Alumnae Profile
Martha Mason ’88
Helping to make New England
Home to a Thriving Dance Community
As the artistic director of Snappy Dance Theater, Martha Mason ’88 creates original choreography for the three-man, four-woman company. Snappy Dance’s style is edgy, yet accessible, drawing enthusiastic audiences that have helped the company become a prominent dance ensemble in greater Boston. The performers have training in dance, circus performance, theater, martial arts, gymnastics, and puppetry—all of which come together in the unique performance style of Snappy Dance Theater.
Mason is the co-founder of the group, which was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in 1997. Over the past two years, Snappy Dance has performed not only across the United States, but also in Russia and at an international dance festival in Japan. In addition to its concert schedule, Snappy Dance also performs at schools, offering the educational dance programs “Snappy4Kids” and “Physics is a Snap.”
Mason began her dance training with classical ballet, and was the first Mount Holyoke undergraduate to create a full-length dance performance as an honors thesis. Before forming Snappy Dance, Mason danced in Paris and studied Pilates.
To read the full-length article that ran on Martha Mason and Snappy Dance in the Spring 2005 Alumnae Quarterly, click here.
Photo credit: Roger Ide
