Maria Majors

Maria has been teaching dance throughout the St. Louis area for over 25 years. Maria began her professional career in New York with the touring performance ensemble, Manhattan Tap, under the direction of world renowned tap dancer and musician, Heather Cornell. Maria joined the ensemble for their European and North American tours. During that time, she had the extreme honor of touring with late tap dance great, Dr. Buster Brown, and was an original cast member in Manhattan Tap’s “Excursion Fare,” featuring the musicians of Keith Terry and Crosspulse, at the Joyce Theater in New York.

 

Since returning to St. Louis, Maria has been on faculty with many area dance programs and has served as a consultant for dance education programs throughout the region. She was invited to work alongside the late Professor Robert L Reed for the production of the historic St. Louis Tap Festival, which she attended annually for 20 years and served on the Board of Directors. In honor of Professor Reed, Maria now produces and directs the annual STL Rhythm Fest, currently in it's 6th year. 

 

Maria founded moSTLy TAP in 2017, following her passion to create performances that would boost enthusiasm for tap dance and encourage audiences to enjoy rhythm in new ways. In 2018, under the leadership of Phillip Russo, moSTLy JAZZ was formed. Together, the ensembles began producing live music and dance performances throughout the area. Seeing more opportunities for growth in the local tap dance community and in collaborations with local artists, Maria developed nonprofit STL Rhythm Collaborative (STLRC) in 2020 and serves as the organization's executive director.  STLRC is the home of moSTLy TAP and moSTLy JAZZ and houses the area's only pre-professional tap dance programs as well as resident education programs at St. Louis Academy of Dance and Missouri Baptist University.

 

Since it's inception, STLRC has since gained both local national recognition for it's work, having been invited to present original works at Chicago Human Rhythm Project's Rhythm World Festival and RIFF Dallas. In 2023, Maria and the Collaborative were featured amongst Dance Magazine's "Top 25 To Watch," and presented original work at the magazine's inaugural "Top 25 Live" event in NYC.

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The unending passion, support, and expertise of the moSTLy TAP & moSTLy JAZZ artists are the driving forces behind the Collaborative. In addition to her work with STL Rhythm Collaborative, Maria is honored to be an adjunct professor of dance at Missouri Baptist University & Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.