Marquita De Jesus

Fusion Director, Contemporary and Jazz

Born in Los Angeles, California, Marquita was drawn to the art of dance at an early age. After moving to Texas, Marquita fell in love with performance under the direction of Anna Ashy and the Alief Jazz Ballet in Houston, TX. Marquita continued her training at Sam Houston State University, where she performed works by Dana Nicolay and the late Jonathan Charles, and also started her first dance company at the age of nineteen. After graduation, Marquita moved to North Texas, completed her Masters in Fine Arts, and was approached by Lori Boldt to create a youth dance ensemble that would become Fusion Performance Company.  Fusion offers focused growth to dancers in select genres and encourages the use of creative practice to help the world at large, raising a quarter of a million dollars to date for local and international charities dedicated to education equity. 

In addition to her work with Fusion, Marquita is an Associate Professor and full-time PhD student with a fully funded assistantship in Visual and Performing Arts. Marquita has been awarded prestigious fellowships and dance research awards including but not limited to the Vitacca Choreography Fellowship, Giffin-Harrison Teacher Award, Kottwitz Theater Award, Levy Research Scholarship, numerous grants, speaking and publishing opportunities.  Marquita De Jesus is celebrating her 16th season at TDM and 14th season as Artistic Director of Fusion Performance Company with daughters Emmy Ana and Elle Ava De Jesus who are also Fusion Company Dancers