Marisa f. Ballaro
choreographer | producer | educator | consultant
Continuing to revitalize my own personal lineage of American modern dance experiences, I approach choreography with two themes. The first reflects a love of rhythm, musicality, and the use of physical space; these dances are similar in spirit to the earliest movement memories I can recall growing up in my mother’s dance studio. An alternate but equally important focus is to use small gestures and the art of storytelling to make meaningful statements. Anna Sokolow’s desire to let motion come from emotion excites me and informs this perspective. Both approaches allow me to engage through universal themes of humanity: love, joy, sympathy, and grief.
My Company, Ballaro Dance, builds and maintains a welcoming environment; our organization is a place that promotes a spirit of engagement and the desire to learn from and through one another. By cultivating a safe space to observe, participate, and communicate through dance, audience, students, collaborators, and performers feel a sense of belonging. Many in our community are first-time dance viewers or class takers; I take pride in my ability to foster safe entry points. Producing events that provide opportunity for inclusive conversations & develop a community network: this is what feeds me as an artist.
“The thing that stuck out to me most was your mission as Company Director to make dance accessible to a diverse population. I think that is something not often discussed...or is unfortunately overlooked, and is especially important with the state of our country and the world. Community is important now more than ever and I really respect your mission to bring people together through dance...”
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Marisa received her Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Montclair State University (2022) while selected to be the Convocation Speaker for the College of the Arts; she graduated summa cum laude from SUNY Brockport with dual degrees in Dance and Interdisciplinary Arts for Children and received a distinguished Outstanding Service Award from the Alumni Association in 2025. Marisa taught at The Brearley School in Manhattan for 12 years and was recognized as an Outstanding Educator by The University of Chicago in October 2019. She is the recipient of two honors awarded by The Brearley School: The Margaret Riker Harding Lower School Fellowship and The Serena Marshall Weld Award. She traveled to Barcelona, Spain in April of 2022 becoming a certified practitioner of Level 1: Simonson Teacher Training. Marisa offers coaching, mentoring, and consulting through Your Next MOVE, her professional development platform.
Committed to both service and research in the field, she is the National Honor Society for Dance Arts Director for the New York State Dance Education Association, and an active presenter at education conferences; she leads MOVEwise, a dance education platform centering agency and creativity, with Whitney Jacobs.
In 2026, Marisa was commissioned by the Society for New Music to develop a new work with composer Hippocrates Cheng for performances at SUNY Brockport, RIT, OCC/Syracuse, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges; Ballaro Dance toured to Washington, DC to perform at the Aurora Dance Festival. In August, Marisa's work TWELVE: Going The Distance journeyed to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, marking the Company’s international debut, selected as part of the distinguished Summerhall Arts programme.
Driven by community building, Marisa takes pride in facilitating safe entry points for those meeting the world of dance for the first time. Living at the intersection of imagination and action, she is both dreamer and doer, bringing resonant, trailblazing ventures to life. Fun Fact: Marisa is a passionate, lifelong Buffalo Bills fan!
MARISA’S STORY:
A proud Buffalonian, Marisa f. Ballaro is Founding Artistic Director of NYC-based Ballaro Dance. Passionate about bringing sensory-rich dance experiences to new audiences and first-time MOVERS, she values community-based, collaborative projects at the core of her artistic vision.
“Your leadership qualities and attention to detail don’t go unnoticed or unappreciated. I felt supported to move how I needed to, welcomed in your space and community to play & explore... enjoying the movement style and choreography was just the cherry on top.”