Meet Leah Groover

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leah Groover. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leah below.

Leah, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
People experience imposter syndrome all the time in all sorts of different ways. I consider myself a very confident person, but I am susceptible to vulnerability, especially as an artist who often subjects themselves to the opinions of others. I personally have experienced imposter syndrome in trying out and transitioning between different genres of my art form.

I started out as a dedicated ballet dancer. About 18 years later I wrapped myself into all sorts of contemporary dance. But in the beginning of trying that out, I remember feeling like a “bunhead,” the term used to describe ballerinas who look and dance like ballerinas no matter how hard they try to not look like that. I remember the feeling of trying to prove myself, so that I would come off as an authentic contemporary dancer. Some years to follow I started doing ballroom dancing, and I again experienced this imposter syndrome, trying to “fit the mold” of what the best ballroom dancer would be like. This same imposter syndrome found me again when I broke into musical theatre, as both a singer, and an actress.

At one point, I overcame this imposter syndrome by full recognizing and rewarding my own strengths, and it didn’t take long to fully own who I was as a moving artist. I knew that I couldn’t be “labeled” as any one particular type of artist, and that I would be bringing to the table every bit of training and artistry from my past, and would continue to add from what I would gain in the future. And I knew that if I loved myself as an artist, then the right people would love me too. And that overcoming felt like true power.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I have been a performer and dancer for over 30 years, and I am proud to say that it is still what I do to this day! This includes competing in ballroom and Latin ballroom competitions, performing in and choreographing musicals, teaching dance to all ages, and owning my very own dance studio, Get Up And Dance. I truly love every avenue of my career, and in each aspect, I am sharing my joy of art and dance. This gives me true purpose and I cannot wait to continue to spread this joy in the Atlanta community and beyond!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
This is a tough question to narrow down! Reflecting back, I think that the three qualities that have been most impactful in my journey are 1) self love and acceptance, 2) courage, and 3) authenticity.

In an industry where almost everything we do can be so easily judged based on appearance, self love and acceptance definitely matters. I never had the “ideal” body type growing up in my training, but after a severe injury in high school, I really understood how grateful I could be towards the body I have. Sure, I had, and still have my moments of self judgement. But overall, accepting your body, along with all of its capabilities AND limits can give you a lot of power. My advice- choose to thank your body, rather than critique it.

Almost every step forward I have taken in my journey has been one with a lot of courage behind it. While others may doubt you, I have found that I can be my harshest critic. And so, I center myself, make a decision to do what I feel is in my best interest, and try to take my best chances out of the hands of others. And this, my friends, takes courage. You must trust your self esteem to know that going for things you want, no matter the outcome, will most likely lead you to a productive place.

And this brings me to authenticity. One of the things I am most proud of throughout my artistic journey is that I have not compromised myself along the way. It’s easy to try to be like other people- maybe someone has a job that you want, or they look a certain way that you want to look. These temptations are just that- but the most content state of being I have found for myself, is to BE myself. And that is what draws people in, because let’s face it- there really is only one me, and only one you. You will be happier for it!

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Challenges are abundant, but so are the ways to overcome them. One of my biggest challenges right now is finding a balance of my own endeavors- I don’t want to forget my artistic identity whilst working hard as a studio owner. And that challenge is also paired with the fact that we are not handed gigs/shows, and in the tough and repetitive world of auditions, constant rejection can be exhausting, not to mention that it feeds the notion that my performing side may not be as strong as I think it is. But I know that this is the drive, this is the hunger. Because being able to perform is so worth it. It makes all the rejection worthwhile!

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Image Credits
Sarah Htun, Cloud 8 Photography, Jessica Rubio, Nova Star Media.

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