MBDance

MBDance MBDance creates honest and bold art from a sense of physical and emotional power, an insistence on equity, and a fascination with intimacy and relationship.

This Friday, I’m honored and excited to be part of Tatyana Tenenbaum’s “Night Transits Day” at ISSUE Project Room at 8pm...
04/06/2026

This Friday, I’m honored and excited to be part of Tatyana Tenenbaum’s “Night Transits Day” at ISSUE Project Room at 8pm 🌙

✨Tickets in bio✨

This performance is truly something special, y’all. It’s beautiful, evolving exploration of where we’ve been and where we’re going.

I’ll be joined by brilliant collaborators Marisa Clementi, Myssi Robinson, and Leah Wilks 💫 I hope you to see you there!

Photo: Maria Bauman in Tatyana Tenenbaum’s previous work “Garment of the Interior.” Photo by Imani Hamilton

ID: Maria, a Black woman with long dark curly hair tied in a ponytail, wears a red shirt, white shorts, and a black mesh skirt. In front of a large hanging sheet of crumpled material, she arches back with one leg lifted in an angular shape.

Do you know about Sandy Ground?We are deeply honored to have premiered “These are the bodies that have not borne.” on su...
01/23/2026

Do you know about Sandy Ground?

We are deeply honored to have premiered “These are the bodies that have not borne.” on such historically and culturally rich land.

Located on Staten Island, Sandy Ground is the longest-running free Black community in the United States. Founded in the early 1800s, the settlement became a thriving oystering and farming community, a center for Black culture and prosperity, and a known stop on the Underground Railroad.

Audre Lorde, Black le***an writer and intersectional feminist, lived on Staten Island near Snug Harbor from 1972–1987!

Thank you again to Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden for holding this work with us!

Photo 1: AJ Wilmore by Michael McWeeney
ID: In a field, AJ, a Black person wearing a white cropped shirt and bloomers, jumps in the air, kicking their feet behind them. Grass flies around them.

Photo 2: Audre Lorde, 1983 by Robert Alexander.
ID: black and white image of Audre Lorde standing next to a chalk board that reads “Women are powerful and dangerous.”

Lacina and Maria are beginning to make a new work exploring bodily memories and the desire to stay connected to their hu...
01/14/2026

Lacina and Maria are beginning to make a new work exploring bodily memories and the desire to stay connected to their humanity. We're grateful and excited that these two are moving and creating together.

Here are a few snaps from their first residency at Yale. Lacina said it best, "we are still cooking!" Stay tuned to follow this journey.



ID: First photo shows Maria and Lacina in a dance studio with a tan curtain covering the mirror. Both dancers are standing, arms aloft, creating branches from their bodies. In the second photo, Lacina rocks Maria's right leg backwards as it is perched on his right shoulder. He is in a deep lunge with his left leg bent forward. In the third photo, the two pose giddily. They are standing side by side and grinning.

2025, a year in motion with a huge premiere of “These are the bodies that have not borne.” and more ✨Jan — began my seco...
01/10/2026

2025, a year in motion with a huge premiere of “These are the bodies that have not borne.” and more ✨

Jan — began my second year as an NYFA Mertz-Gilmore Dancer Award recipient, deeply shaping my practice
Feb — led a grounding and joyful partner stretch workshop at Ifetayo Cultural Center
Mar — admin team holding it down, securing the details for our upcoming premiere
Apr — closed out the semester teaching and hosting artist play dates at The Ailey School
May — presented an excerpt of ‘These are the bodies…’ at Kinstillatory Fires, Abrons Arts Center
Jun — completed our zine! grateful for our collaborators (still available, link in bio)
Jul — birthday flowers from the NYU Tisch Summer Dance Program for whom I choreographed a piece to Nina Simone’s “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free”
Aug — all the feels when the people for whom we made “These are the bodies that have not borne.” came out, received and celebrated!
Sept — loved teaching Art of Improvisation at Hunter College as Hearst Artist in Residence
Oct — Paloma McGregor and I to co-facilitated an Entering, Building and Exiting Community workshop for Urban Bush Women at Mark Morris Dance Center
Nov — premiered Tremors at Purchase College, closing the year with momentum
Dec — much-needed rest, family time, and restoration

Thankful for the growth, the people, and the movement. Here’s to 2026 🤍

Huge love and gratitude to performance ritualists for These are the bodies that have not borne. 🫶🏾🌳 .i.a and .mariabauman

Huge respect and thank yous to...
Costuming by
Music by
Photos by
Photo by
Admin support
Advising

🌱 Thank you to resist.riseup.movement .nyc for important and unwavering support!! 🙏🏾

2025, a year in motion ✨Jan — began my second year as an NYFA Mertz-Gilmore Dancer Award recipient, deeply shaping my pr...
01/09/2026

