Brittney Laleh Banaei is a dancer, scholar, bodyworker, and educator. Her integrative approach to movement (and life) combines her passions of inclusivity, critical thought, empowerment, decolonization, and wellness. 

Brittney is a STOTT Pilates® trained instructor, certified Gyrotonic® instructor, licensed massage therapist, and an avid weightlifter. She uses those skills to help other humans find growth,ease, and confidence in their chosen movement practice(s). 

Currently, Brittney is a Master of Fine Arts in Dance candidate at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Missouri State University with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies (history, comparative politics). She is investigating themes of surveillance, erasure/invisibilization, and humor as they relate to the development, exploration, and transmutation of identity. Additionally, Brittney interrogates the idea of Middle Eastern-ness by finding performative satisfaction in both subverting and upholding deeply embedded orientalist expectations of the performing Middle Eastern body. Brittney is interested in what it means to be a "fusion human," and the complexities of navigating a multiethnic experience. Brittney approaches her research from a Performance Studies lens, operating at the nexus of movement, geopolitics, law, philosophy, and sociology. Her area of focus is centered on the Iranian Diaspora created by Iran's 1979 Revolution.