Lisa Frias is a performer born in Lynn, Massachusetts. She was kicked out of ballet class at age six, for refusing to stop dancing. Her defiant artistic passion has carried her through years of devotion to dance, theater, and music, as well as her experiences as a single mother, mental health worker, middle school teacher, Lucumi priest, and activist.
After that first expulsion, Frias bounced back to study Afro Brazilian and Afro Cuban dance, and perform with award winning companies Fogo Na Roupa, Aguas Da Bahia, and Arenas Dance, and co-direct her own company, As Pernas Com Alma. She has been co-director of the Pollicita Middle School Dance Department for the past fourteen years.
Frias began her drama training in Colorado, performing street theater. Once in San Francisco she joined Rhodessa Jones’ The Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women, and has been a core member and principal actor, dancer, choreographer, and musician for fifteen years. In 2001 Frias completed her MA in Creative Arts Education with a workshop and performance series entitled Just Mama: the Joys, Struggles, and Redemption of Single Motherhood, which included free childcare for all participants. Other credits include directing Mercy Buckets for the San Francisco Fringe Festival, creating original music for plays produced by Theatre Ground Up at The Marsh, and recurring roles in Antonio’s Closet’s films. She has trained with numerous Bay Area directors and in Theatre of the Oppressed methodology.
She is presently pursuing her MFA at CIIS, and continues to never stop dancing.
Learn more about my approach to art and click here.
Dance like your life depends on it. That is all.
Click here to learn about my work as Dancer and Choreographer.
Me: It’s an honor and a privilege to teach you.
Students: It’s an honor and a privilege to learn.
