Aileen Mapes has led an active role in the arts community for many years and continues to devote her life to proliferating the arts. In 2002, Aileen earned her BA in Sociology and BS in Dance, receiving the Outstanding Dance Major of the Year Award from the National Dance Association. During her four-year development as a performing artist at the Suchu Dance Company under the direction of Jennifer Wood, Aileen performed in over 15 new works and received several awards, including a nomination for Best Local Dancer by the Houston Chronicle and a profile as Featured Artist in Arts Houston Magazine. Aileen received funding for her independent work from the Creative Capital Foundation, the Houston Arts Alliance, the Houston Downtown Alliance, the Houston Dance Source, Spacetaker, the Cultural Arts Council of Houston (CACHH), and Bill White, Mayor of Houston.
Aileen recently completed her MFA in Dance from Arizona State University, where she worked with Simon Dove, Pegge Vissicaro, and Elina Mooney. Aileen performed new works and studied technique with Robert Moses-Kin, Nina Watt, Cynthia Roses-Thema, Shouze Ma, Nora Chipaumire, John Jasperse, Susan Marshall, David Dorfman, Mary Fitzgerald, Stephen Nachmanovitch, Elizabeth Johnson, and Sankai Juku. Aileen was also recognized by the Katherine K. Herberger Special Talent Award.
While in Phoenix, her choreography was performed at the Galvin Theatre, the ASU Art Museum, the Pueblo Grande Art Museum, the Mesa Arts Center, and The Icehouse. Her thesis work, “Guerilla Dance Attack”, featured a six-month series of dance “attacks” around the city of Phoenix, culminating in a final concert at the historic Alwun House. Her thesis work was recognized for Excellence in Community Outreach by the ASU Dance Department.
While at Arizona State, Aileen developed curricula for classes in Ballet Technique, Modern Technique, Dance History, and Rhythmic Analysis, consistently receiving outstanding teaching evaluations. She was also a participant in the widely acclaimed Freedom of Information 24-Hour Project, dancing for 24 hours continuously while blind folded and ear plugged in solidarity with political refugees.
Aileen returns to the professional world of experimental performing arts with zeal. She attended the National Dance USA conference in Houston, TX, Dance for Camera Workshop with Laura Taler, received a choreographic commission in Point Reyes, CA; and instigated a guerrilla dance performance that was filmed in the Festival Internacional Cervantino, Guanajuato, Mexico. She recently moved to Austin, TX where she interns for Cinebarre and continues as an independent choreographer, filmmaker, and experimental artist.
