Dr. Adesola Akinleye, the new National Director of RAD USA

We are pleased to share that Dr. Adesola Akinleye will be joining the RAD as National Director USA following Patti Ashby’s retirement at the end of August.

Adesola has worked in dance education in the USA, Canada, UK, and the Caribbean for over 30 years. She joins RAD USA from directing the PhD in Dance Program at Texas Woman’s University in Dallas, Texas, and is a Fellow Research Affiliate at Art, Culture & Technology (ACT) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In addition, she has written and advocated extensively for dance education that is joyful and care-driven.

Adesola trained at the Rambert Academy and began a professional career with the Dance Theatre of Harlem Workshop Ensemble. Adesola later established a dance school in Islip, Long Island (Saltare Foundation for the Arts), which included an after-school component, summer camp, and a professional dance company, for which the Town of Islip awarded them Woman of the Year for Dance. Adesola then founded and directed the community interest company, Dancing Strong Movement Lab, which offers community-based performances. Adesola choreographs for professional and pre-professional companies and schools most recently for the Royal Ballet School’s centennial celebrations.

“I am so excited to join the rich community of RAD USA. This is an important time for us all to be sharing the care that comes from an excellent dance education. A dance education is a lifelong invitation to the joy of self-expression and the excitement of learning something new about the world every time you step into the studio.”