Calleja Smiley Welsh grew up in Michigan and is a freelance dancer and writer. She attended high school at UNC School of the Arts and is a college graduate of Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet / Dominican University. She has performed with Garrett + Moulton Productions (2016) and worked as a Community Actionist with Gibney (2017-2020) alongside other project-based work. Her original moving poem solos have been presented by Judson Church (2020) and the Cleveland Dance Fest (2021). She has been teaching as a certified Pilates instructor since 2011. Currently, Calleja is an MFA in Poetry Candidate at Columbia University.