Kiri Avelar

Kiri Avelar (she/ella) is an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Utah, specializing in Chicana/Latina feminist epistemologies and border(lands) studies. Her work centers transnational dance histories of the Latinx diaspora through the lens of the Chicano Movement, challenging established notions of transborder identities in dance historiography.

Her educational background includes:

• BA in Dance from New Mexico State University (2006)
• MFA in Dance from Rutgers University (2019)
• PhD in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies from UC Santa Barbara (2022)
• Teachers' Certification from José Limón Dance Foundation (2010-present)

Avelar's research employs collaborative methodologies prioritizing the body, rasquachismo, and pláticas~testimonios. She interprets dance archives through film, screendance, oral histories, and feminist cartographies to document marginalized contributions. Her teaching philosophy integrates translanguaging, sentipensante (sensing/thinking), and nepantla to foster liberatory creative practices that counter systemic erasure in dance education.

Her recent publications reveal consistent focus on anti-racist pedagogy, José Limón's legacy, and Ballet Hispánico's cultural impact. She examines how border theory and diaspora frameworks reshape dance historiography, particularly through embodied oral histories and digital cartographies that make absent Latinx narratives visible.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Jerome Robbins Dance Division Research Fellow (2020-2021)
• NYU Teaching Fellow for Latin American Studies
• UC Santa Barbara Chancellor's Fellow
• Documentary Arts Fund for Writers (2024)

Avelar co-founded the Latinx Dance Educators Alliance (LXDEA) in 2021, now comprising 93 members across 25 U.S. states and Latin American countries. She serves on the National Core Arts Standards Dance Expert Panel and National Dance Education Organization Research Committee. Her Documentary Arts grant supports archival work on transfronteriza dance histories while the Jerome Robbins Fellowship advanced her research on José Limón's ambassadorship.

She leads LXDEA as a movement connecting dance educators through community-based pláticas, testimonio, and convivencia. The alliance counters exclusionary practices by curating Latinx-centered resources and promoting Chicana/Latina feminist pedagogies across K-12 schools, conservatories, and universities.