One of the very special things about the Dance Queens Walk of Fame is getting to meet virtual dance creators for the first time. Where has Leninah been all my Second Life? I had the recent pleasure of meeting Leninah Starlight, who shared her talents on the Zhaza Zerbino Stage, thereby earning her star in the Dance Queens Walk of Fame. She has been dancing for quite a while, and it was a pleasure to watch her show, as she presented a unique style with a metaphoric artistic appeal that really stimulated interest. Let's take a look at some pictures from her show, then read an interview with her, as she is well-worth getting to know better.
THE SHOW
 |
Roisin
Murphy - RamaLama Bang Bang |
 |
The Real
Thing - Can You Feel the Force |
 |
Muse –
Madness |
 |
ROSE n
Bruno Mars – APT |
Leninah's team who performed in this show: Rain Torvalar, Red Darkheart, Aphiris Moris, EmilyAmiee Resident, Keshii Ethereal, Flint Carfield, Calli Callieope, Alexandriaxxo (Alex) and Jareth Cromwell
THE INTERVIEW
1. How and
when did you find Second Life?
I came into
SL about 8 years ago now to explore what the virtual world could offer as a
platform for creative art. I explored and loved the creative opportunities all
around and was hooked on it pretty much immediately.
2. How and when did you discover virtual dance?
I started
virtual dance as a cheerleader, then became involved in Performing Arts at a
college here. First as a student and then after a while as an instructor. I do
still do Cheerleading but less frequently now as other projects have taken
centre stage, pun intended there :P
3. I know picking is hard, but name a few of your favorite dances that you have ever created.
Oh wow!
every one is a favourite at some time :) If I had to choose just a few one
would be 'Rama Lama Bang Bang - Rosin Murphy'
an early piece which is included in the four for the mini show. Also
'Sforzarsi' which is a medley of three songs covering birth life and death and
is inspired by the poem by William Ernest Henley 'Invictus', but requires too
large a set to include in the show. Also 'Canon' which, is a canon within a
canon based on Johann Pachelbel's 'Canon in D Major', also a medley this time
of three different versions of the same piece and is also too large to include
in the show. At risk of going on here also 'Carol of the bells - Pentatonix',
'Where are You Christmas - Faith Hill' and ofc 'Tilted - Christine and the
Queens' for technical and personal reasons :) Right now my current fav of the
moment is my newest piece 'Apateu - Rose and Bruno Mars' which is a lot of fun
and is included in the show :)
4. Did you have any mentors when you were learning to dance that you'd like to wave to?
I love
dance and respect everyone's individuality. I never forget that art is in the
eye of the beholder and always try to do something different and with meaning.
The people who have influenced me the most would be Red Darkheart who was and
still is my co-instructor and one of the joint co-leaders of our troupes, her
artistic vision always inspires. Rain Torvalar, who is the other co-instructor
and joint co-leaders of the troupes who has an eye for detail that is truly
remarkable! so big waves to them !! *Waves Hi*
5. What is your favorite thing about virtual dance creation?
Hearing a
piece of music or other source of inspiration, and imagining what you can make
from that, and eventually creating a dance that enhances that in some way,
adding in the visuals to bring it another dimension. That creative process is
hard but oh so fulfilling when it comes off well and you get to perform it.
6. What is your least favorite thing about virtual dance creation?
The most
time consuming and difficult part is selecting the right dances for each piece
and matching them to the music to resonate movement with the sound in a binding
way. Sometimes that leads to a lot of frustration when you can't find exactly
the movement you really want, and can take a lot of time to do as you
envisioned it.
7. What advice would you give to someone who is new to virtual dance?
I would
refer then to two quotes which apply to virtual dance almost as much as real
world dance and they are:
“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
"You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive." - Merce Cunningham
Also do what you feel you want to do, don't conform to popularity, create something new and different whenever you can.
8. If you have your own dance troupe, please tell a little bit about it, and its history.
I have a
couple of troupes the oldest being 'Red Starlight' which I run with Red and
Rain and focusses largely, but not exclusively, on neo Burlesque and has been
performing now for some 6 years. Also 'Coffee Espresso' which has also been
performing now for about 4 years and does bigger events like the SL Birthday
events, other events at SLEA and also the Expo events, and is used as the
foundation for other dance acts in the making.
9. What is your favorite food, favorite drink, and please tell us about any pets that you have.
I'm gonna
assume that chocolate doesn't count as a food and say Pasta ! All sorts but
love fettuccine and spaghetti blanco especially ! Also helps a lot with my
pescatarian diet making things more varied. Favorite drink is possibly
Fentiman's 'Classic Cherry Cola'. I don't drink much alcohol but when I do its
usually fizzy and/or sweet.
10. What activities other than dance do you enjoy?
Aside from
dancing and putting on shows, I did get into scripting in order to help with
stage props and tools for the show some time ago and I'm still doing that.
Similarly building needs lead me into Blender which comes in handy. I've also
done some Role Play, science fiction mainly, but that is another creative vent
for me that I enjoy. More recently I've started recording our pieces
individually in-world at our own studio and loading them to YouTube on our own
channel https://www.youtube.com/@CallistaStudios so that we can always see them
and remember the fun we had making and performing them :)
11. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
In all the
time I've been involved in virtual dance I have had the good fortune to have
along with me people that are as passionate about dance and share the same
desire to push the envelope. We have lots of fun and spur and spark each other
on and I'm ever thankful for that and would not have it any other way. They
know who they are don't you Red ♥ and Rain ♥
THE CEREMONY
Congratulations Leninah on earing your star in Dance Queen's Walk of Fame! It is our hope that our Walk of Fame will remain for a very long time, preserving some of the history of our virtual dance community. As performers, we work long hours, spend a lot of lindens, and pour our souls into our work, in the hopes of touching another soul when we share our creations on stage. Thank you for putting yourself out there and dedicating yourself to creating and sharing imaginative works of art through virtual dance. Thank you for participating in this project and supporting Dance Queens! I look forward to seeing more of your performances. We at Dance Queens wish you continued fulfillment with your dance journey.