Leralee Whittle
Crossing Borders
Art - Life
Media- Modalities
I studied dance, theater and philosophy in college and started to perform in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 90’s. I was a lead collaborator with Nita Little in relational intelligence research and improvisation performance. While deepening into art making, I developed a massage therapy practice and a somatics coaching practice over 15 years in Santa Cruz, Ca.. In my 30’s I met my husband, a touring musician/composer. We’ve since toured our performance widely and have lived worked in many places in North America and Europe. One of our biggest projects was building off-grid in the Chihuahuan desert near the border of Mexico. This is where I went deep and wide into La Lee Lee videos and print making.
Biography
Leralee Whittle trained as a dance artist, performing for Anouk van Djick, Nita Little, Rosy Simas, Tandy Beal, Scott Wells and others.
College and post-college training includes: Modern, Postmodern, Contemporary, Senegalese and Improvisation Dance, Movement Research, Action Theater, Qigong, Contact Improvisation, Energy Medicine, Process-Oriented Psychology and video editing.
Leralee’s choreography and video art have been experienced in theaters, galleries, festivals, dance studios, living rooms, and as public art in parks and sports facilities. She’s been presented in Dinamiche Scomposte Festival, Italy, Twin Cities Film Festival, Twin Cities/Montreal Choreographer Exchange, PWNW, Portland, La Esquina Gallery, Kansas City, CAPSULE, KCMO, Rosy Simas Danse/Southern Theater, Minneapolis, UCP, KCMO, and Aria, Barcelona.
She is the recipient of a public art commission, MN (2018) and Charlotte Street Foundation, Kansas City (2018), Project Space Residency, Counterpulse, SF (2017) and grants from PLRAC, MN (2017), KU Spencer Museum, Lawrence, KS and Puffin, NJ and Theatre Bay Area, San Francisco, CA .
Leralee Whittle has been a guest teacher at Wayne State University, Performance Works NW and FLOCK, Portland, OR, Counterpulse, San Francisco, Sudstern Jam, Berlin, The Cowels Center, Minneapolis and more.
