Lesley Garrison grew up in Swansea, Illinois, and received her early dance training at the Center of Creative Arts in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan. She studied at the Rotterdamse Dansacademie in The Netherlands and holds a B.F.A. from Purchase College.

She is a member of the Mark Morris Dance group, first performing with MMDG in 2007 and becoming a company member in 2011. Garrison is fully certified in mat and equipment Pilates through the Kane School of Core Integration and is a 200 hour registered yoga teacher through Yoga Vida.

She teaches Pilates and modern dance at The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center and in masterclasses worldwide. Garrison has had the honor of being a teaching artist for the renowned Dance for PD® program since 2011.

Her choreography has been presented at the Mark Morris Dance Center, SUNY Purchase, Ailey Fordham and the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, at the Smithsonian Institution.