"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once."
{Nietzsche}
The Basics
Leandra Annibelle Gates
Nicknames and Aliases:
Annibelle (by her grandmother and family members)
Anni or "My little Annibelle-Lea" (by her father, only)
Leandra or Lea* (by pretty much everyone else. *Note: pronounced "Lee")
Gender:
Female
Age:
22
Ethnicity/Race:
Caucasian
10% French | 15% German | 20% Russian | 25% Ukrainian | 30% English
Sexual Orientation:
Heterosexual
Species:
Human
Occupation:
Unemployed
What's on the Outside
Hair Color:
A true platinum blonde - one that, in the right lighting, appears almost white
Eye Color:
Amber
Height:
5'4
Weight:
125 lbs.
Tattoos:
Agnus Dei
(Latin for "Lamb of God", on inside of her left elbow)
Amicus Humani Generis
(Latin for "A friend of the human race", on inside of her right elbow)
Alis Volat Propris
(Latin for "She flies with her own wings", on the outside of her right foot)
Ad Astra
(Latin for "To the stars", in line with (sitting on) her left collar bone; her smallest and least noticeable tattoo)
Piercings:
labaret, and basic ear piercings
Scars:
Her feet have plenty of scars - healed cuts and blisters from many years of dance. She also has a few scars from some stitches she received at a young age when she fell off of and clipped her head on the swings - they're tucked away strategically in her scalp, near the back and underside of her head. She makes sure to style her hair in ways that make it so the small scars are not visible.
Description:
Leandra is what some might consider to be a classic beauty, although obviously styled in some very non-traditional ways. Her appearance is malleable - she can adapt to many different styles when necessity calls, and does so quite willingly in almost every situation. The most obvious thing about her, and the first thing people always tend to notice, is her hair. The nearly hip-length hair is quite healthy for something so long, and Leandra takes pride in it, making sure to care for her platinum locks carefully. She can be found many times in various types of up-dos, and half-up half-down styles, although letting her mane free is her primary choice. She can usually be found wearing at least basic makeup, and has smooth pale skin to compliment her overall appearance. Her face is "her own", as she would say, with a slightly defined chin and slightly sharper cheek bones than would be considered "normal". Her body shape is definitely that of a womanly sort, but she isn't super well-endowed in the bust department. Instead, she has a relatively average figure - curvy, up to a point. As for her fashion sense, Leandra is very fond of frills but is adaptable in clothing choice. She wears anything from tight dresses to baggy pants, though she prefers to be well-dressed most of the time. She believes the saying "Diamonds are a girls best friend" is accurate, at least in her case - she blames the many years of sequined dance costumes for her love of all things sparkly. Due to the many years spent dressed in tutus, leotards, and scratchy costume materials, Leandra can be comfortable in almost anything. She is comfortable in her body, and is comfortable in any coverage of clothing - some of her competition costumes in high school didn't leave much to the imagination. She can usually be seen smiling, whether its because of something someone said or did, or just due to her own thoughts. Her fingers are slim and long - those of a piano players - with nails that are usually well taken care of. If they aren't designed or painted, they are relatively close cut and clean. Leandra's arms are toned, but her real strength lies instead in her legs and core - symptoms of the many, many years she has spent dancing.
A true platinum blonde - one that, in the right lighting, appears almost white
Eye Color:
Amber
Height:
5'4
Weight:
125 lbs.
Tattoos:
Agnus Dei
(Latin for "Lamb of God", on inside of her left elbow)
Amicus Humani Generis
(Latin for "A friend of the human race", on inside of her right elbow)
Alis Volat Propris
(Latin for "She flies with her own wings", on the outside of her right foot)
Ad Astra
(Latin for "To the stars", in line with (sitting on) her left collar bone; her smallest and least noticeable tattoo)
Piercings:
labaret, and basic ear piercings
Scars:
Her feet have plenty of scars - healed cuts and blisters from many years of dance. She also has a few scars from some stitches she received at a young age when she fell off of and clipped her head on the swings - they're tucked away strategically in her scalp, near the back and underside of her head. She makes sure to style her hair in ways that make it so the small scars are not visible.
