her background in psychology, a college prep program, and a ballet-based, recreational and competition dance studio. Her tight-knit, small studio environment is very rare, providing academic support, superb dance training, and a sort of second home for the children who attend. Most commonly, when loved ones think of Leyla, they think of someone who is caring, nurturing, and loving – a person they can depend on and turn to for any kind of support that they need. She is someone who always knows how to help, no matter how hard the problem may be – someone who genuinely wants to listen to what you have to say and can contribute a quality perspective to the conversation. Through her great personality and human connection, she has led an amazing life, becoming highly successful in fulfilling her dreams. Born and raised in Menlo Park, California, Leyla lived with both her parents full time and attended Menlo-Atherton High School, where she was a very successful student. Leyla was always very driven to do well in school, with the goal of attending college. After high school, she attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology with minors in Dance and Education. Later, she attended the University of California Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and received a preliminary credential in secondary English. Besides her obvious passion for education and psychology, Leyla could always be found in the dance studio when not focusing on school. Beginning at the young age of three, she danced locally with the Menlo Park Academy of Dance. She excelled in many different styles of dance, specifically tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, contemporary, and acrobatics, though Leyla’s main focus was ballet. She trained in the Royal Academy of Dance curriculum and passed all exams up to the advanced level. During that time, Leyla also started teaching a variety of different dance classes when she was a teenager. This is when Leyla first discovered her passion for psychology and teaching. Leyla describes what sparked her interest in psychology: “I remember that I really liked science and I like that it let you explore the neural pathways of the brain and why people do what they do on a biological level as opposed to socially or environmentally” (Boissonnade). Leyla, always keen about science, found a new interest after she began teaching dance classes. She became more and more curious about the neurological development involved with becoming a dancer. After college, Leyla felt inspired to continue her journey in the education field, though she didn’t know exactly how to do this. She continued to teach classes at Menlo Park Academy of Dance until she decided to go off on her own and embark on the greatest journey of her life. Leyla dreamed of having space not only where she could combine and utilize all her passions but also where she could help people and still make a difference in their lives. In order to do this, she knew