Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariana Oliveira.
Mariana, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m a Brazilian born ballet choreographer and educator. My journey in the dance world started when I was 4 years old. I was a kid with a lot of energy, and I was always waltzing around and dancing in the house, so my mom which always appreciated the arts in general, thought that maybe putting me in ballet classes would be a great outlet for all that energy.
It was definitely love at first sight. I loved going to my ballet classes, loved classical music and all the feelings that the dance and music brought to my life. From a really young age I recognized that ballet was my passion and what I wanted to pursue professionally.
At the age of 17, I was invited to the Royal Academy of Dance in London to finish my ballet studies and I also did a traineeship with the National Dance Company of Wales, which was my first contact with contemporary dance. I was immediately drawn to the freedom of the movements, which was very different from my classical ballet background.
2 years later I was invited to join the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami, so I moved to the U.S. It has always been my dream to join a ballet company outside Brazil. But when I finally was able to fulfill this dream, I realized how unhappy I was. So with the goal to reinvent myself, I moved to New York to study contemporary dance. That was when choreography entered my life.
I made the risky transition between being a performer into a creator. But I believe that was the best decision of my life.
I founded my own contemporary dance company in 2010, The Union Project Dance Company, which allowed me to define not only my choreographic language but also define who I was as an artist and as a woman.
I’ve been choreographing for roughly 18 years. I’ve created works for several dance organizations across the U.S such as the New York City Ballet Choreographic Institute, Kansas City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet Academy, Carolina Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Ballet Arkansas, Madison Ballet, among others.
I’ve also created works for Universities, such as the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Kansas University, Oklahoma University, and I’m recipient of the prestigious NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts Fellowship.
Dance allowed me to live in some many amazing cities and work with so many amazing organizations. For the past few years I’ve called many places home. Now, I consider myself a citizen of the world.
Currently, I reside in Houston, where together with my choreographic career I’m also an educator. I love teaching and being able to give back to the new generation of ballet dancers all the knowledge and experiences I’ve gathered over the years.
I’m the head of the ballet program at Oriental Arts Educational Center, a Houston based school that serves the Asian community. The school has approximately 400 students of all ages. It’s been a pleasure to work with the students and families, providing classical ballet training, and making dance accessible to the Asian community in Houston.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I transitioned from a dancer to a choreographer, I didn’t realized that the choreography industry, specially in classical ballet, was a male dominated field.
In the beginning of my career, there were many challenges to overcome. Being a young female choreographer, it took a lot of strength and perseverance to find my voice within the community.
18 years later, I still, from time to time, find some challenges for being a woman in the ballet field, which I hope one day will be a more diverse and equalitarian environment.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a choreographer I’m always in search of new stories to tell. A vital part of my creative process is the collaboration with artists from different art forms. In the past, I’ve collaborate with composers, visual artists, and film makers in the creation of new works. What I love the most about choreographing goes beyond from creating movements; it is being able to manage all the resources that go into crafting a new choreographic work, from creating the concept, to finding the correct musical score, to visualizing the costumes, scenery, and lights. The collaboration between all the artists involved is extremely important to me.
As a Brazilian born artist , it’s also important to me to be able to showcase my culture. And when I think about the Brazilian culture, I think about the beautiful and vibrant music. Some of my works like “Beauty in Chaos” (Kansas City Ballet), “Broken Wings” (National Choreographers Initiative), “Blue Jay Eyes” (Carolina Ballet), and “Oratorio” (Ballet West Academy), Songs of a Distant Land (Ballet Des Moines), were all set to the music of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. A dance and film collaboration titled “Saudade”, created for BalletX, was set to the music of Brazilian jazz composer Antonio Carlos Jobim.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I’m not a believer in luck when comes to the creative process. It’s a constant search for answers. In my case, the way I communicate with the world is through movements. Of course in the dance industry connections play a huge role but I also believe that the art work, if it’s dance, music, visual arts, should always speak for itself.
And being able to convey to the audience a meaningful piece of art, a lot hard work, passion, sweat and tears usually are experienced by the artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marianaoliveira.net
- Instagram: marianaoliveira_dance
Image Credits
All credits are included in the title of each photo. Thank you.
