Lauren Layman

Lauren Layman graduated from Portland State University in the Spring of 2007 with a BA in Communications and a Minor in Dance. Lauren was formerly a member of Polaris 2 (Polaris Dance Theatre), Kinetic Images Dance Company, Legacy Dance Company, and Agnieszka Laska Dancers.

She has performed in local collaboration projects with: Les Watanabe, Lavinia Magliocco, Melissa St. Clair, Theresa Koon’s Promise Opera, Opera Theater Oregon’s Cunning Little Vixen by Clara Weishahn and Erica Melton, and XX Digitus Duo with Maria Garcia and Momoko Muramatsu in Debussy Deconstructed and 20 Frames Per Second. Lauren performed for two years in Portland Festival Ballet’s Trainee Company directed by John Magnus, the former Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. Before that Lauren graduated from Classical Ballet Academy’s pre-professional ballet school under the direction of Sarah Rigles in June of 2009 accepting a position as a Ballet, Modern, and Improv Teacher contributing 50+ original choreographic works of art.

Lauren’s dance career highlight was performing for seven years with Agnieszka Laska Dancers. She joined ALD in August 2011 while guest performing the “Woman” solo from the company’s Lamentatio repertory becoming a soloist and collaborating on her lead roles in Chopin Project, Broken Flowers, and was most notably publicized for her role as “The Chosen One” in The Rite of Spring Centenary (2013) with the PSU Symphony and guest performance with the Chicago Philharmonic (2013 Inaugural Concert). Lauren enjoyed touring abroad to Mexico and Poland with ALD Company. She took her last bow with the retiring ALD dance company in June of 2018. Lauren recently joined the teaching staff at Elevate Dance Academy teaching Creative Movement/Ballet in the Tiny Dancer Program & Ballet Ages 13+.