Elizabeth Anaya

Elizabeth Anaya serves as a Lecturer in the Theatre and Dance Department at The University of Tampa, teaching courses including Dance in World Cultures and Dance History. Her academic work bridges scholarly research with community engagement in dance practices.

Her educational background includes:

• B.A. from Portland State University (2012)
• M.A. from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (2017)

Anaya's research centers on popular and social dance traditions, with specialized expertise in Latin dances, Cuban and Caribbean music/dance forms, and intangible cultural heritage. She actively explores intersections between ethnomusicology, ethnography, and Francophone/Hispanic cultural studies, emphasizing dance as a vehicle for cultural memory and social sustainability. Her advocacy extends to open culture initiatives, placemaking through public dance, and community-based sustainability projects.

Her 2021 publication demonstrates consistent focus on Caribbean dance traditions within cultural memory frameworks. The work analyzes how dance functions in processes of remembering and forgetting within Cuban cultural contexts, reflecting her long-term ethnographic engagement with Caribbean communities.

Anaya maintains significant community leadership through co-directing an Alaska-based dance school (2018-2025) specializing in Cuban popular dances. Her activities encompass studio instruction, national performance events, public school outreach, Cuba study trips, and inclusive community social dances. She currently serves as Secretary of PoP Moves, an international research collective dedicated to popular dance scholarship.