Southern Fall/Winter 2022

Originally from the European nation
of Georgia, Ana Lejava ’14 has long
been interested in how to combine
her knowledge of political science and
social issues with the performing arts.
After double-majoring in political science and dance at
BSC, she moved to New York City and became involved
with Smashworks Dance, a non-profit dance company that
advocates for women’s empowerment through performance.
The company was founded by Ashley McQueen, whom Lejava
met through the dance department at BSC. Lejava became a
lead advocacy adviser for Smashworks.
“We developed a program with the Girl Scouts of New
York to lead confidence-building workshops through dance
for young girls,” says Lejava. “We have also made sure to use
the performing arts as a tool for raising awareness of various
women’s rights and social justice issues. We turned our
passion for human rights advocacy into a creative adventure.”
Lejava is currently involved with Smashworks as a
development board member.
While living in NYC, Lejava danced with the prominent
contemporary dance companies José Limón and Jennifer
Muller, and taught ballet classes. Simultaneously, she worked
for the mission of Georgia to the U.N. from 2014 to 2016 and
then as a Young Ambassador of Georgia to the United States
from 2016 to 2017 at the United Nations Headquarters.
She says that experiencing the multicultural international
environment was the highlight of her time in New York.
Lejava is now pursuing her master’s degree from the
Georgetown School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C.
and working as a program assistant at the Institute of Women,
Peace, and Security at Georgetown.
“I am proud of staying true to my ambitions and goals
and pursuing international affairs and a dance career when
it sometimes seemed impossible,” says Lejava. “BSC had a
major impact on my professional development. I would say
that this liberal arts education allowed me to have a more
holistic approach to solving problems and gave me a creative
capacity to pursue both dance and international relationsrelated
fields.”
WE USE THE PERFORMING ARTS AS
A TOOL FOR RAISING AWARENESS
OF VARIOUS WOMEN’S RIGHTS
AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES.
WE TURNED OUR PASSION FOR
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY INTO A
CREATIVE ADVENTURE.
ANA LEJAVA ’14
40 / ’southern