Mohd Anis Md Nor is professor of Ethnochoreology and Ethnomusicology at the Cultural Centre (School of Performing Arts), University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. He earned his B.A. Honors from the University of Malaya, M.A. (Dance Ethnology) from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and PhD. (Southeast Asia Studies and Musicology) from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Professor Anis has pioneered the study of Zapin dance and music in Southeast Asia and has published widely on the said topic. Although his foremost research area is Malay dance and music in Southeast Asia, his current studies are on the interface between dance traditions among the Malayo-Polynesian societies in Southeast Asia and Polynesia together with the making of new traditions through contemporary performances.

He is a member of the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) Study Group on Ethnochoreology; President of World Dance Alliance – Asia Pacific (WDA-AP); National Advisor to MyDance (World Dance Alliance-Asia Pacific Malaysia Chapter); and Artist-in-Residence/Consultant to the Johor Heritage Foundation. He was appointed as the Advisory Committee of the Islamic World Arts Initiative (IWAI) supported by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art for the period of 2004-2005. Professor Anis is the curator for the Zapin International Dance Festival and the International Malay Performing Arts for the State Government of Johor in Malaysia. He is the 2007-2008 recipient of the William Allan Neilson Distinguish Professor of Music, Dance and Theatre at Smith College, Northampton, Mass., USA.