Marissa Herrera (Creator/Co-Writer) was recently quoted in her feature interview on the PBS documentary, Art & the Mind: “I was born to dance…my calling is to create.” As a Visionary and leader  Marissa is “bending the rebar” for young Latinas globally. Marissa was recently recognized by Ford Motor Company in their 2016 national campaign “Unstoppable: Latina on the Move.”

Poised to be the “Latina Tyler Perry,” Marissa launched “De Mi Alma Productions,” to share the stories of the American Latino experience. As a Creator, Marissa creates work for stage, film and TV as well as continuing her work as a choreographer and actor. She is the Creator/Co-Writer of “Two Feet In” (TV pilot), and her short film “MY L.A.” is a finalist in the New Filmmakers LA: On Location “What’s your L.A.?” film project. Marissa strives to connect us and tells the stories of the human experience.

A native Angeleno, born and raised in the City of Azusa, Marissa is also a leader in Arts Education. She is the Co-Founder/Artistic Director of 4C LAB, “providing opportunities for young creative visionaries to share their stories through artistic expression.” Marissa’s work is that of the “4 C’s”: to Create, Communicate and Collaborate to build Community. Marissa firmly believes in using art as a tool to empower youth to be a voice in addressing personal and social issues affecting their communities. One of her goals is to nurture young artists to build personal, artistic and global relationships in order to build community through art, professionalism (on and off stage), and love- for their work, themselves and each other.

Marissa Herrera began her professional career as an artist at the age of five, performing professionally with the Ballet Folklorico de Aztlan Dance Company. Feature credits have included Romeo & Juliet-Zoot Suit Style with Tony Plana’s East L.A. Classic Theatre, Selena Forever, Luis Avalos’ Paquitos’ Christmas, as Lupe Reyna in the 25^th Anniversary Tour of Luis Valdez’ , Zoot Suit, with El Teatro Campesino, as Anita in the Centennial of The Mission Play, and as the choreographer of the Tony Award winning musical In The Heights at The CandleLight Pavilion in which she won the IETL Award for Best Choreography. Film and television credits have included, Something Lost, Rapunzel Jackson, Bones (FOX) and a principal dancing role in Sony Pictures’ You Got Served.

Marissa has led workshops internationally and has written, choreographed, produced and directed many projects. She developed the Dance Choreography and Production Program at Inner-City Arts in the Skid Row section of Los Angeles. She is also the Co-founder of The Heart and Soul Collective- a cross-discipline of young artists using their art to empower personal and social transformation. Marissa was the Founding Artistic Director and choreographer for the Inner-City Arts Repertory Dance Company who performed for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate, on their 2012 trip to Los Angeles. Marissa was a delegate to La Habana, Cuba where she taught dance and participated in cross cultural workshops with Danza Moderna de Cuba and completed a collaborative project with her students and youth in England sponsored by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Marissa is also a published writer with contributions to “Middle School Dance,” and “Critical Media Literacy,” both being published late 2015. Marissa is also part of the Grammy Award winning artist, Macy Gray, creative team as choreographer and creative advisor.