"Cohen shows solid choreographic skills couched i a theatrical sensibility. The piece is beautifully danced in a strong, liquid, ethereal style that's flawless and mezmerizing." Camille LeFavre, Star Tribune

"Risa's dynamic teaching style energized students. She works with rigor, gentleness and humor, treating the students with respect and commanding their full attention. Her lessons are carefully structured to bring all of the students to a higher level of physical and aesthetic awareness." Barbara Morin, Director, Theater Department, Perpich Center for Arts Education

Risa Cohen, the daughter of an American diplomat, was born in Calcutta, India. She spent her formative years in Germany, the US, and the UK where she studied at the Contemporary Dance School of London. After graduating from Towson University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science in Neurological Psychology, she moved to New York City where she spent the next five years studying and performing with The Margolis Brown Company. Risa moved to Minneapolis with the Company in 1995. She founded the Precipice Dance Theater in 1997, and has since produced dances that address social issues such as alienation, addiction, and oppression. She has choreographed, performed, and taught aerial dance, movement theater, and modern dance nationally and internationally for the past eight years. Her performances have received several grants and awards, including a Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Grant and three times selected to take part in Choreographers' Evening at the Walker Art Center.