LEANA ALMSTRÖM

 

Leana was born in the U.K and was accepted in to The Royal Ballet School at the age of 11. She trained at the school for 7 years before joining The Royal Ballet company at the age of 18.

She performed with the company for 10 years as a member of the corps de ballet and as a soloist, dancing in both classical and neo-classical ballets choreographed by Ashton, MacMillan, Balanchine, Tudor, Tharp and Page amongst others. Her roles include Clara (Nutcracker) Cygnets (Swan Lake), Songbird Fairy, Red Riding Hood (Sleeping Beauty) and she created roles in ballets by Christopher Wheeldon and William Tuckett. She had the privilege of dancing and working with some of the greatest artists of our time including Kenneth MacMillan, Anthony Dowell, Natalia Makarova, Darcey Bussell, Sylvie Guillem, and Viviana Durante.

 

In 2000, Leana re-trained as a Pilates instructor with Alan Herdman in London before moving to Stockholm in 2001. In 2003, she opened a Pilates studio, where she taught for 14 years. In 2016 she got accepted on to the Royal Ballet Dance Teaching Diploma (Vocational strand), which she graduated from in 2018.

As part of her teaching practice, Leana has taught at the Royal Ballet Lower School and Upper School as well as at Base 23, Stockholm. She also taught ballet to figure skaters at Shattuck - St. Mary’s school, U.S.A.

Leana's aim when she teaches is to include all aspects of ballet as an art form and to ensure that each student has a valuable learning experience.

 

Leana lives in Stockholm with her Swedish husband and 19 year old twins