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

Brittney recently joined the Missouri State University dance faculty as an instructor of
contemporary dance dance kinesiology, dance composition, and dance history. Additionally, she 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).

Brittney holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Missouri State University with a
minor in Middle Eastern Studies (history, comparative politics) and received her Master of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Colorado, Boulder. In her artistic work, She is investigating themes of surveillance, ritual, 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. She approaches her research from a Performance Studies lens,
operating at the nexus of movement, geopolitics, law, philosophy, and sociology. Her graduate research is centered on the Iranian Diaspora created by Iran's 1979 Revolution.
www.brittneybanaei.com