Marisa Plasencia

Marisa Plasencia is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre & Dance at the University of Kansas where she teaches courses in dance studies and technique with a focus on modern and contemporary dance, flamenco, and intercultural performance practices. Prior to arriving at KU, she held visiting positions in dance at Tufts University and Reed College, working with students at the undergraduate and graduate level.

As an artist-scholar, Marisa’s artistic practice explores the complex boundaries between twin bodies. Her creative work draws upon trickster figures and rhythm-building to investigate the role of collective identities in storytelling. In collaboration with her twin sister, she has presented work at the Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers and the Risk/Reward Festival of New Performance. With an interest in transnational spaces and bilingualism in dance composition, Marisa is currently developing choreographic projects and research in flamenco and cumbia.

Marisa received her PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research examines the role of misdirection in dance historiography. She specifically studies choreographers that navigate their training and cultural knowledge of multiple dance traditions to challenge their legibility in the public space of performance. Her research has been supported by Mellon/ACLS and the Fulbright Program.