Dance students at James Madison University in Virginia premiered Maria’s work, Flight, this weekend! They dove into the MBDance creative process during their residency in January and now they are ready to share. Opening night is Thursday, wherein the Contemporary Dance Ensemble performs their program New Voices In Dance.
To create Flight, Maria was inspired by Erica Garner, community organizer and daughter of Eric Garner whom police officers murdered by putting him in an improper chokehold on Staten Island in 2014. Erica Garner’s activism, her short life, and the costs of being a Black woman social justice organizer prompted Maria to create a dance of ease and imagination, an offering to Garner.