BY: KRISTINA RAMCHARRAN
Leanne Morancie is not your average young woman you might meet during your morning commute, or during your evening drink at the bar. It does not mean that it isn’t a part of her personality, but due to the fact that she is always on the go.
Born on the island of Dominica, she always shared a love for the arts and communications. She grew up in Houston, Texas which sparked her interest in the arts even more. Her love of the arts snowballed into a love for dance, pageantry, teaching and even youth empowerment. “My passion in youth empowerment and development is throughout the defined arts, I’ve always implemented that in my day to day life.”
But adding to Morancie’s list of skills, she also focuses on the empowerment of women as well. “My personal motto is first love yourself, also as a preschool teacher, I’ve always got to implement those on my day to day basis. I’ve also launched an organization in Dominica for women empowerment.”
So how exactly did Morancie’s free spirit unleash all of these talents and focuses upon her? She recalls gaining her inspiration for this from the symbolism of butterflies. “When I was younger I was obsessed with butterflies. I also think that’s my spirit animal. I experienced a lot of lows and my gaining confidence in myself and practicing my self-esteem I’ve been able to implement that with everyone I’ve come across.”
In 2014, Morancie launched her first show in the island of Dominica titled ‘Stay Golden’ and says “we were able to highlight some of the artists on the island because there isn’t a platform for that in the Caribbean for the non-mainstream artists.”
Morancie not only advocated for empowerment through the arts but also through teaching. “I was also a preschool; teacher for five years, I taught kindergarten and was able to take everything I used throughout that time and implement it in my own program.”
As she currently lives on the island of St. Croix, Morancie still uses her time to teach empowerment to others. “I was able to host workshops for confidence boosting, walking with structure and all of those beautiful things I just take and put it together and just do what I do currently.”
In 2015 Morancie tried a new avenue and found herself immersed in the world of pageantry. She used this as a way to expand her reach to others who craved her teachings of empowerment. “I was always a natural born humanitarian. I intend to work with a lot of non-profit organizations, for young women and even young girls before they enter womanhood, they need that support, sometimes support doesn’t come from home or people that you love [and] we need support from different avenues especially from black Caribbean women, that has always fuelled my passion for pageantry.”
One of Morancie’s main goals is to build an empowerment empire that can reach women and children around the world. “I wanted to be able to have a hub in various parts of the world to cater to women who have been sexually assaulted and abused, I do believe I have a niche in that aspect because I was once a victim as well and I’ve experienced all of those things. This continues to fuel my passion because I believe that when we stand together especially as coloured Caribbean women we can cause a greater impact on society.”
In recent times, Morancie has furthered her skills and is now a certified Yoga instructor, specializing in tantric yoga. She notes that yoga was a key part in getting her out of depression and cleansing her mind. “Meditating, changing my diet around really helps me personally and I was able to flourish. I wanted to show everyone else that there is a better way of living especially changing my diet.”
Morancie’s advice to anyone facing the difficult dilemma of what they want to do for their life is, “whatever you feel that you are passionate for or about, that’s what you’re here for, that’s your spot in the world to make a difference. Do what you’re passionate for, do not hesitate, always start somewhere. I would also advise any young lady to be inspired by acting, dancing or anything in the arts. Always put your best foot forward do a lot of research, we have a lack of knowledge of what’s really out there.”
You can keep up with Leanne Morancie on her websites misslegacy.com and lutterfly.com.
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