Mariya "Masha" Dashkina Maddux is a Ukrainian modern dancer and dance teacher. She is a former principal dancer with the

Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded in 1926, is known for being the oldest American dance company. Founded by Martha Graham as a contemporary dance company, it continued to perform pieces, revive classics, and train dancers even after Graham's ...

and is the founder and director of the

Wake Forest Dance Festival The Wake Forest Dance Festival is an annual public arts festival in Wake Forest, North Carolina. The festival is presented by ARTS Wake Forest and the Wege Foundation in partnership with the Wake Forest Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural ...

Early life and education

Mariya Dashkina Maddux was born in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, Ukraine. As a child she studied classical ballet, training in the

Vaganova method The Vaganova method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Russian dancer and pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova (1879–1951). It was derived from the teachings of the ''Premier Maître de Ballet'' Marius Petipa, throughout the late ...

. She moved to the United States as a young adult and studied under Ruth Weisen at the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. She graduated from

New World School of the Arts New World School of the Arts (NWSA) is a public magnet high school and college in Downtown Miami, Florida. Its dual-enrollment programs in the visual and performing arts are organized into four strands: visual arts, dance, theatre (comprising prog ...

Career

In 2007 Dashkina Maddux joined the

in New York City and was eventually promoted to the rank of principal dancer. She performed in many lead roles in

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

works including the Bride in ''

Appalachian Spring ''Appalachian Spring'' is a musical composition by Aaron Copland that was premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread and enduring popularity as an orchestral suite. The music, scored for a thirteen-member chamber orchestra, was created upon c ...

'', Ariadne in ''

Errand into the Maze ''Errand into the Maze'' is a Martha Graham ballet based on a poem by Ben Belitt set to music by Gian Carlo Menotti. The surrealistic set was designed by Isamu Noguchi, the costumes by Graham herself. The dance uses the Greek myth of Ariadne and th ...

'', Woman in Red in ''

Diversion of Angels ''Diversion of Angels'', initially titled ''Wilderness Stair'', is a Martha Graham ballet performed to an original score by Norman Dello Joio. The premiere on August 13, 1948, at the Palmer Auditorium in New London, Connecticut, included a set des ...

'', Eve in ''Embattled Garden'', the duet ''Conversation of Lovers'', and danced featured roles in ''Deaths and Entrances'', Leader of Steps in the Street from ''Chronicle'', Leader of the Chorus in ''Night Journey'', Artemis in ''Phaedra'', and the solo ''Serenata Morisca''. Along with Graham works, Dashkina Maddux also performed works by contemporary choreographers including

Larry Keigwin Larry Keigwin an American choreographer and the artistic director of KEIGWIN + COMPANY. Life and career Keigwin was raised in Wading River on Long Island with three brothers, one of them his twin. Though his brothers were “very jocky,” ...

Richard Move Richard Move is an American present-day choreographer, dancer, performing artist, director, and filmmaker. They are the Artistic Director of ''MoveOpolis!'' and Move- It! Productions. Move is well known internationally for their interest in Martha ...

Luca Veggetti Luca Veggetti is an Italian dancer and choreographer. He was born in Bologna, Italy and trained at La Scala in Milan under I. Glowacka and G. Popescu. After his career as a dancer at London Festival Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet and Ballet Chicago, ...

Lar Lubovitch Lar Lubovitch (born April 9, 1943) is an American choreographer. He founded his own dance company, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Based in New York City, the company has performed in all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 cou ...

, Bulareyaung Pagarlava, Adonis Foniadakis,

Anna Sokolow Anna Sokolow (February 9, 1910, Hartford, Connecticut – March 29, 2000, Manhattan, New York City) was an American dancer and choreographer known for the social justice focus and theatricality of her work, and for her support of the developm ...

, Robert Wilson, and Azure Barton. She was featured in a Martha Graham Technique instructional video for beginners that was directed by

Miki Orihara Miki may refer to: Places *Miki, Hyōgo, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan *Miki, Kagawa, a town in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan *Miki, Azerbaijan, a village in Astara Rayon, Azerbaijan People *Miki (given name) *Miki (surname) *Miki Núñez (born ...

and Susan Kikuchi and produced by Dance Spotlight. She has been featured in ''

Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including ''Pointe' ...

'', ''Dior Magazine'', ''Broadway Dance Magazine'', and was in the film '' Fall to Rise'', directed by Jayce Bartok. She has also modeled for dance photographers and was featured in the books ''Dessert Flower'' by Guillermo Licurgo and ''The Art of Movement'' by Ken Browar and Deborah Ory. Dashkina Maddux has taught ballet and modern dance at the

Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance is located in New York City and is the headquarters to the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and the Martha Graham Dance Company, which is the oldest continually performing dance company in the ...

, the New World School of the Arts, Thomas Armour Youth Ballet, the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctorate d ...

, and Colburn School of Los Angeles. In 2017 she founded the

, a public dance festival presented by ARTS Wake Forest and in partnership with the Wake Forest Department of Parks and Recreations, and serves as its director. She is an ambassador for Dancing Angels Foundation, a non-profit scholarship foundation for dancer students. In 2018, she was a recipient of the Alto Jonio Best Dancer Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maddux, Masha Dashkina Living people 21st-century dancers Ballet teachers Dance in North Carolina Martha Graham Modern dancers Dancers from Kyiv Ukrainian female dancers Year of birth missing (living people)