Maria Angelica Caruso is an American born dancer, choreographer, actor, director, producer, publisher, academic, social activist, fitness and wellness practitioner, and entrepreneur. Best know for her critical acclaim as a solo artist in, Metamorphosis, and an accomplished choreographer creating work for some of the world's most noted dance companies, she is also the CEO of M-Train Productions, Director of Creative and Innovative Initiatives in the Performing Arts Department at La Roche University, and founding leader of a network of interwoven companies that operate under the Bodiography brand. This network of performance, wellness, production, and fitness entities are known for their commitment to health and wellness in the arts and their championing of positive change in communities regionally and globally.
Caruso received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in performing arts and dance from Florida State University at age nineteen, and shortly after, earned a Master of Science Degree in Professional Leadership with an emphasis on management for non-profit organizations from Carlow University. Her dance career, spanning over two decades, is highlighted by her work with the world's most prominent classical and contemporary companies, and she is known for her impeccable classical ballet technique nuanced by her strong roots in the modern dance vernacular. In 2021, Caruso became the first artist to star in two off-Broadway shows on the same night in two different theaters and a leader in bringing live dance to the commercial market in New York City post pandemic. She is lauded for the success of her solo show, Metamorphosis, known as a play with no words. The work originated at the 2018 Karmiel Dance Festival in Israel, ran off-Broadway for 5 months in 2021 prior to moving to a global tour followed by a run in the West End of London in 2022. Currently, Caruso is in the creative process formulating the sequel, Incarnation, slated to open in the West End in 2023.
Caruso is renowned for focusing on humanity in her choreography. Nominated in 2012 by Examiner.com as one of 25 finalists in the "America Inspired" contest, she continues to utilize dance as a means of expression capable of raising awareness about significant subject matter. Featured in the Carlow University Journal ("Gotta Dance: Maria Caruso," 2008) and recognized by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a "Young Pittsburgher to Watch in 2009," Caruso has truly made an impact in her community and beyond. Acknowledged at the 2016 Future Health Technology Summit at MIT as a "genius of choreography," selected as a 2016 Pittsburgh Business Times Fast Tracker, and invited to lecture at TEDxYouth Squirrel Hill in 2016, she has been a force in the cultural landscape. In 2017, she was honored as a Squirrel Hill Treasure for her leadership, promotion of inclusivity in dance, and mentorship of aspiring young dancers, and in August of 2020 her work culminated in a major feature article in Dance Magazine ("What Would it Take to Change Ballet's Aesthetic of Extreme Thinness?").
Her work has been the foundation of significant collaborations with the likes of the Martha Graham Contemporary Dance Company, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Israel's Karmiel Dance Festival, Brazil's Cisne Negro, Italy's ARB Dance Company, and numerous independent artists across the globe. In 2011, Bodiography was trademarked as a movement vocabulary and it formed the basis of Caruso's unique research-based choreographic process. During this time her movement vocabulary was codified as a language, and this systematization propelled her educational outreach efforts by appealing to a broad spectrum of audiences. These efforts provided her with an expansive portfolio of choreographic and teaching engagements at hundreds of conservatories, universities, and companies in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. In addition to her artistic efforts, the development of her Bodiography Fitness and Strength Training System and Bodiography Dance Movement Therapy System further catapulted her beyond the arts arena and into the fitness and wellness realm.
With the success of her artistic, fitness, and dance movement therapy endeavors growing the Bodiography organization, Caruso has also fulfilled her passion for education through the growth and restructuring of the dance program that she leads at La Roche University and her private dance conservatory in Pittsburgh. Every day, Caruso is excited to watch the fusion of her multi-genre conservatory, Bodiography Center for Movement, with her La Roche University and professional programs, as their synergy impacts hundreds of young aspiring artists. Her students flourish in the top dance programs and companies in the world, and she is proud to watch her college graduates thrive in prominent dance companies. Caruso's passion for people and her belief in the power of movement to feed the soul creates the force that makes tomorrow better than today.