Jayna Ledford
Jayna Noel Ledford is a Filipino-American transgender ballet dancer. She performed with Eastern Shore Ballet Theater in Maryland and is a former student at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. After coming out as a transgender woman, Ledford lost her scholarship at the Kirov Academy and disenrolled from the school, as they did not permit her to continue her studies as a female dancer. She then trained in classical ballet at First State Dance Academy in Delaware.
Early life
Ledford was born in Leyte, Philippines.[1] She was adopted by the Ledford family, of Indiana, when she was seventeen months old.[1] The family later moved to Salisbury, Maryland in 2008 and then to Frederica, Delaware in 2015.[2][1]
Ballet
Ledford began training in ballet when she was five years old.
She was offered a full scholarship, as a male dancer,[5] to attend the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. as a full-time student.[3][6] While a student at Kirov, Ledford came out as a transgender woman and began transitioning.[3][7] Her social and medical transition led to her losing the dance scholarship, so she took a year off from school to train en pointe under Michele Xiques as a female dancer at First State Dance Academy.[8][1] A month into pointe training, Ledford was cast as Snow Queen in First State's production of The Nutcracker.[2]
Personal life
After finishing high school, she attended Montclair State University majoring in dance and exercise science.[3][9] She also became involved in Filipino and LGBTQ+ student groups at Montclair.[3][10]
Legacy
A dance studio at Midwest Movement Collective in Grand Rapids, Michigan is named after Ledford.[11]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Jay Ledford's journey as a Filipino-American transgender ballerina".
- ^ a b This Transgender Ballerina Is Raising the Bar, retrieved 2023-01-24
- ^ a b c d e "Jayna Ledford is "En Pointe" as a Successful Trans Ballerina". badasserylife.com. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- ^ "How is the Ballet World Including Non-Binary Dancers?" (PDF).
- ^ "Trans Ballerina Jayna Ledford Is Shattering Stereotypes". NowThis News. July 2019. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- ^ "We Can't Get Enough of This Beautiful Transgender Ballerina". Pointe Magazine. 2018-07-04. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- ^ Ledford, Jayna (2018-09-19). "Jayna Ledford on Her Journey as a Transgender Ballerina". Dance Spirit. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- ^ "▶️ Meet The Trans Ballerina Fighting For Equal Opportunity In Dance". HuffPost. 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- ^ Choreographers 2021-06-07T08:00:14.395Z2021-06-10T19:52:03.881Z, STU Arts DanceCelebrating Pride month with Influential LGBTQ+ Dancers and (2021-06-07). "Celebrating Pride month with Influential LGBTQ+ Dancers and Choreographers". STU Arts Dance. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Jayna Ledford is "En Pointe" and living her badassery life as a transgender ballerina". Listen Notes. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- ^ Enos, Lisa (2022-09-02). "Dancing in the dark?". Grand Rapids Business Journal. Retrieved 2023-01-24.