2025, a year in motion ✨

Jan — began my second year as an NYFA Mertz-Gilmore Dancer Award recipient, deeply shaping my practice
Feb — led a grounding and joyful partner stretch workshop at Ifetayo Cultural Center
Mar — admin team holding it down, securing the details for our upcoming premiere
Apr — closed out the semester teaching at The Ailey School with a beautiful community showing
May — presented an excerpt of ‘These are the bodies…’ at Kinstillatory Fires, Abrons Arts Center
Jun — completed our zine! grateful for our collaborators (still available, link in bio)
Jul — birthday flowers from the NYU Tisch Summer Dance Program for whom I choreographed a piece to Nina Simone’s “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free”
Aug — all the feels when the people for whom we made “These are the bodies that have not borne.” came out, received and celebrated!
Sept — loved teaching Art of Improvisation at Hunter College as Hearst Artist in Residence
Oct — Paloma McGregor and I to co-facilitated an Entering, Building and Exiting Community workshop for Urban Bush Women at Mark Morris Dance Center
Nov — premiered Tremors at Purchase College, closing the year with momentum
Dec — much-needed rest, family time, and restoration

Thankful for the growth, the people, and the movement. Here’s to 2026 🤍

Performance ritual by .i.a and .mariabauman

Costuming by
Phots by

🌱 Thank you to resist.riseup.movement .nyc for unwavering support!! 🙏🏾

What an honor! Thank you for helping host, honor and share Creative Spirit, Melissa and everyone at Newhouse Center for ...
12/11/2025

What an honor! Thank you for helping host, honor and share Creative Spirit, Melissa and everyone at Newhouse Center for a contemporary Art! 🪷🫂🔮✨

reshare_app • 🌟PASS 2025-26 Artist Spotlight: MBDance🌟

MBDance was founded in 2009 by multi-disciplinary artist, choreographer and community organizer Maria RiaGrace Bauman. MBDance centers both the non-linear and linear stories and bodies of the Global Majority onstage and in non-proscenium artworks, using dance as the wheel whose spokes are multiple other genres including visual art, text, and song.

During the 2025 Dance Festival, MBDance presented "These are the bodies that have not borne.", an outdoor performance ritual informed by land art, choreography, and movement scores. The piece is a reckoning and a healing portal, a monument to those of us who have not birthed children through our bodies. At its core this work is both a collective and individual somatic processing of unrequited desires and inherent worth in our bodies and livelihoods.

To learn more about MBDance's upcoming projects, follow them and .mariabauman

shccbg artsincubator dancenyc statenislanddance danceresidency performingarts nycdance nycchoreographers nycartists statenislandartists artistinresidence statenislandarts performance passartist performingartssalonsaturdays

What a gift it is to be an artist! Viewing these photos of my recent premiere, Tremors, taken by , brings all the feels...
12/03/2025

What a gift it is to be an artist! Viewing these photos of my recent premiere, Tremors, taken by , brings all the feels and visceral memories.

It's the stories behind the photos that are incredibly special to me. Here, Raina is resplendent along with the other dancers. I originally cast Raina as an understudy. She worked to learn multiple parts all semester, and then someone unfortunately became injured. The ensemble comforted and cared for the injured dancer. That person continued to attend rehearsals and brought her best energy, offering coaching and tips. Beautiful! The ensemble also welcomed their fellow artist, Raina. And she brought it!

The expression, articulation and symbiosis artists offer onstage is rooted in embodied practice of those values offstage. I am proud of the process I stewarded for Tremors, and I'm proud of the dancers showcasing their humanity in performance and behind the scenes.



ID: The photo is of dress rehearsal for performance. In the foreground, a young Black person with locs is caught mid-leap head thrown back and sternum open to the skies. In contrast, another young Black dancer hugs the floor. Two other artists are on their knees, creating a multi-leveled terrain. All four dancers, part of a larger ensemble, wear chartreuse, burgundy and teal.

“We must defend our bodies from state surveillance... and birth new possibilities.” -Kennedy AustinGratitude to Kennedy ...
10/17/2025

“We must defend our bodies from state surveillance... and birth new possibilities.” -Kennedy Austin

Gratitude to Kennedy Austin of Ancient Song for speaking truth into our closing ritual.

The struggle for reproductive and birth justice is ongoing and urgent. Support doula care. Support mutual aid. Support unruly, ungovernable bodies.

📷: Michael McWeeney

Performance ritual by .i.a and .mariabauman

Original music by

Costuming by

🌱 Thank you to resist.riseup.movement .nyc for unwavering support to build this performance ritual!! 🙏🏾

“What care do we need? What care can we offer?” -audrey hailesOur time at Snug Harbor was more than rehearsal, it was he...
10/13/2025

“What care do we need? What care can we offer?” -audrey hailes

Our time at Snug Harbor was more than rehearsal, it was healing. Two weeks of tending land, holding ritual, and learning from one another’s rhythms.

Thank you Melissa West + team for nurturing our work so fully. This is how we build new futures. Together.

📷: Michael McWeeney

Performance ritual by .i.a and .mariabauman

Original music by

Costuming by

🌱 Thank you to resist.riseup.movement .nyc for unwavering support to build this performance ritual!! 🙏🏾

I'm in Amsterdam to see Okwui Okpokwasili's compelling work that includes beauties Audrey Hailes, AJ Wilmore and Bria Ba...
10/03/2025

I'm in Amsterdam to see Okwui Okpokwasili's compelling work that includes beauties Audrey Hailes, AJ Wilmore and Bria Bacon. While here, you know I had to go to class!

Thank you, Hannah Thomas for a rigorous but breezy good time in and out of the floor!

In London or Amsterdam? Take her class!


i.a
naaaahh

ID: Two people, Hannah and Maria, stand close together embracing and smiling for a selfie. We are both sweaty, with curly hair pulled back. We are in a dance studio with motors in the background. A maroon sign says

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