Dance photo. Marisa arches over a male wheelchair dancer's lap as if she is doing a handstand scorpion

Dancer | Creative Director | Filmmaker

See Differently
Reimagine Possibilities

Summary

I am a visionary artist, performer, producer, director, and changemaker transforming culture. I create iconic works, movements, and experiences that expand how people see human potential and human connection so that future generations inherit a more liberated, connected, and inclusive world.

Sample Work

Short Film: Killed It

My Role: Executive Producer, Writer, Director, Actor

Finalist, Best Film, Easterseals Disability Film Challenge (2025).
Logline: A troubled dancer auditions for a feature film, but when the instructions turn cryptic, her literal interpretations awaken something far more dangerous than rejection.

LAX International Airport Site-Specific Performance

My Role: Producer, Director, Performer

Hosted by LAX Presents. 45-min performance at LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal behind the security gates.

#InfiniteInclusion Flashmob

My Role: Executive Producer, Director, Choreographer

Set in Venice Beach, CA, I brought together of 100+ people with and without disabilities and of all walks of life to dance in unity.

Dance Duet: Gravity

My Role: Executive Producer, Director, Associate Choreographer, Performer

Number 1 watched wheelchair dance video on YouTube.

See Portfolio for further references.

Artist Statement:

I’ve had a complex relationship with my body. Early on, I was told repeatedly that I didn’t have the “right” body to become a dancer, and I began to believe there was something inherently wrong with it. During my college years, I suffered a spinal stroke that initially left me paralyzed from the neck down. These experiences led me to continuously ask one question:

Who decides which bodies are worthy of beauty and belonging?

That question, shaped by my lived experiences as a fourth-generation Japanese American, late-diagnosed Autistic, and someone who has never quite fit neatly into a box, set me on a path as an artist committed to bringing beauty, creativity, and emotional truth to disability inclusion and underrepresented stories. Dance is where my practice began, but it has since expanded into filmmaking, visual arts, and immersive work, allowing me to explore narrative, perspective, and embodiment across forms and audiences.

I move fluidly between the commercial industry and the performing arts, contemporary and ballroom/street dance styles, East and West, and work created for children as well as mature audiences. No matter the medium or context, my intention remains the same: to meet audiences where they are and invite them into new ways of seeing, feeling, and imagining what’s possible. Beyond the stage, screen, and immersive spaces, my work cultivates communities as living ecosystems for collective authorship, visibility, and cultural change.

Infinite Flow Dance Sizzle Reel

My Role: Founder, Visionary, Artistic Director

Infinite Flow Dance is an award-winning disability-led professional dance company and nonprofit with a mission to reimagine possibilities, one dance at a time.

#ThisIsDance ENVISION

My Role: Executive Producer, Director, Performer

Viral Film. Logline: Through an unconventional vantage point, a 90-second dance unfolds, challenging how we see bodies, beauty, and possibility.

Short Film: Before I Die

My Role: Executive Producer, Writer, Director, Choreographer, Actor

Finalist, Editing, Easterseals Disability Film Challenge (2026)

Short Film: The Prom

My Role: Executive Producer, Writer, Director

A commissioned PSA film that flips the script.