Maia Schechter B.A., Dance Magna Cum Laude Hometown: Glen Rock, Pennsylvania Plans: Presenting choreography at the National College Dance Festival; studying with the NW Dance Project
The UMBC dance department has offered incredible support. In addition to cultivating my dance technique, many teachers have introduced me to renowned dance companies and intensives that have helped me network and develop as an artist. Thanks to my teachers, I am setting and achieving goals I never thought would be possible.
Maia Schechter came to UMBC as a Linehan Artist Scholar and a member of the Honors College, driven to pursue a career in dance. She quickly got to work developing her technique as a dancer and choreographer, and taking chances on unique opportunities to grow her craft.
In the summer of her sophomore year, she was accepted to the competitive Broadway Dance Center Summer Professional Intensive in New York City, and in the summer of her junior year she was one of twelve women accepted into the highly competitive Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Dance Program. These opportunities were supported by a Linehan Summer Study Award and a Summer Dance Study and Research Award from the dance department. She also served as the vice president of the Dance Council of Majors.
Schechter has received College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Student Awards for Outstanding Junior in Dance, and Outstanding Senior in Choreography and Performance. During her senior year, her piece Tipping Point, co-choreographed with Ryan Bailey ‘16, dance, was selected for the Maryland Choreographers Showcase. Most recently, her choreography Now Elsewhere was presented at the American College Dance Association Mid-Atlantic North Regional Conference at West Chester University. Judges then selected the work to be presented at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of the American College Dance Association National Festival in June 2018, the association’s highest honor.
Since her freshman year, Maia has supported numerous faculty research projects, performing with Baltimore Dance Project in works by professors Carol Hess and Doug Hamby. She has appeared with Baltimore Dance Project in the Akimbo Artwalk Festival in Station North, Baltimore, Light City Baltimore, and in residence at Washington College.
Portrait by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.
Tags: CAHSS, Dance, LinehanScholars, Undergraduate Research
