Many times, dreams are more powerful than the challenges life might throw a person’s way. The strength to keep going can often be found in what one hopes to achieve in the future, and that alone may fuel the drive for as long as possible. Transitioning from a young girl who did not fit into a ten-year-old girl training as a pre-professional dancer was not a pre-planned journey for Leilani Kristina. It took watching iconic singer Prince perform at an awards show and seeing Mariah Carey flex her vocal cords for Leilani to decide that she wanted to be in the arts and entertainment world.
Although way before then, as a four-year-old, Leilani had an immense love for singing, dancing and choreography, it was by her tenth birthday that her interest fully materialized. When she clocked 12, she got diagnosed with an auto-immune disease called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and severe asthma. Two years later, she lost hearing in her right ear because of repeated ear infections and scar tissues. She underwent numerous ear and throat surgeries, which morphed into a benign tumor growing in her chest. It took another six months for her to recover, after which she began to dance and perform again. Without giving up, she became pre-professional at the age of 16 and started student-teaching classes while building a professional dance career for herself.
As a dancer, the biggest challenges she faced included her autoimmune condition and asthma. But she was undeterred, and by nineteen, she was auditioning in the major city markets of New York and Los Angeles. Two years later, she started theatre work and dealt with a stalker who harassed and stalked her for years before she got a restraining order against him.
Over the years, all of these life experiences, challenges and obstacles have culminated into a life of purpose for Leilani. She is now a more purpose-driven woman who wants to make a difference in her field and make life better for others, especially women. Today, she’s a known dancer and expert against gender-based violence, specifically sexual violence, commercial exploitation (human trafficking), violence against women as a whole, Stalking, Harassment, and Human Rights for Indigenous People (girls and women especially). She has worked with the United Nations Youth Council and the United Nations Women at their Generation Equality Forum. She also interned as a journalist with NYAToday, Mogul, Polaris Project, and Gems Girls based in New York City. In addition, she represents brands like Inkkas Global Wear and Trees for the Future.
As an entertainment personality, Leilani Kristina signed with MMG in New York. She has walked for Melange at a fashion show in 2019 and won Fashion Coffee’s COVID-friendly Fashion and Talent competition. As a human rights activist, she sits on the board of directors of a Washington DC law firm that represents sex trafficking Survivors and sex workers.
With her passion for giving back, Leilani takes immense pride in her privilege of working as a dancer, model, influencer, human rights activist and consultant. She strives daily to make life better for other women who have survived experiences similar to her and those currently going through such experiences.
She hopes to have a more flourishing career as an entertainer and perform more in the arts and entertainment sector in a few years. She craves more opportunities across the board and the freedom to live on her terms in any part of the world she chooses. Her strong faith in God and the strong will she has have kept her going all these years, and she hopes to inspire other people to hold on to their truth.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from, what color you are, how much you are discounted, what you have been through, what was done to you, or what people have against you if you have faith in God and you can always flip the narrative of your life,” she said.Learn more about Leilani Kristina on her official website.
