Alissa Elegant is a Ph.D. candidate in the humanities field of dance studies (with an interdisciplinary specialization in Chinese Cultural Studies). Her dissertation examines the multiple functions of the widespread practice and performance of amateur and professional dance in workplaces of the railway industry in People’s Republic of China (PRC). She traces it from its antecedents prior to the establishment of the state in 1949 through the reform period until the present.

Prior to coming to OSU, Alissa earned a B.A. From UC Berkeley in political science and spent an immersive year studying dance at Minzu University of China in Beijing on a Fulbright fellowship.