Mary Lyn Graves is a dancer and teacher based in Brooklyn, NY.  Her recent performance credits include the Mark Morris Dance Group, Megan Williams Dance Projects, Joanna Kotze, Helen Simoneau Dance, Dishman+Co (Elizabeth Dishman), Chandler Dance Initiative, and NOW-ID (Charlotte Boye-Christensen). She has also recently collaborated with composer Caroline Davis on her project, Live Oscillations. From 2012-2018, she was a member of  Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company in Salt Lake City, UT. Over her six seasons with RWDC, Mary Lyn toured extensively, including tours to Mongolia and South Korea as part of DanceMotionUSA. She originated over 25 roles in works by Daniel Charon, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Ann Carlson, Raja Feather Kelley, Joanna Kotze, Doug Varone, Kate Weare, and Netta Yerushalmy, among others.  Mary Lyn has also performed the historic works of Alwin Nikolais, touring to the Joyce Theater in 2016 and France in 2018.  From 2016-2017, Mary Lyn worked extensively with Molly Heller to develop, perform, and tour Molly’s work very vary.

As a teacher, Mary Lyn has led master classes at Chosun University, Mongolian State University of Arts & Culture, the National High School for the Traditional Korean Arts, the University of Oklahoma, and Colorado State University, among others. She has been a faculty member and guest teacher at numerous festivals, schools, and studios, including Ririe-Woodbury’s Professional Summer Intensive, Wichita State University, and Ballet San Angelo in San Angelo, TX.  Mary Lyn has facilitated creative movement classes in schools, community centers, youth shelters, and arts conservatories across the United States and internationally, specializing in working with elementary age children without a dance background. She is currently on faculty at Ballet Tech in Manhattan where she facilitates movement exploration and conversation with young dancers.

A sixth generation Oklahoman, Mary Lyn was born and raised in Tulsa, OK. She began her formal training at the Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance Education, where she was also a member of Tulsa Ballet II. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Oklahoma.