Ms. Friel began her dance training at age five at the Janette McDonald Dance Studio in suburban Pennsylvania. She continued her studies with the Pennsylvania Ballet, performing many principal roles. As the director of the Forsythe Studio of the Arts, she taught pointe, ballet, jazz and tap and traveled the U.S. choreographing for the James Waters Production Company, a commercial production company, staging many commercials for companies such as Scott Paper Co., Campbell Soup and the Architectural and Engineering News. With more than 30 years of teaching experience, Lelia has also worked with Ron Luddington, top world Olympic skating coach, teaching ballet and jazz technique to skaters and assisting with choreographing their skating routines. Since moving to Rochester in 1996, Lelia has been teaching pointe, ballet, tap, adult ballet, jazz and preschool classes at the Janet Lang Dance Studio locations in Rochester and Kasson, MN.

Trained in classical Ballet at the Washington Academy of Performing Arts and the San Francisco Ballet School. She earned a BS in Ballet from Indiana University and went on to dance professionally with the Louisville Ballet and tour China with John Clifford and the Los Angeles Dance Theatre. She moved to Rochester in 2005 and began dancing and teaching at JLDS. Students recognize her as RDC's Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker!