Odyssea

Mariah Steele (BA from Princeton University, MA from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and MFA from Hollins University) is a choreographer, dancer, educator and interdisciplinary researcher. She is currently Assistant Professor in the Program of Dance & Movement at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY. As the founder and Artistic Director of Quicksilver Dance, Steele’s choreography has been performed across the country and internationally. For this work, The Boston Globe Magazine named Steele a “rising talent” in the arts in 2013. She has also performed professionally in the companies of James Martin and Beth Soll in New York City, and with Peter DiMuro's Public Displays of Motion, Sokolow Now! the Anna Sokolow Archival Company, and Rebecca Rice Dance in Boston. Steele was on faculty at Endicott College in Beverly, MA from 2012-2015 and has taught courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Santa Clara University and the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Her interdisciplinary research has included an ethnography of Bharata Natyam and Kandyan dance in Sri Lanka, which also lead to the publication of "Shining Lights," a children's book Steele authored in collaboration with photographer Ganesh Ramachandran. Her case-studies investigating how dance can be used effectively in peacebuilding have engaged audiences at more than 15 universities, schools, community centers and conferences. Steele's current research interests involve combining dance and science in numerous ways, including an interdisciplinary collaboration funded by the National Science Foundation to explore teaching high school Physics through choreography and movement.