About

Biography

Maria Svensson is a dance artist with a passion for communication and creating a safe space for people from all walks of life to experience the magic that is dance. She does this as a dancer, performer, choreographer, early years artist, teacher, facilitator and artistic director.
Maria works mainly with improvisation and an approach called ‘Poetic Movement’ which she has gathered from Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company. ‘Poetic Movement’ takes the perspective that dance has a similar relation to our everyday movement in the same way that the poetic use of language has to our normal, everyday speech. An interest in ‘people not bodies’ and the processes by which we can create and understand meaning is at the core of the practice. Maria uses this approach in all areas of her work.

During 2016-2018 Maria was the leader of Firkin Crane’s Dance Club for boys age 8-12 and 2017-2020 she taught professional classes at the Firkin Crane and Triskel Arts Centre, Cork. In 2019 Maria had the pleasure to facilitate workshops at KCAT Arts Centre, Kilkenny.

During 2017-2020 Maria was part of BEAG, under the organising partner Graffiti Theatre Company, working as part of a team of artists creating high quality art experiences for children age 0-3.

In 2014 Maria founded the solo dance festival Going Solo Together which takes place biannually in her hometown Örebro, Sweden. The festival is inspired by Jeffrey Gormly’s essay ‘Everyone is going solo together’ and brings local, national and international dance artists together to share and celebrate the art of solo dance. The festival is due to take place at Teater Martin Mutter November 2024. More info to come shortly.

Maria has toured and showed her own work mostly around the isle of Ireland and Sweden. Work include the solo The Importance of Shepherds (2015) which was performed as part of TOCHT International Dance Festival, Echo Echo Movement & Dance Festival, Quarter Block Party and in venues around Kerry. The solo “Dynamic” (2013), choreographed by Deborah Hay with adaptation by Maria was performed at Nya Teatern, An Lab, as part of NEST, Going Solo Together and Féile na Bealtaine. The participatory performance ritual The Power of Frau (2018) was made and performed together with Cathy Walsh for Cork Midsummer Festival and Féile na Bealtaine.
Maria has also made work for camera, in 2018 she co-directed the film Mo Spiorad Eilifinte/My Elephant Spirit together with filmmaker Mark Mc Loughlin. The film was screened at The Phoenix Cinema in Dingle which marked the finish of Maria’s two year residency (2016-2018) at An Lab, Dingle funded by the Arts Council & Kerry County Council. Soon after moving to East Clare in 2020 Maria created the non-verbal movement video Poetic Play which was Commissioned by Creative Ireland Clare for Cruinniú na nÓg. More recently Maria created the intergenerational dance piece Painting the Canvas in collaboration with Echo Ecoh Dance Theatre Company. The piece was performed as part of the Echo Echo Festival of Dance & Movement 2023.