ABOUT US


Our Director Mikaela Morisato (they/she) is a dance artist, choreographer and founder of MORISATO. Her dance background comprises 20 years of concert and commercial dance styles, alongside improv development and choreographic composition. Mikaela's studies led her to Israel in 2018 where she trained extensively with Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company and other companies such as Vertigo Dance Company and Batsheva Dance Company. Throughout her career, she has had the privilege of performing works by artists from Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Barak Marshall Dance Theatre, Cullberg and more. Based in New York City, Mikaela has danced for Peter & Co, Lenora Lee Dance, Mignolo, Nathaniel’s Dance Collective and independent contemporary artists. Her personal work has been premiered on various stages such as “Her” 2018 at the Zichri Theater, Israel, and “All of Us” 2019 at the Midtown Arts & Theater Center, Houston, Texas. In creation of MORISATO, her choreography has been commissioned through Mare Nostrum Elements 2022, SMUSH Gallery 2019-2022, Metuchen Arts Council 2020 and several musical artists. Mikaela focuses on creating accessibility with every new endeavor by sharing her artistic experience of live performance, digital media and film production within the art industry.
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“Advocating for racial inclusivity, body positivity and more diversity within the arts.”
RECENT COLLABORATORS


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Ragin Smith
Euphonic Connection
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Ragin Smith (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, and performance artist based in Brooklyn. She works to develop deconstructed narratives by stringing together contexts of movement, poetry, visual art, and music. She has presented work at The Tank, Fabled Narcissism, ESTIA Day Fest, and as an artist in residence at the Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation. She will be in process during an upcoming summer residency at Nancy Manocherian's the cell theatre. Ragin has performed works by Brendan Fernandes, Evan Ray Suzuki, Andrea Miller, Valeria Gonzalez, Morgan Bobrow-Williams, Ryan Bailey, Troy Ogilvie, La Intrusa Company, and more!​​ She received a BFA in Dance and a Minor in Business Management from Marymount Manhattan College. Aside from her freelance projects, Ragin is a member of the Wet Hairy Women Collective, Hivewild, MORISATO, and Alison Chase Performance Group. She works closely with Haley Morgan Miller to direct and produce the Fabled Narcissism arts events.

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Nelson Mejia
Euphonic Connection
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Nelson Mejia (he/him) is a freelancer based in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BFA in Dance + Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University(2022). Company credits include Brian Brooks Moving Company and Pony Box Dance Theatre. Performance credits include work by Rena Butler, Raja Feather Kelly, and Andrea Miller. Nelson has served as Assistant Choreographer to Kelly for projects with Hermés and Soho Rep. He toured with Joyce Theater Productions’ “Heart of Brick”, dancing for R&B singer serpentwithfeet. His work has been shown at The Grace Street Theater, I.C.A. Richmond, Gibney’s Agnes Varis Theater, and Invisible Dog Arts Center.

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Liana Kleinman
Euphonic Connection
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Liana (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist and dancer from Los Angeles, CA. She received her BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College, and subsequently worked with Holly Blakey for Puma’s New York Fashion Week Show and Andrea Miller for Beautiful Destinations Panama. Liana has been commissioned to create work for Opera Notre Dame and The Angel’s Share at Green-Wood Cemetery in collaboration with The New York Philharmonic. Liana completed her Master’s at London Contemporary Dance School researching postures of melancholia in the ecological body.

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Tamara Leigh
Euphonic Connection
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Tamara (she/they) is a NYC based freelance dancer who specializes in contemporary works, dance theater, and night life. Tamara has performed in the second installment of MORISATO’s “Euphonic Connection” work at Arts On Site in 2024.

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Caleb Patterson
Euphonic Connection
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Caleb (he/them) is a dance artist based in New York City. He has performed works by several notable choreographers such as Nathan Trice, Rena Butler and Patrick O’Brien during his education at The Joffrey Ballet School in 2014. Alongside being seen in HBO’s Random Acts Of Flyness led by Domani Pompey, he has worked with artists Maleek Washington, Em Greenwell, Kayla Farrish and more. He has performed works by MATHETA dance, LaneCoArts, Spark Movement Collective, MORISATO, Kar’mel Small, Javier Padilla, Dolly Sfeir and Beatriz Castro. Caleb collaborates closely with artists Michelle Thompson Ulerich and Johnny Butler, and has presented his own work at Arts On Site, TADA! Youth Theater, Bridge For Dance and other selected commissions. He has performed in Battery Dance Festival, MATHETA’s Speak Through Movement at Judson Church, Palm Desert Choreography Festival, Mare Nostrum Element’s Emerging Choreographer Series, Dance Gallery Festival, CUNY Dance Initiative and others.
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OUR MISSION
MORISATO is a collective founded by Mikaela Morisato that aspires to connect creatives from different mediums and multiple audiences with a focus in dance. Our mission is to create new opportunities with our collaborators welcoming all races, ethnicities, sexualities, religions and bodies to work together. We wish to spread more awareness for accessible ways to view and participate in sharing our pieces with an inclusive mentality. Our collaborative experience includes working within the dance, choreography, film and design areas in the entertainment and art industries. As a collective, we thrive on the motivation to continue growing expansive representation, research and new importance through movement.
“Accepting the gifts of art is a necessity but creating it is a privilege.”