Lesley Rausch grew up in Columbus, Ohio, training at Columbus Youth Ballet under Shir Lee Wu and later at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She attended summer intensives at the School of American Ballet, International Dance School, and PNBS.

Lesley joined Pacific Northwest Ballet in 2001, rising to soloist in 2007, and became a principal in 2011 before retiring in 2023. She captivated audiences in principal roles across full-length ballets by Kent Stowell, Alexei Ratmansky, Peter Boal, Ronald Hynd and Jean-Christophe Maillot, as well as in original works by legendary choreographers George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, JiriKylián, Nacho Duato, Crystal Pite, David Dawson, Christopher Wheeldon, and many others. She also originated roles in new works by Jessica Lang, Benjamin Millepied, Edwaard Liang, Val Caniparoli, and Kiyon Gaines Ross.

A sought-after guest artist, she has performed at the Chicago Dancing Festival, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Ballet Hawaii, and the Nantucket Atheneum Dance Festival, among others, and has danced on renowned stages in New York City, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Istanbul, and Hong Kong.

Beyond performing, Lesley has been a guest instructor at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Ballet Hawaii, Evergreen City Ballet, and Montana Ballet Company, where she also choreographed and staged excerpts of Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. She was on faculty at Pacific Northwest Ballet School (2017–2023) and currently teaches at Adage Ballet Academy. She also served as the Ballet Adjudicator at the MusicFest Northwest.