Adesola Akinleye

Adesola Akinleye is an interdisciplinary artist-scholar and Assistant Professor in the Dance Division at Texas Woman’s University. She holds a Research Affiliate position at MIT’s Art, Culture, and Technology (ACT) program and is a Visiting Artist at MIT CAST (2020–2022). Her work bridges dance, urban design, and architecture, focusing on embodied knowledge and decolonization. Akinleye is founder/co-artistic director of DancingStrong Movement Lab and a certified Gyrotonic/GYROKINESIS instructor.

• PhD from Canterbury Christ Church University
• MA (Distinction) in Work-Based Learning (Dance in Community and Education)
• MA (Distinction) in Film from Middlesex University

Her research explores how dance-based methodologies inform urban design and public space, emphasizing non-Western and Indigenous perspectives. Key projects include collaborations with MIT on 'Choreographing the City' and publications such as Dance, Architecture and Engineering (2021) and (re:)claiming ballet (2021).

Awards include the ADAD Trailblazer Award and recognition for community dance education. Akinleye’s work has been featured in MIT’s Summer Reading List and RIBA commissions on David Adjaye’s architecture.

Her lexicon-based projects, such as 'Choreographing the Campus,' invite interdisciplinary dialogue on place-making through movement and spatial interaction.