Please welcome to our staff this summer, Marissa Thibodeaux!

Marissa Thibodeaux is from Mansfield, TX where she began dance at the age of three. Marissa trained in ballet, contemporary, jazz tap, pointe, and hip hop at Momentum Dance in Arlington, TX. She attended Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts where she performed in lead roles in several ballets including Cinderella, Les Sylphides, and Four Seasons. Marissa graduated magna cum laude from Texas Christian University with a BFA in Ballet and Modern Dance and University Honors from the John V. Roach honors college. While at TCU, Marissa was awarded the Dean’s Academic Scholarship and the Nordan Fine Arts Scholarship. She performed in a residency work by LINES Ballet Choreographer LeeWei Chao, and as a soloist in Antony Tudor’s Dark Elegies, restaged by John Gardner and Amanda McKerrow. After graduation, Marissa moved to Houston, TX where she was an apprentice with Houston Metropolitan Dance Company for the 2018-2019 season. At Houston MET, Marissa had the opportunity to perform works by Kate Skarpetowska, Kyle Abraham, and Josh Manculich. In 2019, Marissa joined Bruce Wood Dance Company in Dallas, TX as a company member. During her time with BWDC, Marissa performed woks by Brian Arias, Bruce Wood, and Joy Bollinger. Marissa had the opportunity to travel to New York City where Bruce Wood was invited to perform at the Joyce Theater.

Since retiring from dance, Marissa moved to Bakersfield, CA. She now works as an emergency medical technician and is currently in a post-baccalaureate program to complete classes needed for medical school. Marissa hopes to someday be a pediatric surgeon or a trauma surgeon. Marissa is very excited to get back to dancing and teaching after some time off!