In her work Melanie Maar is relating art life processes, collaborative spirit and subtler sensual perceptions through performance, teaching and imaging. As an Austrian, living in New York City for the last 25 years, her work has influenced a wide range of international students, collaborators and audiences. Melanie received a NY Foundation for Contemporary Arts Award, a Moment Research Artist Residency and various platforms for her choreographies including from Danspace Project, The Chocolate Factory, Judson Arts at Judson Memorial Church, Laboratorio Arte Alameda Mexico and ImPulsTanz. Her project Line Death Dance was recently shared in a book, a performance and a film in collaboration with ENTKUNSTUNG, the Austrian Cultural Forum NY and artists based in sound, light and performance – like Christian Schröder, Kenta Nagai, Lindsay Packer, Masters of Ceremony, Laurel Atwell and Anaïs Maviel. The last decades of condensing her teaching at Movement Research, Senior Citizen Center Bronx, The New School, Pieter LA, ImPulsTanz, Tanzquartier Wien and Tanzfabrik Berlin have informed | process as guide | a study programme and DIY MFA for performing artists she created in 2017. Sense Appeal is also influenced by a workshop she created with Edie Nightcrawler and questions they shared about eroticism in dance. During the pandemic she co-founded the platform School of Dying with therapist Alexandra Kleinheinz in Vienna. Melanie’s own dance life began with studying Ballet at her mother Gertraud’s studio, Tanzstudio Maar, in Vienna and her father’s movement disorder at home, later on with contemporary dance and continued with The Trisha Brown school in NYC, into improvisation-based studies including partnering, into club dancing, Qi Gong training and various somatic modalities. Since her young years Melanie worked for and learned from choreographers and composers like luciana achugar, Janet Panetta, Anthony Braxton, Daria Faïn, Walter Dundevill, RoseAnne Spradlin, Luis Lara Malvacias, Bob Curtis and Silvia Both. Melanie is also certified in Somatic Sexology through Body Electric School and the Somatica Institute and has a private practice focusing on individuals and couples.
16.04.2023
