Leslie Whitesell

Leslie has had a wide range of experience in many different styles of dance. She began her dance training at a very young age with Grace Clark at the Annapolis Ballet. She then studied with Wendy Robinson at the Baltimore Ballet and the Peabody Institute and trained with Violette Verdy at Goucher College before enrolling at the North Carolina School for the Arts for 3 years where she studied both classical and contemporary dance and performed in works including The Nutcracker, Ghost Dances, and Faces. After moving to New York in the late 1990’s, and studying at the Joffrey Ballet, Steps and Broadway Dance Center, she began exploring the world of partner dancing.

Leslie has had extensive training in Argentine tango both in New York and Buenos Aires where she spent four months studying with Carlos Gavito, Nito & Elba Garcia, Oscar Mandagaran and Guillermina Quiroga among others. She also studied to dance and teach Mambo on 2 with Jimmy Anton. In 2001, she was featured with Carlos Gavito in the short film. Una Leccion. She has danced in many events in New York and around the world including Avantango and Del Tingo al Tango. Leslie was invited to join the staff of New York Wedding Dance in 2006.