Leslie Durand received her early dance training in her mother's school of dance in Washington, Iowa. In middle and high school, she studied classical ballet at the University of Iowa, where her most influential teacher was Francois Martinet, a founding member of the Robert Joffrey Ballet. She attended Northwestern University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. At Northwestern she was a four-year Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship student, and a member of the student dance company Graffiti Dancers. During college she also studied ballet and jazz at Gus Giordano Dance Center in Evanston, Illinois. After five years' active-duty as a Naval officer, she returned to her beloved first profession, dance instruction. Leslie has directed dance programs at the US Army Youth Services Center in Seoul, Republic of Korea; The San Marcos Civic Center in San Marcos, California; The American School in Japan; and BalletNova Center for Dance in Falls Church, Virginia. She has also choreographed many musicals for Highland High School (as a middle- and high-schooler), and served as a choreographer in 1997-'98 for the Hyundai Cheerleaders, a professional cheer team in Seoul, Republic of Korea. From 2016-2019 she founded and directed Western Wake Dance & Tumbling in Holly Springs, North Carolina; she will launch her return to Wake County in February 2026!