Faculty

Biography

Natalia Lisina was born in Kazan, Russia. She received her BFA in dance at Kazan State University of Culture and the Arts and MFA at SUNY Brockport. Lisina continued her dance education at North Karelia College, Finland and at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, Canada. In addition to the American Dance Festival, with a subsequent performance at the Joyce SoHo in New York, Lisina has participated in training workshops and festivals internationally (Paris, Moscow, Vilnius).

She completed her Pilates training at Evolution Pilates with Michelle Pritchard. She is teaching Pilates at Nazareth College, University of Rochester and at Evolution Pilates. She danced as a member of the chamber ballet Panther, in Kazan, Russia, under artistic director Nail Ibragimov and BIODANCE company in Rochester, NY under artistic director Missy Pfohl Smith (2015 - present). She choreographs her own works, involving artists from the local community. Building on her recent research “From Dead Spaces to Live Places: The Transforming Power of Dialogue in Site-Specific Dance”, she continues to explore new possibilities in the field of site-specific dance. In the Fall 2022 she choreographed the full length, site-specific multidisciplinary work "If These Walls Could Speak..." in the ruins of St. Joseph Church, now converted to a park under the care of the Landmark Society of Western NY.

She has a secondary vocational education in tailoring from Kazan Technical School of Folk Arts. She is a recipient of the 2024 New York State Choreographers Initiative grant, working with dance and fabric. Lisina designs and sews costumes for local artists and her own work. She teaches a Costume Design course at University of Rochester.

“In my classes my goal is to create a safe, comfortable working environment that welcomes the learning process and exploration. I provide time and space for physicality, intellectuality, emotions, and deep understanding of oneself and one’s body. I believe in a learning process that gives us inspiration, freedom, passion, and lifts our spirit to move and create together.”