We had the good fortune of connecting with Leigh Purtill Ballet Instructor & Choreographer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Leigh Purtill, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I think everyone who starts their own business at some point has seen another business and told themselves, “I can do it better.” The dance business is no different! I worked for many people over the years and experienced the good and the bad. I watched studio owners make mistakes as well as follow through on terrific ideas and absorbed as much as I could from them all. So far I think I have avoided some of the worst errors but I’m sure I’m making some of my own!

There was never a conscious decision to start my own dance business. It all happened very naturally and gradually. While I was working as a ballet instructor for a studio in one part of Los Angeles, I started teaching classes as an independent instructor in another area. I rented space hourly and did my own promotion, relying on word of mouth until I could build a website. This was before the days of multiple social media platforms. At the time, there was basically just YouTube and I began posting some instructional technique videos. Eventually I felt like I could do it all on my own and I stopped teaching for others – only for myself!

My father has his own accounting firm on the east coast and he was – and is – a guiding light for me. He quite literally wrote the handbook on starting a small business, a book used in various accounting courses at the local and college level.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I began teaching and choreographing, I thought what mattered was showing off what you could do, showing off how much knowledge you had, how much technique you knew and how well you performed. Creative work for myself and others was based on what I thought would look good on a stage, regardless of what it meant. Teaching consisted of, “Just do what I do the way I do it.” What can I say – I was young and impressed easily by MTV videos!

As I got older and had a more mature performance presence, I understood that teaching and choreographing are not about the creator: they are about the creation. We serve the art and the students, not ourselves, and when we do that, we create from a genuine space rather than superficially.

As a writer too (I have had four novels published), I realized that what the majority of people respond to is a good story. That story can be in a book, on a stage, in a classroom. So now I begin with a tale to tell and I gather inspiration for the telling by observing and working with my students and the dancers in my company.

One of the things that makes my instruction unique is that I teach the way I want to learn: it is mechanics based and develops in each class logically. I know there are lots of methods ballet instructors study (Cecchetti, Vaganova, RAD, ABT) and they are great but I believe in the way I teach. My classes are structured based on my own experience as a student and dancer. I continue to take class myself so that I am always a student.

As far as my choreography goes, that too has developed over the years because of my work as a teacher. It exists to tell the story on stage, rather than to showcase talent. I want audiences to be able to figure out the story based on what they see on the stage. They shouldn’t need a background in ballet history to know what’s going on in front of them! What’s more unique though, is that my stories are not typical ballets. They are original and broad in their scope: ballet should reach people where they live and how they live and it should reflect their dreams and desires and personal experiences.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Ah the luxury of a week in Southern California!

The very first place I would take them is the beach (let’s hope it’s lovely weather!). Santa Monica and Venice beaches are fun, with lots of great people-watching and wide open stretches of sand. Walking along the water, kicking the surf in bare feet is so refreshing.

On another day, we’d visit the Getty museum, perched up on the Palisades with its beautiful view. The charming tram adds to the otherwordly-ness of it.

Recently I discovered another beach I love: Rosie’s Dog Beach in Long Beach. Since I have a dog (and my bestie does too!) we’d bring the pups to an off-leash section of sand and surf and let them run around, later grabbing an iced coffee on Ocean Boulevard.

Of course we would find a reason to stay the night down there – Seal Beach is both affordable and quaint, with lots of little shops and a great place for lunch: Crema Cafe. Delicious avocado toast! Plus they let you bring your dogs and sit on their covered patio.

Making our way back up to Los Angeles, we’d stop for lunch at Say Cheese in Silverlake and then head over to Atwater Village to shop at Out of the Closet for some great thrifty finds. Staying in the area for dinner, we’d go to Michelangelo’s on Rowena Ave for delicious Italian food.

Before they leave, we will go to Griffith Park and walk around the Observatory and then head down to the Carousel and Travel Town to look at the old steam engines. Then we’d hurry to Pasadena for a lavender lemonade at Lavender & Honey Cafe.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My father, John Purtill, has been a terrific mentor to me as a business owner. I have learned so much from him.

My friend, Jen Marchain, has been a wonderful source of support and love over the years; she has encouraged me to pursue all my wacky ideas.

The board of directors of my nonprofit ballet company have given me both guidance and freedom to be creative and to explore more ways to bring ballet to the greater community as part of our mission of Ballet for Everyone.

Website: www.LeighPurtillBallet.com

Instagram: @LeighPurtill

Linkedin: Leigh Purtill

Facebook: @leighpurtill

Youtube: @LeighPurtillBallet

Other: My nonprofit ballet company’s website: LeighPurtillBalletCompany.org

Image Credits
Katie Ging Photography Rawl of the Dead Photography

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