Description:
Leandra is what some might consider to be a classic beauty, although obviously styled in some very non-traditional ways. Her appearance is malleable - she can adapt to many different styles when necessity calls, and does so quite willingly in almost every situation. The most obvious thing about her, and the first thing people always tend to notice, is her hair. The nearly hip-length hair is quite healthy for something so long, and Leandra takes pride in it, making sure to care for her platinum locks carefully. She can be found many times in various types of up-dos, and half-up half-down styles, although letting her mane free is her primary choice. She can usually be found wearing at least basic makeup, and has smooth pale skin to compliment her overall appearance. Her face is "her own", as she would say, with a slightly defined chin and slightly sharper cheek bones than would be considered "normal". Her body shape is definitely that of a womanly sort, but she isn't super well-endowed in the bust department. Instead, she has a relatively average figure - curvy, up to a point. As for her fashion sense, Leandra is very fond of frills but is adaptable in clothing choice. She wears anything from tight dresses to baggy pants, though she prefers to be well-dressed most of the time. She believes the saying "Diamonds are a girls best friend" is accurate, at least in her case - she blames the many years of sequined dance costumes for her love of all things sparkly. Due to the many years spent dressed in tutus, leotards, and scratchy costume materials, Leandra can be comfortable in almost anything. She is comfortable in her body, and is comfortable in any coverage of clothing - some of her competition costumes in high school didn't leave much to the imagination. She can usually be seen smiling, whether its because of something someone said or did, or just due to her own thoughts. Her fingers are slim and long - those of a piano players - with nails that are usually well taken care of. If they aren't designed or painted, they are relatively close cut and clean. Leandra's arms are toned, but her real strength lies instead in her legs and core - symptoms of the many, many years she has spent dancing.
What's on the Inside
Personality:
{Trusting, Optimistic, Dedicated, Powerful}
Leandra is a very bubbly person - she loves to smile, has been known to break out in dance when she gets excited, and she absolutely loves to laugh. Her smile has been dubbed 'infectious disease level 10' because she literally lights up the room when she smiles. She loves to be around people, and although she loves to be with the group, and is very extroverted, she doesn't feel the need to be the center of attention. If she adds to the conversation in a constructive manner, and gets a good laugh from everyone around her now and then, she's perfectly content. She understands the need for others to talk, and just have someone listen. So she lets things happen as she feels they should. But when it comes to dance? The story is totally different... Dance is her forte - if the opportunity presents itself, you better believe she's going to be making people watch. And they’ll watch, simply because of the pure power and strength that seems to seep from her movements. As a graduate of Juilliard, not only is she quite further advanced above her peers in dance, but she has a certain personality and emotion to her dance that others in her profession just don't quite possess. It is translated into her music as well, but not necessarily into other parts of her life; her creative outlets are where she most bears her soul. It goes without saying that she isn’t someone who is happy all the time – she experiences the same range of emotions as the average person. She tends to lead more towards the happy end of the spectrum, and considers herself more optimistic than anything; at times, she can be considered to be naive because of this positivity. In the end, she is the type of person who would be there for you at your worst time in your life without a second thought. Loyal to the end, happy at heart, and full of life. That is Leandra Gates.
Dancing, And Teaching Dance || Playing Piano || Singing || Choreographing || Painting || Hand-making Clothing || Song Writing || Reading || Going To Random Places To Draw Whatever Is There
Habits:
Cracking Her Knuckles || Playing With Her Hair When Waiting/Bored/Nervous || Absentmindedly Touching Her Labaret Piercing || Muttering or Humming Lyrics to Herself When Concentrating on Something
Oddities:
She tends to trust too easily, and can be a bit naive; she isn't stupid or air headed, but instead tends to see the good in others first.
She has an allergy to topical Iodine, and thus must use other antibacterial agents to clean cuts, or risk breaking out in hives.
She truly believes in ghosts, and has a hard time going into very old places at night when she "has a feeling" about them.
