22 min
Episode Three - Maria Caruso Fostering Creativity & Building Community: a dance education podcast
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- Performing Arts
Welcome back, everybody! In this episode, I’m chatting with Pittsburgh-native dancer, choreographer, fitness practitioner and entrepreneur Maria Caruso (she/her). I had the incredible privilege of being one of Maria’s students while attending my Alma Mater, La Roche University. As part of Maria's unique program, I both trained with and taught for Bodiography, simultaneously existing in the professional dance world whilst still earning my degree. In the short time after graduating, Maria has become an off-Broadway phenomenon and continues to spreads her message and impact throughout the wider dance world. Tune into this episode to hear a bit about how she balances the many facets of her professional career, translates her experiences into valuable lessons for students, and defines creativity through her unique "dance as language" model.
Keep scrolling for Maria's bio, then be sure to give her a follow online to keep up with her adventures. Select social media and platforms listed below.
Full Biography
Maria Angelica Caruso is an American born dancer, choreographer, actor, director, producer, publisher, academic, social activist, fitness and wellness practitioner, and entrepreneur. Chair of the Performing Arts Department at La Roche University, she is also the CEO of M-Train Productions, which houses Pittsburgh’s Movement Factory studios and theater, publishing editor of The Arts Inclusive, and leader of a network of interwoven companies that operate under the Bodiography brand. This network of performance, wellness, production, and fitness entities are known for their commitment to health and wellness in the arts and their championing of positive change in communities regionally and globally. Caruso received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in performing arts and dance from Florida State University at age nineteen, and shortly after, earned a Master of Science Degree in Professional Leadership with an emphasis on management for non-profit organizations from Carlow University. Her dance career, spanning over two decades, is highlighted by her work with the world’s most prominent classical and contemporary companies, and she is known for her impeccable classical ballet technique nuanced by her strong roots in the modern dance vernacular.
Her work has been the foundation of significant collaborations with the likes of the Martha Graham Contemporary Dance Company, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Israel’s Karmiel Dance Festival, Brazil’s Cisne Negro, and numerous independent artists across the globe. In 2011, Bodiography was trademarked as a movement vocabulary and it formed the basis of Caruso's unique research-based choreographic process. During this time her movement vocabulary was codified as a language, and this systematization propelled her educational outreach efforts by appealing to a broad spectrum of audiences. These efforts provided her with an expansive portfolio of choreographic and teaching engagements at hundreds of conservatories, universities, and companies in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. In addition to her artistic efforts, the development of her Bodiography Fitness and Strength Training System and Bodiography Dance Movement Therapy System further catapulted her beyond the arts arena and into the fitness and wellness realm.
With the success of her artistic, fitness, and dance movement therapy endeavors growing the Bodiography organization, Caruso has also fulfilled her passion for education through the growth and restructuring of the dance program that she leads at La Roche University and her private dance conservatory in Pittsburgh. Every day, Caruso is excited to watch the fusion of her multi-genre conservatory, Bodiography Center for Movement, with her La Roche University and professional programs, as their synergy impacts hundreds of young aspiring artists. Her students flourish in the top dance programs and companies in the world, and she is proud to watch her college grad
Welcome back, everybody! In this episode, I’m chatting with Pittsburgh-native dancer, choreographer, fitness practitioner and entrepreneur Maria Caruso (she/her). I had the incredible privilege of being one of Maria’s students while attending my Alma Mater, La Roche University. As part of Maria's unique program, I both trained with and taught for Bodiography, simultaneously existing in the professional dance world whilst still earning my degree. In the short time after graduating, Maria has become an off-Broadway phenomenon and continues to spreads her message and impact throughout the wider dance world. Tune into this episode to hear a bit about how she balances the many facets of her professional career, translates her experiences into valuable lessons for students, and defines creativity through her unique "dance as language" model.
Keep scrolling for Maria's bio, then be sure to give her a follow online to keep up with her adventures. Select social media and platforms listed below.
Full Biography
Maria Angelica Caruso is an American born dancer, choreographer, actor, director, producer, publisher, academic, social activist, fitness and wellness practitioner, and entrepreneur. Chair of the Performing Arts Department at La Roche University, she is also the CEO of M-Train Productions, which houses Pittsburgh’s Movement Factory studios and theater, publishing editor of The Arts Inclusive, and leader of a network of interwoven companies that operate under the Bodiography brand. This network of performance, wellness, production, and fitness entities are known for their commitment to health and wellness in the arts and their championing of positive change in communities regionally and globally. Caruso received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in performing arts and dance from Florida State University at age nineteen, and shortly after, earned a Master of Science Degree in Professional Leadership with an emphasis on management for non-profit organizations from Carlow University. Her dance career, spanning over two decades, is highlighted by her work with the world’s most prominent classical and contemporary companies, and she is known for her impeccable classical ballet technique nuanced by her strong roots in the modern dance vernacular.
Her work has been the foundation of significant collaborations with the likes of the Martha Graham Contemporary Dance Company, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Israel’s Karmiel Dance Festival, Brazil’s Cisne Negro, and numerous independent artists across the globe. In 2011, Bodiography was trademarked as a movement vocabulary and it formed the basis of Caruso's unique research-based choreographic process. During this time her movement vocabulary was codified as a language, and this systematization propelled her educational outreach efforts by appealing to a broad spectrum of audiences. These efforts provided her with an expansive portfolio of choreographic and teaching engagements at hundreds of conservatories, universities, and companies in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. In addition to her artistic efforts, the development of her Bodiography Fitness and Strength Training System and Bodiography Dance Movement Therapy System further catapulted her beyond the arts arena and into the fitness and wellness realm.
With the success of her artistic, fitness, and dance movement therapy endeavors growing the Bodiography organization, Caruso has also fulfilled her passion for education through the growth and restructuring of the dance program that she leads at La Roche University and her private dance conservatory in Pittsburgh. Every day, Caruso is excited to watch the fusion of her multi-genre conservatory, Bodiography Center for Movement, with her La Roche University and professional programs, as their synergy impacts hundreds of young aspiring artists. Her students flourish in the top dance programs and companies in the world, and she is proud to watch her college grad
22 min