(She/Her/Hers)
Leila Awadallah is a dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker based in Minneapolis and partly in Beirut, Lebanon. Dancing with a body of Palestinian, Arab-American, Sicilian and diasporic Mediterranean ways and waves. Born near the Tehankasandata / Thick Wooded River (Sioux Falls, SD) she moved to Minneapolis, Mni Sota (2012) to pursue a BFA in Dance at the University of Minnesota, and found home in the Twin Cities.

Leila is the Artistic Director of Body Watani Dance (body-as-homeland) project/practice in collaboration with Noelle Awadallah. She has received fellowships celebrating her performance, research in Arab-rooted contemporary dance, and choreographies: McKnight Dancer (2022), Jerome Hill (2021-2023), Daring Dances (2019) and Springboard 20/20 (2018). Her newest work, TERRANEA received support from National Performance Network, MSAB, Arab American National Museum, Links Hall, and Goethe Institute. Leila was a member of Ananya Dance Theatre (2014 - 2019) and the Kelvin Wailey trio (2015-2019). She lives and works part time in Beirut where she collaborates with the Theater of Women of the Camp based in the Borj El Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp. In her free time, she prefers not to sit still and instead practices Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and Aikido. Free Palestine!