Artist-in-Residence: Leila Awadallah ليلى عوض الله
Photo Credit Erica Thicknor
Leila is wearing a traditional Palestinian embroidered thobe/dress that is yellow and coral red. Her arms reach out and she is crouched in the grass beside her sister. Leila's sister is wearing a traditional Palestinian embroidered thobe/dress that is green.
Rosy Simas Danse (RSD) would love to give a warm welcome to our next artist in residence in three thirty one space Leila Awadallah! The Artist Residency program supports Native and BIPOC artists locally and nationally. The local program provides 24/7 access to studio space, an artist fee, technical support, accessibility consulting services, and documentation. And the National program additionally provides travel and housing for one artist. A full residency is two weeks. A mini-residency is one week.
Leila Awadallah ليلى عوض الله (she/her) 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!
“Our residency at three thirty one space propel us into the final stages of this process leading us into performance week. We will be working with underwater dance/film and projection to understand lighting and visual elements. We will immerse ourselves into deepening the core ensemble's relation to the work while also inviting new guests to join us in an intensive process to develop the final phase of the performance. We will share and invite feedback from an invited audience.”-Leila Awadallah