“I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Photo by @AbandonedAffair

Mary-Dora (MD) is a queer, non-binary millennial and second-generation settler of Italian descent and third-generation Danish, residing in Tkaronto (Treaty 13 territory). They show up in their community as a multi-disciplinary careworker and artist, practicing as a dancer, somatic therapist, doula, facilitator, and educator. Their care work centers on queer and trans-affirming embodiment practices and healing arts for a more livable future. Passionate about creating inclusive and brave spaces for equity-seeking communities, they employ abolitionist and liberatory praxis in their work. MD fosters neurodiversity and identity-affirming spaces to cultivate resilience, re-membering and transformation in those they serve. Drawing from their lived experience of survivorship, trauma, and neurodiversity, they weave together their artistic practice and carework as tools for community care and healing. Rooted in deconditioning colonialism and capitalism, MD's work prioritizes the politics of care, aiming to dismantle oppressive systems and promote collective well-being and community liberation.

As a dance artist, MD’s choreographic work and creations have been supported by residencies and festivals locally and abroad including the National Ballet of Canada’s Open Space program (2024/23), Jaberi Dance Theatre's Mentorship Program (2023), Toronto Dance Theatre's Plug'N'Play residency (2022), Lake Studio Berlin (2022), The Toronto Love-IN (2021), Dance Makers Toronto (2020), WIPE Berlin Film Festival (2019), Dock11****Eden: Pool International Film Festival (2018), among others. As a performer MD has collaborated with various artists, including Alvin Collantes, Alyssa Martin (Rock Bottom Movement), Amanda Acorn, Jennifer Laiwint, Nicole Negro, Amanda Smith (FAWN Chamber Creative), David Earle, Ismael Ivo (ImPulsTanz), Pamela Rasbach (Typecast Dance), The Box NYC, Will Kwan (AGO). With Rock Bottom Movement, MD was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Ensemble in the performance of MANICPIXIEDREAMGIRLS (2017).

MD is student of Body-Mind Centering®, a Licensed Somatic Movement Education Program and is a professional member of The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA). At the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, MD attained a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree, concentrating on mental health and health, gaining specialization in trans and gender affirming counselling, harm reduction and support for folks at the intersection of substance use and trauma. They earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology Specialization from Laurentian University, where their thesis garnered them the Canadian Psychological Association Certificate of Academic Excellence. Additionally, they hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Performance from Toronto Metropolitan University.