Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish

Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish was born in Manila and was the youngest member of Ballet Philippines. She came to the United States in her teens and studied at The Ailey School. She then danced with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Joyce Trisler and other companies before joining Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1984, where she was company's the first Filipina principal dancer. The New York Times described her as “a cool, still, lyrical center of the Ailey storm”. She was featured in 1997 for Dance Magazine’s cover article and named by Avenue magazine as one of the 500 most influential Asian-Americans. After leaving Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Elizabeth was asked to perform on Broadway in The King and I as Eliza. After her Broadway debut, she returned to concert dance making several guest appearances in the United States and abroad, as well as with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Elizabeth is a certified Ailey Horton Master Teacher and is a faculty member at The Ailey School, where she teaches the Ailey Horton technique and Ailey repertory. She has taught at prestigious colleges such as Harvard, Sara Lawrence, New York University, and other colleges.  Elizabeth received the Ma-Yi Theater Award honoring her for her contribution to the Arts.  She has choreographed for regional theaters as well as for Off Broadway shows and The Little Opera Theater in NY.  She has been commissioned to create works Internationally and in the United States. Elizabeth has created several dance films including for the 2020 Soho International Film Festival and for the The Philippines Fifth Wall Fest in 2021. She created a work for Ailey II in 2023 called MediAcation. Thereafter, she was commissioned to create a piece for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater titled Me, Myself and You, which had its World premiere at New York City Center in 2023.

Elizabeth continues to teach, coach, and create new works. Her recent works include Tinder Moments for Contemporary West in 2025. Her latest work Apocalypsis/ Fifth Season is a choreographic collaboration with the Founder and Artistic Director of Contemporary West Dance Theatre which premiered in New York. Elizabeth also was recently named as the company’s resident choreographer.  

She is married to a prominent matrimonial lawyer in New York.