Coach, top honour
Leslie Kuny is a veteran dance coach with 20 years of experience working with youth in various settings including dance studios, elementary and high schools, private institutions and more.
Using her human-first, "heart-centered" coaching method, Kuny empowers young dancers to fully flourish as people and artists.
"My motivation stems from my deep desire to ensure that youth continue to have a place to be seen and heard, where they can safely explore their feelings and move through them with movement," the award-winning Kuny says.
"I want to keep creating spaces where I would have flourished as a young person. If I can give the next generation more of what I wish I'd had in my youth, that's my purpose."
In 2020, Kuny opened a dance studio in South Surrey to bring her specific brand of leadership to more students, and this fall launched the new Absolute Motion Performance & Dance (AMPD) in the area.
In recent years, Kuny's students have found incredible success at local competitions, both as individuals and as team members.
Like many coaches, Kuny spends many unpaid hours working with her students, building props, choreographing for events and parades, sourcing costumes and mentoring the next generation of dance artists and leaders. The nominator for this award calls her "a shining example of what leading by example looks like," a teacher who "cares deeply for her students," both past and present.
"I think most coaches will tell you that they don't do what they do for accolades or awards," Kuny says. "I feel blessed that I get to work with people in a vulnerable way that forges lasting connections. I am still connected to so many former students! My greatest joy is seeing 'my kids' grow into caring, respectful adults who appreciate art."
