Leigh Ducas leads Strive Dance Studios in Buckhead!
Leigh Ducas’ dream in high school was to be a Rockette. She has what it takes. She’s tall with long legs, a dazzling smile and strong dance training, and she twice attended the Rockettes’ summer intensive at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Luckily for Atlanta, she changed her mind while studying for a BFA in dance at the University of Georgia.
Now her dream is to make her studio, Strive Dance, the best it can be. “We strive to help kids from 3 to 18 be great dancers and good people,” Ducas says. “I want to create a space that produces happy, confident dancers. It’s so rewarding to see children succeed.”
Founded in June 2025, Strive Dance is tucked away in the sports and recreation building of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Buckhead, just a stone’s throw from Ducas’ home. In three small studios it offers classes in ballet, tap, jazz, acrobatics and contemporary dance. Students can also audition for the preprofessional competition program; the winning participants’ gleaming trophies are lined up on the windowsills of one of the studios.
Ducas, 30, danced briefly with two small companies in the Atlanta area but says her greatest joy is teaching.
“Dance teaches structure and internal drive,” she says. “It’s strenuous but creates a strong mind-body connection. It teaches respect for others; you learn how to move with and around other people.” These are skills that will serve people in life long after they leave Strive, she says.
“I feel beautiful when I dance! I teach kids that, too.”
In Ducas’ classes you might hear traditional ballet music or popular Disney tunes, even a Taylor Swift cover now and then. The KPop Demon Hunters’ soundtrack is a huge favorite right now with the preschoolers, she says with a smile.
Ducas grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, and attended the Youth Performing Arts School there. After college, she taught at a studio with a competitive dance program, which was new to her. She liked it. In Strive’s competitive program, students train five hours a week and compete at venues such as the Georgia International Convention Center. But many students sign up for Strive’s recreational, just-for-fun division, too. Tuition for that program is $100 a month for one class a week. The competitive program is $300 a month, plus the costs of costumes and competition registration fees.
Peachtree Road United Methodist has had a dance program since the 1990s, led by different people over the years. When the most recent instructor retired, Charles Akin, the church’s director of sports and recreation, reached out to Ducas. She has brought “a renewed level of energy, organization and community engagement to our programs,” Akin says.
Strive puts on performances in May and December, giving students a chance to show parents and friends what they’ve learned.
When she’s not working, Ducas spends time with family and friends, and can often be found walking on the Beltline or engrossed in a book. Dance, however, is her first love.
“In my opinion,” she says, flashing her Rockette-quality smile, “everyone needs dance.”
STRIVE DANCE STUDIOS
502.409.3833
strivedancestudios.com
@strivedancestudios
STORY: Gillian Anne Renault
PHOTO: Erik Meadows
