Brown Ballerina Ambassador Leila Rackley on Staying Focused to Achieve Goals

Leila Rackley, a Connecticut-based Brown Ballerina Ambassador who turns 13 in a few weeks, started dancing at her local YMCA when she was 5. There, she studied ballet, tap, hip-hop, lyrical, acro, jazz, pointe, and participated in competition dance. After 5 years, Leila transferred to The Hartt School Community Division where she currently studies classical ballet.

In her interview below, Leila reflects on a goal she set and accomplished during her dance company transition. She also reflects on a recent goal she accomplished, and how each of the goals required a unique strategy to help them come to fruition. Read on to find out how she did it - and how you can too!

Photo: Leila Rackley; shot by Megan Bonneau McCool

Goal #1: Learning a New Dance Technique

After leaving my old dance studio, I had to adapt to Vaganova ballet technique and become more familiar with the vocabulary of ballet. Although I had been dancing for 5 years, there were some differences in my previous ballet training. I set the goal of making it to pointe ballet within the next two years of training at Hartt - and I did!

How She Accomplished It

I was able to reach my goal by applying the corrections that I was given consistently. I work on this by writing down the corrections and by practicing them in between classes. I also studied really hard for my end-of-year exam.

Goal #2: Performing in a Popular Production

I recently achieved the goal of performing in my first Nutcracker! I danced the roles of: Party Girl, Angel, and Chinese Corps. I had so much fun learning the choreography and being on stage again for my first live performance since the pandemic.

How She Accomplished It

I was so excited to perform in a live performance for the first time in two years. I had three roles, and it took a lot of rehearsals and focus to remember the choreography. I love performing, and during rehearsals I kept reminding myself of how it will feel to be back on stage to keep me going.

Leila’s Takeaways

My best advice is to set manageable goals. Make sure that your goals are achievable based on where you are in your training. Also, do not compare yourself to anyone else. Everybody grows and progresses at different rates, and you are probably moving at a rate that is perfect for you.

My mom always tells me that I have the power within me to do anything that I want to do. Keep training hard, stay focused, and remain determined. When it comes to dance, it is best to adopt a growth mindset. Do not give up when you hit challenges. Ask for help from your teachers. They are there to help you. They recognize when you are doing your personal best, and they can help you achieve your goals.

This year, Leila has her next set of goals lined up: improving her extensions, pirouettes, port de bras, and turnout. She is also working to nail her end-of-year exam to be promoted to the next skill level within her company. To accomplish her goals, she will take private lessons, and plans to dedicate herself to practicing outside of class. She also has set a personal goal of finding a professional mentor.

Connect with Leila on Instagram to follow along as she accomplishes her dance goals!

Our Brown Ballerina Ambassador program is designed to create opportunities for young dancers in training to be seen as leaders and to eventually become mentors to other Brown Ballerinas in Training. To find out more about our ambassador program and how you can support it, visit our Ambassador/Mentorship Program page.

Be sure to check out our Brown Ballerina Blog, where we feature spotlights on our Brown Ballerina Ambassadors, updates from our organization, useful tips for ballerinas, interviews with dance professionals, and more!

Note: This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.