Misa Kuranaga began her training at the Jinushi Kaoru Ballet School and later continued at the School of American Ballet. In 2001, Kuranaga joined the San Francisco Ballet as an apprentice after winning the professional scholarship award at the Prix de Lausanne. In 2003, Kuranaga was offered a corps de ballet position at Boston Ballet. She quickly rose through the ranks after performing the Sylph in August Bournonville's La Sylphide as a corps member. She was promoted to second soloist in 2005, soloist in 2007 and to principal dancer in 2009.

She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including a gold medal in the junior division of the Ninth Moscow International Ballet Competition and the gold medal in the senior division of the 2006 USA International Ballet Competition.

In 1993, Kuranaga performed in the Moscow Ballet Competition Gala at Bolshoi Theater as a guest of Yuri Grigorovich. In 2009 she performed Serenade with New York City Ballet in Lincoln Center and in 2012, Kuranaga danced the roles of Odette and Odile at the Komaki Ballet in Tokyo, Japan. She is an annual guest artist at the Vail International Dance Festival, which Damien Woeztel directs. Kuranaga has traveled all over the world performing in galas including the Youth American Grand Prix Gala in New York City, the Dance Open Gala in Helsinki, the 7th International Ballet Star Gala in Taipei, the Prix de Lausanne Gala in Tokyo, the International Ballet Gala in Dortmund and Alina Cojocaru & Friends in Sarasota, Florida.

Her repertoire includes Nureyev's Don Quixote (Kitri); Cranko's Romeo and Juliet (Juliet); Maina Gielgud's production of Giselle (Giselle); Florence Clerc's La Bayadere (Nikiya), Les Sylphides (Prelude), Frederic Ashton's La Fille mal Gardée (Lise), Cinderella (Cinderella); Bournonville's La Sylphide (the Sylph); Marius Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty (Princes Aurora, Princess Florine), Swan Lake (Odette/Odile); Mikko Nissinen's The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen and Clara), Harald Lander's Etudes (the Ballerina); James Kudelka's Cinderella, lead role in George Balanchine's Coppélia (Swanhilda), Leading roles of Theme and Variations, Diamonds, Rubies, Symphony in C, Serenade, Ballo della Regina, Tchaikovsky pas de deux, Tarantella, A Midsummer Night Dream, Divertimento No.15, Who Cares?, Concerto Barocco, Symphony in Three Movements; Alexander Ekman's Cacti; Jiri Kylián's Petite Mort,Wings of Wax, Symphony of Psalms, Sechs Tanze; William Forsythe's The Second Detail; Christopher Wheeldon's Polyphonia; Helen Pickett's Tsukiyo, Layli o Majnun, Tabula Rasa; Mark Morris's Up and Down; Victor Plotnikov's Moonlight Sonata, "2"; Boyko Dossev's Crane, Twyla Tharp's In the Upper Room; Jorma Elo's Slice to Sharp, Lost by Last; Wayne McGregor's Chroma and Peter Martin's Barber Violin Concerto.