Elba Emicente Sánchez is a lighting designer, educator, and artist whose work bridges theatre, contemporary dance, and interdisciplinary performance. Born in Mexico City and raised in Puebla, Mexico, she brings a cross-cultural perspective to every project, one shaped by over fifteen years of practice across  Latin America, North America, and Europe.

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She holds an MFA in Theatre Design from the University of California San Diego (2024) and a BA in Dance from Universidad de las Américas Puebla (2011). This dual foundation, in both design and the moving body, shapes her approach to lighting as an expressive, dramaturgical force.

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Her design credits include work with La Jolla Playhouse at the Mandell Weiss Theatre, Georgetown Palace Playhouse, Cygnet Theatre, Malashock Dance, Contra-Tiempo, UC San Diego, and UT Austin, as well as independent productions through companies such as Project Blank, Kallisti Ensemble, and Camino23 Collective. She has served as Lighting Director for the dance company Contra-Tiempo, traveling nationally with the company's touring productions. As an assistant, she has collaborated with lighting designers Tuce Yasak, Seth Reiser, and Cha See on productions at Contra-Tiempo, La Jolla Playhouse, and UNAM Cultural Festival.

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Her festival credits include the Cohen New Works Festival at UT Austin, Encuentro 2024 at LATC Los Angeles, the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, the California Festival: A Celebration of New Music, and the Fusebox Festival in Austin, alongside historic festivals in Mexico, Canada, and across the United States.

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A dedicated educator, Elba has taught at the university level and led workshops for dancers with disabilities at Ballet Incluyente. In 2026, she was invited as guest panelist and instructor for an international collaboration between Skene Creative Media, Mexico's Escuela Nacional de Arte Teatral (ENAT), and the University of Texas at Austin, mentoring emerging theatrical designers as part of Día Mundial del Teatro 2026.