Meet Marlies Yearby

Marlies Yearby is a creative artist that has worked as a choreographer/director for the past 20 years. She founded her company Movin' Spirits Dance Theater in 1988 for the creation of new multimedia works built collaboratively with writers, composers, visual artists, and multi-media artists. Ms. Yearby's work actively addresses the human condition. Over the past 8 years Identity has been a recurring examination with works like writer Laurie Carlos’ Feather’s At The Flame Next Dance an examination of the mixing of blood between the African and the Native American people, composer Craig Harris’ Brown Butterfly a celebration of Muhammad Ali and the turbulent 60’s, and her current work “The Beautiful” and examination on the power of media on identity. Ms. Yearby has been awarded the BAX Ten award for instituting change in our creative community and a mentorship award from Def Dance Jam. Amongst her awards for creation of new work includes a Tony Nomination, and Drama League Award for RENT the musical, and Helen Hayes Nomination for Oedipus Plays at the Washington Shakespeare Theater. She has received a National Endowment For the Arts Fellowship, New York Foundation for The Arts Fellowship, Van Lier Minority fellowship and the National Choreographers College Initiative. Ms. Yearby is committed to building bridges of understanding amongst diverse communities globally.