- Pointe, Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Contemporary, Lyrical, Modern, Hip Hop
- Reading
- Designing and Making Clothes
- Handmade Birthday Cards
- Classical Music
- Singing
- Silent Films
- Theatre
- Aquariums
- Thunderstorms
- Choreography
- Preforming
- Smiles From Strangers
- Hot Tea
- British Comedy
- Elvis
- Country Music
- Tanning
- Football
- Trampolines
- American Idol
- Most Bugs
- Horses
- Extreme, Unsecured Heights
- People Who Chew With Their Mouth Open
- The Feeling One Gets Right Before Sneezing
- Getting Rained On
- Driving With The Windows Down
- Squirrels
- Senseless Arguments
- Glee
- Bluegrass
What's Done Is Done
Place Of Origin:
Philadelphia, PA
Birth Date:
July 30th, 1991
History:
Leandra Annibelle Gates was born to Emilia and Theodore Gates on July 30th, 1991 – the only child they would ever have. She was raised in a privileged household, attending private school just outside of Philadelphia. She started dancing at various studios in the Philadelphia area at the age of 2 and 1/2 years. Her parents always stressed the importance of school work to her from a very young age, but even when she entered school she found that she was simply average in her studies. Where she really excelled was in her music classes and in theater, earning many awards for her achievements within her school and within local competitions. But the girl never lost her love for dance, learning to balance her school work with her dance studies. Eventually, her parents even enrolled her in a pre-professional dance school, where she learned to excel even further in the art.
In her senior year of high school, Leandra secured an audition for the dance program at Juilliard. Auditions were a time of high stress levels for her, and her grades in school suffered a bit during this time. Fortunately for her, she received her acceptance letter to the program not long after her audition, and her spirits shot right back up to their usual blissful self. She completed competition season at one of the studios she trained at with Platinum awards across the board. Her pre-professional program ended with senior solos, and the opportunity to dance as Esmerelda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Dancing at Juilliard was a different world in itself. Leandra totally immersed herself in her studies at the prestigious college. She picked up a double minor in Music, specifically piano, as well as in Vocal Performance. Leandra spent her four years at Juilliard doing nothing more than eating, sleeping, going to class, and performing. She was ranked up to Prima Ballerina in the second semester of her Junior year within the classical ballet program. As Prima, she performed in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, Giselle, Coppelia, and La Bayadere. She graduated at the top of her class, with high hopes for employment. Her parents were proud of her – but she had ideas about what she wanted to do with her degree from Juilliard, and while dancing with a company was always acceptable in her mind, what she really wanted the opportunity to do was to help people.
Growing up in Philadelphia, she had seen what it meant for someone to be poor – never first hand, but she had seen it every day of her life in the city. She had known less than a handful of children who fit that category who had been a part of one of her studios in the city. Due to a mix of financial reasons, and lack of support to continue their dreams, slowly but surely each and every one of those kids dropped out of dance, and instead got into some sort of trouble in their lives. Leandra had seen this, and had wished that there was something she could have done to encourage them to continue to dance. When she realized just how far her dance talents reached, she decided that with a degree, she could open her own studio somewhere, and encourage less privileged children to pursue dance; to keep them off the streets and out of trouble, and following some sort of dream.
Upon receiving her diploma from Juilliard, she began contacting studio owners across the country, in all sorts of different cities, hoping to find a job somewhere she felt she could make a difference. She received a few calls back, but the one that really stuck out to her was with a dance studio in Detroit called Fusion Dance Center; she accepted the job offer straight away. Her parents were proud of her, and though her mother wished she would do more work with a company, she was happy that Leandra was going to make a difference in children’s lives.
Leandra packed up and moved to Detroit, finding a nice – yet modest – apartment in the city, not too far from her new job. Teaching at Fusion seemed to come naturally to her, and she loved every day she got to go to work. Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t last as long as she was hoping for; the studio hit some financial troubles, and a few of the teachers were let go. Leandra, being the newest hire, was one of them. Eventually, the studio itself even shut down.
Leandra, recently uprooted to Detroit, was nervous about the idea of going back to Philadelphia. Her parents were enjoying their retirement years, and had started travelling. She knew she would have a place there for her if she decided to head back, but she didn’t want to feel like a disappointment, to anyone… especially herself. She was trying to market herself to bars across the Detroit area, hoping to find a place where she could work behind the bar – or at least take food orders – where she could save money to open her own dance studio, and potentially have chances to preform her music. She would even consider performing. The girl unfortunately was still not very familiar with the Detroit area, and while she was wandering through the bar district looking for a bar called Shotz, she soon found herself totally lost, and no longer in the bar district – which is exactly how she stumbled upon Blood Bath.
Happiest Memory:
Her final performance as a Prima Ballerina in the role of Princess Odette in Swan Lake.
Saddest Memory:
The day she was told she was being let go from Fusion Dance Center because the studio was closing.
Face Claim:
Kerli Koiv
