M A R Y   A.  C H A S E 

F O U N D E R

and

A R T I S T I C  P R O D U C E R

Mary Chase creates, directs, and produces.  Known for her site-specific multi-media collaborations,  Chase’s work captivates audiences from over twenty-two US States and internationally in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Central America.  Since 2000, over sixty works have been produced on stages around the world. From The Centro Cultural National Theatre of Guatemala or the Castle Schoenbrunn in Vienna to community performances at the Center for World Music outside of Ubud, Bali, at the National Steinbeck Center, in the Dance Barn in Wilton, New Hampshire, at Chase Public in Cincinnati, or recently at Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC. Every place Chase lives and works she strives to create opportunities to grow towards cultural inclusion as a compassionate global citizen.

Currently, Chase lives in Abu Dhabi, UAE directing Emirates School of Dance and the Performance Co | Lab at 421 Arts with Carlos Paez Rodriguez.  Recently she had the pleasure of working with acclaimed Moroccan choreographer Bouchra Ouizguen in the Abu Dhabi premiere of Corbeaux as part of the phenomenal MANAR Abu Dhabi.  In collaboration with NYU Abu Dhabi and Purring Tiger, she performed in a new multi-media film shot in Liwa, UAE set for release in 2024. Her short film THE BRIDGE  filmed in Washington DC, had a soft release at the beginning of 2023.  From 2020-22, Chase directed and taught at Eastern University, the College of Southern Maryland and Coppin State University while serving as the Director of Production for Children's Chorus of Washington. She produced, collaborated, and supported productions at Atlas Performing Arts Center with Dance Institute of Washington, DC Public Schools at THEARC, InSeries Opera at Alden Theatre and the Kennedy Center, to name a few.

Bridging art-making with contemplative practice is paramount to Chase's artistic vision. Living and traveling through out the Middle East brought forth the 2018 premiere of The Breath of the Compassionate, in New York City that has since been presented through out the US and in Germany and Sweden. This Movement Meditation aspires towards the work of the Charter for Compassion utilizing sacred geometry and an original gamelan score with video tessellations by composer Bill Alves. Likewise, in 2021, Chase premiered the Washington, DC production of The People’s Project in collaboration with Moovment House of Denver, CO focusing on movement contemplation with live music, poetry and performative story based on loss, pain and isolation faced during the global pandemic.

The C H A S E D A N C E creative process Adapt/Synthesize/Create has become a driving force. This process, in part, is motivated by Chase’s experiences working with acclaimed theater, dance and music artists like Tandy Beal, Claire Porter, David Justin, Karl Schaffer, Josephine Garibaldi, Tara Rynders, Helen Hansen French, Lauren Slone, Mary Lynn Lewark, Sally Jacques, Jenny Connell, and recently with Margaret Nomura Clark.

Chase believes that leadership and artistic direction succeeds when braiding tradition with innovation. Since 2001, she has worked as an educator and an arts administrator at Kansas State University, the University of Texas at Austin, Austin Peay State University, Coppin State University, University of Tampa, American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive (Austin), worked as a guest teacher and artist at Monterey Peninsula College, Denver Metro State University, and in Tampa, FL at Progress Village Performing Arts School.  She served as the Executive Director of Joy of Motion Dance Center of Washington, DC and directed the dance programs at the College of Southern Maryland, McCallum Fine Arts Academy in Austin, TX and Merrill International School in Denver, Colorado.

Chase is a Jingui Golden Shield Qi Gong student, a Certified Laban Movement Analyst and Practitioner from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York City. She is a master performing arts teacher with a K-12 professional teaching license holding an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin and BFA from the University of Illinois. She is a member of Creative and Independent Producers Alliance, the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, National Dance Education Organization, and holds a Certificate of Non-Profit Leadership from the Center for Excellence in Non-Profits.