“I am a queer, Italian/Brazilian American artist. I strive to make art for and of the soul. To see, to heal, to hope, to search, to understand, to learn, to grow, to continue.” -Mark

2023 PRINCESS GRACE AWARD RECIPIENT in Choreography

2023 ANN & WESTIN HICKS CHOREOGRAPHY FELLOW at Jacob’s Pillow

MARK CASERTA

(he/they)

Mark, born and raised in South West Philadelphia, graduated from the University of the Arts School of Dance with a BFA in 2010. They danced professionally with international touring companies Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Les Ballets Jazz De Montreal and Camille A. Brown & Dancers since then. Mark has been awarded the Philadelphia Rocky Award for Outstanding Dance Performance, The Patrick Swayze Scholarship from Complexions Ballet, the Pennsylvania Ballet Choreography Award and Outstanding Choreography Awards from Youth American Grand Prix. Mark was recently named a 2023 Princess Grace Award Winner in Choreography. Mark was a 2018 Emerging Choreographer at Springboard Danse Montreal and premiered their first full evening length work ‘BIG KID’ at Gibney NY POP Performance Series in February 2019. Mark was commissioned to for new works on American Ballet Theater (ABT/ABT Incubator), Pennsylvania Ballet II, Grace Dance Theater, Dark Circles Contemporary Dance with partner Mikey Morado, Atlanta based company Kit Modus, Whim W’him Contemporary Dance Seattle, Peridance Youth Ensemble and DanceWorks Chicago. Mark was named the 2019/2020 EMERGE Award Recipient with Gibney Company & Springboard Danse Montreal. With this award, Mark was commissioned for a new creation on Gibney Company in Spring 2020. Mark has presented work at Wanderlust Dance Festival, The Austin Dance Festival, Dance Gallery Festival, The Banff Center for Performing Arts Choreographic Gesture, The Boston Dance Festival, Steps On Broadway Choreography Lab and the Brooklyn Dance Festival. They have also created work on the University of the Arts School of Dance, The Ailey School and Pace University. Mark was co-director of The Thriving Artist Project from 2017-2020, a program offering a free Pre-Professional experience to young dance artists. He was also on faculty teaching Ballet, Contemporary Ballet and Movement Research at Dance industry Performing Arts Center. Mark currently is Artist in Residence at University of the Arts School of Dance, Contemporary Faculty at Gibney Dance NY & Peridance Capezio Arts Center, a guest artist with MindLeaps and a freelance educator, dancer and choreographer. Mark is creating new work for their own project BigKid Dance, a small dance company based in Philadelphia.

My mission is to create safe space for myself and for people to come together, make art, move, share culture, live out experiences together and truly be themselves. To grow as a community and reconnect us to ourselves, our world(s) and each other.