Biography

Adesola Akinleye is a dancer and choreographer and founder of DancingStrong. DancingStrong is an umbrella organization encompassing art, education, performance, and choreography.

Adesola Akinleye began dancing in England with the Ballet Rambert. In 1985 she moved to New York to join the Dance Theater of Harlem. After the birth of her first son in 1992 she founded Saltare Foundation for the Arts, NY, a non-profit arts organization designed to bridge the gap between the artist and their community. Her work as a performer and choreographer has been seen in Europe, the Caribbean and America. She has also worked as a resident artist in a number of schools in London, The Bronx, and Winnipeg. Adesola has also written syllabus for and taught at the State University of New York.

She believes that integral to an artist’s work and growth is the link that they form with the community. This belief system has allowed Adesola to expand her work from traditional dance forms to create exciting performance pieces and programs.

“People are amazing what we create is part of who we are, we can use our amazing lives to build, mend and communicate in a positive way.”  

The philosophy behind Adesola Akinleye’s DancingStrong

It is integral to the work of an artist that they communicate with the community around them. This may be by sharing their working process through classes, workshops or residences or by producing artwork and sharing it in performance or exhibition.

Dance is my primary art form. It is a form of universal communication. It is a language. As well as developing gross motor skills dance introduces stepping stones to many other art forms and topics. The abstract ideas in math and science can be solidified in dance. Both as a participant or a spectator, dance can be inspirational.
My experience has taught me that an artist is not someone limited to one art form but simply someone willing to respond to their environment