Trained at Laban (Trinity Laban), Maria began her career as a dancer; she has worked for The Royal Opera, Covent Garden and English National Opera at the London Coliseum, where she performed extensively for 18 years in productions directed by many leading directors and eminent figures such as David Alden, Sir Jonathan Miller, Sir David Pountney, Deborah Warner CBE and Keith Warner.
As movement director and choreographer she has worked with various companies including Opera Circus, Palace Opera, European Chamber Opera, English Touring Opera, Floral Opera and Abbey Opera. For Birkbeck Opera, she created work for semi-staged concerts and fully-staged performances in collaboration with directors Mike Ashman, Stuart Barker, Nina Brazier, Caroline Gawn, Richard Gregson, Seb Harcombe, Mark Hathaway, Tom Hawkes, Tim Hopkins, Michael Hunt, Shirley Keane, Michael Moxham, John Ramster, Steven Stead and Andrew Wickes.
Working closely with award winning director Michael Hunt, she was associate director and choreographer for his Al Jazeera production, 'Fafa Saves the Forest', in Doha, Qatar, choreographer and movement director for 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe', TUZ Rep Theatre Company, Russia, and 'Picasso' at The Playground Theatre, London. She worked with director Stef O’Driscoll on Sabrina Mahfouz's ‘A History of Water in the Middle East’ Royal Court, and with director Masha Kevinovna's productions ‘The Girl with Glitter in Her Eyes’ Bunker Theatre, ‘This Queer House’ Network Theatre, ‘Ordinary Miracle’, National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, ‘Breathe’ with SK Shlomo, Royal Albert Hall and 'Lali', Network Theatre, Vault Festival and Mercury Theatre, Colchester. She also worked with director Steven Kunis on Tanya Barfield's 'Bright Half Life' at the King's Head Theatre.
Alongside director Michael Moxham she co-directed and created the movement for 'Silk Moth', composer Bushra El-Turk's and librettist Eleanor Knight, 20th Century Theatre.
Photo: Kat Mahale
Maria directed and choreographed the highly acclaimed movement-based opera 'Woman at Point Zero', performed as a work in progress at LSO St. Luke's. Devised in collaboration with composer Bushra El-Turk, librettist, playwright and poet Sabrina Mahfouz, singer Merit Stephanos with Ensemble Zar show as part of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Shubbak festival, supported by the Arts Council England and Snape Maltings.
Maria has led movement workshops and classes for singers, actors, dancers and musicians at the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, British Youth Opera, the National Opera Studio, Future Talent at the Royal Academy of Music and is the founder and former director of the Contemporary Dance Programme at Birkbeck, University of London.
Early in her career she retrained in opera and went on to sing in concerts, recitals and a range of principal soprano roles at venues such as the Royal Festival Hall, Purcell Room, Leighton House, Conway Hall, Donmar Warehouse, the Royal Overseas League, Sadler's Wells and stately homes in the UK.
Two movement-based operas have been written for her, firstly the acclaimed 'El Tigre' by BAFTA award-winning composer Ben Bartlett, directed/choreographed by Caroline Pope, and 'The Conference of the Birds' by Dirk Campbell, directed/choreographed by Darlene Stevens, both pieces led by conductor Charles Hazelwood with the EOS orchestra.