Artist Biographies: Maria Basile

Choreographer Philip Glass/Robert Malasch's "The Photographer"

Maria Basile returns for her third season with the Cabrillo Music Festival, choreographing and dancing in Philip Glass' The Photographer. She performed in the Festival's production of Leonard Bernstein's Mass (1999) and choreographed for Aaron Copland's The Tender Land (2000).

A highlight of Basile's career occurred during 1997–1998, when she danced in The Limón Company's critically acclaimed 50th Anniversary World Tour. Prior to the World Tour, Basile danced with The Limón West Dance Project, in San Jose, California, under the direction of Gary Masters.

Basile's love of dance is rooted in her outstanding gymnastics background. As a member of the USA Gymnastics Team (1987), Basile competed in The XXIII Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Varna, Bulgaria, and The Konica Cup, the first U.S. international rhythmic gymnastics competition, in Princeton, New Jersey. Following these performances, Basile expanded her work, training top regional athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Centers and coaches of the Gymnastics Federation of Guatemala. From 1990–1994, Basile directed the competitive rhythmic gymnastics team (levels 5–7) at Gymmarin Pacific in San Rafael, California.

Basile's greatest passion in life is designing choreography that expresses each dancer's unique beauty. Audiences have described her dance as "breathtaking" and "exhilarating." Basile's artistic expression draws dancers and audiences alike into powerful, vibrant expression of the human spirit. Recent choreographic creations include Freeborn (1999), It Is Well With My Soul (1999), Manon (2000), and Exuviate (2000). This summer Basile premieres three new works: Fire and Ice (a modern dance piece), a liturgical dance at Stanford Memorial Church, and a savvy west coast swing duet.

As a teacher, Basile's work with dancers transcends physical movement. To encourage each dancer to live as a vibrant, radiant being, Basile shares a profound respect for the body as a temple, teaching and encouraging them to consume the life-giving plants Nature provides. This "living food" approach to nutrition frees vast energy for dance and other activities; in this sense, it is truly nutrition for athletic performance.

Basile exemplifies this unique combination of "living food" nutrition with detailed attention to movement. This approach supports each dancer in expressing fully his/her own creative potential. Basile's goal is to encourage us all, dancers and audiences alike, to experience love, passion, and freedom in everything we do, by immersing ourselves in activities that unite mind, body, and spirit.

Basile currently teaches modern dance at San Jose State University and for the Limón School of San Jose. In addition, she teaches social dance at De Anza College and privately.

Basile received her B.S. in dance from the University of Oregon, then relocated to the San Francisco bay area. Basile has danced with companies such as ODC/SF and Anne Bluethenthal & Dancers. She has also performed independently with choreographers Lisa Burnette, Betsy Kagen, Bih-Tau Sung and Cathleen McCarthy.