About
Peace Love Leotards Inc. is a non-profit corporation founded by Alexandra de Roos when she was just 8 years old. Since 2011, the mission of Peace Love Leotards has been to bridge the socioeconomic gap in the performing arts by donating dancewear and providing virtual training videos to underprivileged children.
For a child to learn dance in a formal setting, the costs alone can be prohibitive. One practice leotard plus one pair of tights and one pair of dance shoes can cost a minimum of $75. By partnering with dance studios for the collection of used dancewear and dancewear companies to obtain new dancewear, we are able to help provide children interested in dance with the resources to do so. In addition, we also provide free virtual dance classes so that children that wouldn’t normally have access to formal training, can now participate in dance.
Meet the Founder
Photo By: Rachel Neville
Alexandra de Roos is a 20 year old alumna at the School of American Ballet in New York City, current student at the University of South Florida, and is the current Miss Gainesville 2023. She began dancing at the age of 2 ½ and began competing in dance competitions at the age of 5 where she received many regional and national overall awards and titles. At the age of 11, she began training at Next Generation Ballet to focus on ballet specifically for a career. She has qualified for YAGP finals in NYC every year she competed. She has attended summer ballet intensives at the School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Next Generation Ballet, and the Rock School for Dance Education. She moved to New York City by herself when she was 14 to train at the School of American Ballet for their winter term program.
“I believe that anyone who wants to dance should have the opportunity to, and my mission is to make that dream a reality.” - Alexandra de Roos
The Benefits of Dance
Participating in dance teaches a child teamwork, organization, scheduling and discipline; plus, studies have shown that children who participate in dance perform better in STEM subjects. Not all children will grow up to make dance their profession, but the skills they learn while cultivating a passion and the joy they receive just by participating in the performing art of dance is priceless, it just shouldn’t be cost prohibitive.
