The Ailey School

Leila Bershad was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York where she began training at the age of five in a variety of styles at Diva Dance Studio. At age 13 she began training at Brighton Ballet Theater under the instruction of Larisa Akinicheva. She continued her dance education at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, where she performed throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn as a member of the LaGuardia Dance Ensemble. Leila furthered her dance training with summer intensives and workshops at the Joffrey Ballet School and Broadway Dance Center. She has performed works by Alvin Ailey, Adam Barruch, Earl Mosley, Dwana Smallwood, and Janis Brenner, among others. Eager to share her passion with others, Leila started assistant teaching at the age of 14 and has continued to teach and choreograph on young students. A graduate of the Ailey/FordhamBFA program class of 2021, with a major in Dance and minor in Psychology, Leila aspires to keep sharing her love of dance through performing and teaching.