Laura Stein

Laura Stein is the co-Founder and Executive Director of Dancing Grounds. She also teaches an original weekly adult dance fitness class, Work It Out, which has been a flagship class for DG since its founding . She also serves as as a leadership coach for 4.0 Schools. Prior to founding DG, Laura worked for Community Works of Louisiana as an afterschool and summer Site Director and Teaching Artist. She moved to New Orleans from New York City in 2012, where she worked in education policy and management. She was Director of Education & Production at Dancewave (2010-2011), NYC Executive Director of RISE (2007-2009), Education Pioneers Fellow (2007), Policy Associate at New Visions for Public Schools (2005-2007) and Program Assistant at the Social Science Research Council (2003-2005). In 2010, she lived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where she helped create a girls’ Hip Hop program for Tiny Toones. She holds a Master’s in Public Administration (M.P.A.) from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and a B.A. in the College of Social Studies from Wesleyan University. Originally from Philadelphia, Laura spent he childhood making up dances with her twin sister in her parent’s basement inspired by her original dance idols, Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul. She danced throughout her childhood into college at Wesleyan, where she studied and performed hip hop, modern, contemporary, West African dance, and ballet. She subsequently studied hip hop and street jazz in New York, Los Angeles and London. Laura was featured on The Gambit Magazine’s 40 Under 40 list in 2018.