In Step

About Town talks to Alabama Ballet Marketing Director Leslie Cooper.

You were Miss Samford in 2003. Is training for a pageant something that starts at a very early age?

For some, it can. I actually didn’t compete in anything until my junior year in high school when I did Junior Miss and ended up winning. During my sophomore year in college, I started doing a few Miss Alabama preliminaries before becoming Miss Samford my junior year in college.

How were you introduced to it?

My next-door neighbor and former babysitter was Miss Alabama and really introduced me to the whole Miss Alabama system. I saw it as a great way to earn scholarship money, continue performing and I have to admit–I was attracted to the glamour of it all.

Are those girls really as friendly to each other as they seem on camera or is it really competitive?

For the most part, they really are. Of course, there is competition, but I met some really great girls who have become good friends.

I’ve seen those contestants get some really tough questions. How do you answer a controversial or political question without alienating a portion of the crowd or the judges?

Well, I really think it’s more about how you handle the question as opposed to your specific answer. It’s all about grace under pressure.

Is Miss America struggling a bit now compared to previous years? It seems to be going from network to network.

I think they’ve been trying some different things to make it more interesting. For instance, during the past few years they’ve incorporated a reality-TV aspect to the program. This year, the contestants got Hollywood consultants and were made to do different challenges. I’m not so sure how well it’s working. I guess time will tell.

How’s the Miss Alabama program doing?

Great! Alabama is such a strong state in terms of support for the program. Alabama has always done well in the national pageant with several Miss Americas including Deidre Downs and Heather Whitestone.

You’ve taken your passion for ballet into your professional career working for the Alabama Ballet. Has the professional affiliation with Samford helped with the recognition of the Alabama Ballet?

It’s opened a lot of doors for us and has helped to introduce Alabama Ballet to more students, which means a whole new audience.

Do you get a chance to do ballet anymore?

I’ve actually gotten into Dance Trance, which just opened a new studio in Hoover. It has some ballet elements, but is primarily more of a hip-hop-dance fitness thing. If my co-workers could see me in that class!

Besides performances, what else is going on at the Alabama Ballet?

Oh, there’s always something going on at the Ballet! Our dance school will soon be affiliated with the Royal Academy of Dance, so we’ll be the first one in the state. We have classes for kids and adults alike – ballet, jazz, tap.

Would you recommend beginning ballet at an early age?

I think it helps to start early. Some kids begin at age three or four and some a bit later. Our Artistic Director Tracey Alvey didn’t start until she was nine.

Do your performances feature Alabama Ballet dancers or guest performers?

When you come to an Alabama Ballet performance, you are seeing our professional company members. This year, we have 44 dancers in our company who are from all over the U.S. as well as abroad. Of course, we have brought in and continue to bring in big names like Mikhail Baryshnikov and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.

Did you get to meet them?

Yes – as it turns out Baryshnikov actually rode in my car! I was a bit starstruck, but he’s a great guy and more down to earth than I expected. He’s been to Birmingham several times and really seems to like it. He’s also a big golfer and played several times when he was here.

Leslie Cooper is the Marketing & Public Relations Director for the Alabama Ballet. After growing up in Vestavia, she attended Samford University where she was Miss Samford in 2003. She can be reached through the Alabama Ballet at www.alabamaballet.org.