Laura Ward is not only a fitness instructor, but also a dancer, performer, and artist.  As an instructor in New York, she teaches classical ballet, Inka, Winter Wonderbody and her signature class- Dynamic Pilates Fusion.  Aside from teaching, Laura is the Artistic Director for Octavia Cup Dance Theatre  a contemporary ballet company founded in 1998, and her work has been performed throughout Europe and North America.  She is currently working on Whistle me Higher: Imaginary Dances From Bingo Palace - a new piece for her upcoming season at Theater for the New City.

How many years have you been in the fitness industry?
I have been working in the fitness industry since 1996.

What inspired you to get involved in the fitness industry and has this always been something that you want to do?
I am a dancer and choreographer- movement, anatomy, function and form have always been of interest to me and making things up (like classes and exercises) comes quite naturally to me.

What is your fitness specialty? I focus my classes on functional, healthy motion geared to improving the body?s flow of energy. This can come the form of a mat class, dance class or a class based on movement efficiency. I use a range of three-dimensional exercises that target joint and muscle ROM and strength in a user-friendly manner.

What makes your approach unique, or what are you known for as an instructor? I am known for being innovative and having a solid base of knowledge in anatomy and kinesiology. I have a broad expanse of movement styles to draw from and I am a big fan of cross training.

What is your favorite exercise? I don?t have a favorite exercise. I like to feel my whole body when I am working out and I like forms that embody an inherent awareness of the whole body and it?s own interrelatedness.

I like exercises that flow through movements- like dance but not necessarily in a dance idiom- like what Derek Beres or Jody Oberfelder are doing with yoga,  or what Cameron Shane and his disciples have done in Budokon. I also LOVE Fre Flo Do. I had the privilege of studying with Kappel Leroy Clarke and I LOVED it. t You can check him and Fre Flo Do out on youtube.

Do you have a signature exercise/move that you make your clients/students do? I suppose I do.  I always want women to work on their upper body strength, and I like to do a lot of twisting (more 3-d stuff).

Aside from dance and pilates, do you have any other workouts you do, to enhance your performance as a dancer? I love to do Yoga and I love Budokon- for the reasons stated above. I like building strength, flexibility and agility. Working on Fre Flo Do was an all time fitness high for me. Kappel Clarke is a genius. Lifting weights can have it?s advantages too.

What are your vices (i.e. chocolate, pizza, watching TV)?
I eat some chocolate, I watch some TV but not much. I am more likely to get swept in by youtube watching short clips of strange movie scenes or obscure(ish) music that I like. But I can?t sit still for very long. I am inspired by living and doing, so I am not that interested in watching, I would much rather do something myself- Or see something live- usually dance, sometimes music or theater. I am not a big fan of movies.

Do you have any tips for our FitFiend subscribers who are just starting a workout program or trying to jumpstart a stalled regimen and break through a plateau?
LIVE -Be alive-?this is your life, not a rehearsal, try to get it right. Take responsibility for yourself but if you **** up- let it go. And forgive other people. Also if there is something you want to do ? do it. You may not get a second chance.  It is ALL YOU.

Can you tell us more about your upcoming ?Whistle Me Higher:  Dances from Bingo Palace??
The show is very sexy, often ridiculous, it has a bunch of hot girls dancing on pointe (on their toes) and occasionally writhing on the floor, there are a couple of hot dudes too.  There is a distinct flavor of collective madness.

This past week in rehearsals the show has taken on a life of it?s own. New characters are evolving and the skeleton is fleshing itself out. Thank God! I think it is going to be very entertaining to people who can appreciate the slightly twisted nature of being human.

From the press release. "Whistle Me Higher:  Dances from Bingo Palace  celebrates the fantastic aspects of nature, religion, addiction, and the American Dream found within Death Valley/Las Vegas. The gamut of southwestern glamour, glitz and gluttony, is revealed through contemporary ballet, original music, spoken word and physical theatre, which includes eagle totems, Elvis weddings, and legends involving flying machines. The score, by Fa Ventilato (Fuckintosh, Bingo Palace) and Frank Heer (Der Flammender Grund, Bingo Palace) is a key portal into the often hypnotic, drug induced, dream-like show, set somewhere between Lost Highway and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."