MARISSA HORTON, from Washington, D.C., received her early training at Duke Ellington School of the Arts and North Carolina School of the Arts with a major in contemporary dance. She continued her studies at SUNY Purchase where she graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in Dance. There she performed works by choreographers such as George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Robert Moses, Helen Pickett, and Paul Taylor. She has worked with the Kevin Wynn Collection performing at Joyce SoHo and touring to Nanjing, China. Most recently, Marissa moved to Chicago and studied on scholarship at the Lou Conte Dance Studio. Marissa joined DanceWorks Chicago in March 2011.