Facilitator Bio

Maura García (non-enrolled Cherokee/Mattamuskeet) is a dancer, dancemaker, director, facilitator, and thought leader. She inspires people to liberate themselves through vibrant performances that channel the sensual rhythms of the natural world. From theater stages, to nightclubs, to museums, to conferences, to universities, to private events to site-specific outdoor performances, Maura’s powerful work transforms time and space. At the root of all of her endeavors is the desire to heal and create more space for joy in the world.

As a facilitator, Maura offers dance and movement-based workshops, master classes and residencies helping people connect more deeply with themselves, other humans and the earth around them. Through dance, story and original choreography participants explore movement as a vehicle for understanding the world. She has taught master classes and residencies in innumerable settings, including music festivals, national professional conferences, trauma support groups, public schools, museums and universities.

Among her extensive list of engagements are:

  • Taught a series of dance and mindful movement exploration workshops for MAV (Multicultural Arts Victoria) in Naarm, Melbourne, Australia

  • Served as the youth activity facilitator for culture night at the Kansas City Indian Center on a monthly basis

  • Co-facilitated a week-long residency at Denison University which included 3 guest lectures and 2 dance classes

  • Taught a series of Dancing Their Stories mini-classes for preschoolers on the Warm Springs reservation (Wasco and Pauite territory)

  • Led the closing event at the National Poetry Therapy Conference - a dance for joy workshop

  • Facilitated dance workshops on the lawn in front of the Frank Lloyd Wright house at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

  • Led a cohort of Indigenous dance artists as part of the week-long, virtual Indigenous Ground Dance Training offered by Raven Spirit Dance (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

  • Taught children’s dance classes at the ImagiNATIONS Center in the NMAI in Washington, DC

  • Taught a choreography class as a visiting artist at Connecticut College

  • Gave an artist talk at the Urban Aboriginal Alternate High School in Ottawa, ON, Canada

  • Served as a dance & cultural workshop facilitator at the Kansas City Indian Center Summer Camp 

  • Taught a dance and choreography creation master class based on our relationship to the elements at the Matriarch’s Uprising festival in Vancouver, BC Canada

  • Facilitated workshops at Haskell Indian Nations University for both the Empowerment and Suicide Prevention summits

  • Taught a series of Community Day master classes at the Ackland Art Museum (Chapel Hill, NC) exploring the exhibitions as a source of movement

  • Created and taught a series of STEAM dance classes for school-aged children at the Lawrence Arts Center (Lawrence, KS)

  • Facilitated a contemporary Indigenous dance workshop on the grounds of the Woodland Cultural Centre as part of the Onkwehón:we Original People’s Festival (Brantford, ON, Canada)

  • Facilitated outdoor dance classes as part of the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance

Maura is sought out for her community engagement and cultural advocacy work. She has designed and directed three long-term community arts projects:

  • The ACT III Survivor Empowerment project was a collaboration between Maura García and the Metropolitan Organization Countering Sexual Assault (MOCSA). ACT III dealt with the stigma attached to rape survivors and considered - What if survivors of rape were lauded as heroes? Over the course of several months, Maura set ACT III on a brave group of sexual assault survivors. The project ended with a hero’s celebration - a pre-rally performance at the University of Missouri’s “Take Back The Night” anti-violence march.

  • CROSSROADS was an interactive story-telling project that Maura created for the Charleston Library Society. The center of inquiry was the past and present of the library and the transformations of the physical space and land as they have evolved throughout the centuries. It took place over the course of five months, featuring a story-collecting residency, a public blog and a community choreography workshop. CROSSROADS culminated in a mixed-media dance performance. incorporating interviews with library patrons, local Indigenous Natchez creation stories and audience participation.

  • As a fellow in the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian’s Artist Leadership Program, Maura worked with members of the Kansas City Indian Center and local Indigenous artists to realize Center of the Universe - an 8-month long community arts project. Center of the Universe explored the art of ancient urban Midwestern cities and the stories of present-day Indigenous people living in Kansas City. Negotiating Native identity, culture and one’s place in the universe is a common challenge. Center of the Universe celebrated contemporary urban Indian identity and created space for people to explore, define and express themselves. The project ended with a public art exhibition, lecture, dance performance and community feast.  

Maura currently resides on A-ma-ye-(t)li, also known as turtle island. She believes that every interaction with a living being is an opportunity to positively affect the world. As she travels the world, she continues to seek out opportunities that will allow her to dance, connect and create with others.                                                                                                                                                   

 
 
 

(Photo by Jenny Wheat)