Leonardo Balestra is an internationally engaged actor, researcher and curator whose work spans feature and short films as well as live theatrical productions. His practice combines performance with research, exploring how embodiment, attention, and relationality shape creative processes. Alongside performing, he works as an acting coach, supporting actors and directors in preparing roles and developing nuanced, context-specific approaches on stage and on set. Since 2018, he has co-founded Hospites Teatro in Bologna, where he oversees creative direction, dramaturgy, performance, and training. He develops original projects, leads workshops, and coordinates festivals and cultural initiatives, fostering dialogue between performing arts, interdisciplinary practices, and creative inquiry. Leonardo holds an MA with honours in Italian Studies, European Literary Cultures and Linguistics from the University of Bologna. His research bridges performance, epistemology, and cognitive science, investigating how environment, attention, and social dynamics co-create collective knowledge and shared experiences in dramaturgical engagement. As an actor, he works at the intersection of performance and cultural practice, drawing on a creative and embodied approach to foster meaningful, participatory, and generative connections among people, spaces, and communities.