Dancer and dance teacher Leigh Brockman Horowitz knew that one of the first things she wanted to do when she moved from the New Orleans area to St. Louis was get involved with the dance community. Brockman Horowitz began dancing at age 3 when her family recognized that she needed an outlet for her energy. At age 7, she began classical ballet training at a local studio in Louisiana, and later, she trained as a swimmer to help with her asthma.
She continued her training as she grew older and eventually also worked as a paralegal. “I was a paralegal to pay the bills,” Brockman Horowitz says, “and I had to go to ballet class in the morning, then I went back to work. I worked by day, then went back into the studio to be a TA in classes in the evening.” Her dedication and drive were key in standing out and succeeding in the world of dance. It also propelled her into exciting career opportunities.
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Brockman Horowitz worked at Loyola University New Orleans teaching and choreographing ballet as a dance faculty member. She also performed with New Orleans’ Komenka Ethnic Dance and Music Ensemble and traveled the country with the group. “It was great performance experience,” reflects Brockman Horowitz. “It gave me a greater understanding of company life, and I translate that back into my teaching life.”
It was also through the dance company that she met her husband. The pair later moved from Louisiana to Missouri for her husband’s job. She quickly learned about The Center of Creative Arts. “Through COCA,” she says, “I was able to take the American Ballet Theatre national training curriculum classes, learn their program, and become certified to teach through level 5.”
COCA only reinforced Brockman Horowitz’s love of teaching. When she was tapped to teach adults who were learning ballet, Brockman Horowitz decided to give it a go—even though she’d only taught children and pre-professional young adults up to that point. She remembers being impressed with what she found in the St. Louis studio: a group of adults who were there to have fun and who were also eager to learn the correct technique.
“We went back to the beginning,” remembers Brockman Horowitz. “I haven’t looked back. I really fell in love with it. I felt so inspired and invigorated by the adult ballet community here.” She notes that adult students “choose to be in class, they want to be there.” Physically and mentally, ballet is good for the body. “Ballet is a puzzle,” she says. “You constantly have to think about multiple things at once.”
Brockman Horowitz continues to infuse St. Louis with her passion for ballet. She recognized a need for performance opportunities for adult ballet dancers, which led her to found the Sassy Southern Ballet Mama (SSBM) company in 2021; it provides dedicated adult dancers with classes, intensives, and performance opportunities. Her loyal students, many of whom she met through COCA, continue to study with her. Brockman Horowitz takes her work seriously, but she’s also known for the energy and fun she brings to the studio. She says there’s a community aspect to her classes, “a real desire to root for each other and support each other inside—and outside—of the studio, then do the best dance work on top of it.” For the past two summers, her SSBM ballet company has performed at Lucas Schoolhouse in Soulard. “We have fun, and we work hard,” she says of her dancers.
Janette Rusch, a scientist at Washington University School of Medicine, is an adult ballet dancer who studies with Brockman Horowitz. She began taking adult ballet classes after her daughter enrolled. “I did ballet as a kid for three or so years, quit, and soon after regretted it,” she says. “It wasn’t until my daughter started taking ballet—and I saw that there were adult classes—that I got the idea that this was a thing that one could do.”
In addition to the artistry that is essential to ballet, the practice provides myriad health benefits, such as increased strength, flexibility, and mobility. The creative exercise extends the capabilities of both the mind and the body.
“For me, there is no bigger joy than moving to beautiful music,” Rusch says. “Of course, the physical benefits are fantastic, and with our adult group, the camaraderie and friendship is another aspect I did not expect but treasure tremendously.”
Seeing adults embrace their bodies and the art form in new ways is why her love for teaching has endured for decades, says Brockman Horowitz. “It gives them the chance to see something new that they’ve never seen before, or that they thought was too late for them,” she says. “It’s as if they gain a new perspective on who they are. That’s incredible. It’s a beautiful thing to witness.”
