Leslie danced the title roles in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Coppélia, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, and John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, as well as an extensive repertoire of the ballets of George Balanchine.
As a former principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet, and as an international guest artist, Leslie has danced extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. She was featured on television in “Dance in America’s: A Night at The Joffrey,” televised on PBS, The Diana Ross Show, The Merv Griffin Show, and others. During her many years as a leading dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, she danced a wide range of principal roles, in works by Sir Frederick Ashton, Jiri Kylian, Mark Morris, Ben Stevenson, Glen Tetley, and Twyla Tharp, amongst others. During her career, leading roles were created for her by Robert Joffrey, William Forsythe, Gerald Arpino, Dwight Rhoden, John Clifford, and many others.
In the Pennsylvania Ballet, Leslie danced the title roles in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Coppélia, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, and John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, as well as an extensive repertoire of the ballets of George Balanchine.
Leslie served as ballet faculty and Dance Institute Director at the Colburn School of Performing Arts for almost a decade, and currently travels as guest teacher to schools across the United States and Europe, including the ABT William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and the Finnish National Ballet School. She also teaches ballet, Pilates, and Zena Rommett Floor-Barre® classes in the Los Angeles area. Leslie is proud to serve as a mentor at the annual Floor-Barre® Teacher Certification Courses around the world, and on the managing board of directors for the Zena Rommett Floor-Barre® Foundation.