Mario Alberto Ollincoyotl Ramirez (They/Them) was born and raised in Dallas TX, Mario comes from relations to the lands and waters of Cruz De Elorza, Mx. They are Guachichil-Chichimeca. Mario continues their ceremonial dance practices of Danza Aztec/Chichimeca/Mexihcayotl with their local community practices since they were thirteen. Their dance disciplines stem from a mixture of classical modern fundamentals, postmodern theories, somatic-based movement, and Africanist & Indigenous Aesthetics. They have worked and danced with Choreographers such as Charles O. Anderson, Yacov Sharir, Gesel Mason, Abby Zibokowski, Andrea Beckham, Dorothy Oshea Overbey and Shayla-Vie Jenkins to name a few.
Mario has choreographed and performed at the Second Annual Latino/a/x Contemporary Dance Festival hosted by the Pilot Dance Company. They are an ongoing Artist in Residence with ATX Interfaces and are currently performing with Ballet East Dance Company in Austin Tx. Mario also organizes weekly movement gatherings for accessible movement wellness, dance sharing, and movement vocabulary to be shared amongst his family, friends and community.
They have performed in Bill T. Jones Repertory set by Shayla Vie-Jenkins, Continuous Replay and Spent Days Out Yonder at the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC in and De Donde Somos? La Mezcla. with Carolina Azteca Sirias at the Cohen New Works Festival. They have also choreographed for Central Texas' first Indigenous written play, Yana Wana’s Legend of The Blue Bonnet with Teatro Vivo & The Indigenous Cultures Institute and Mas CARA with The Vortex.
Locally, Mario is the Co-founder and head of Danza Grupo Ollinyollotl which is guided under the wings if Kalpulli Mitotilitzli Yaoyollotli under Evelio and Azucena Flores.
Mario's has focused Indigenous youth-centered pedagogy within dance making, dance sharing and kinesthetic storytelling for young people. Mario's curriculum and instruction for dance has been applied at different programs such as The Indigenous Cultures Institute Sacred Springs Summer Camp, AZTECH KIDS CODE Summer Camp hosted by Academia Cuahtli, and The International Indigenous Youth Council programming. Mario has centered Black and Brown youth's trajectory, knowledge, and experiences by affirming their existence which is constantly erased in our white supremacist, capitalist, heteronormative, nationalist public school curriculum. #LANDBACK #WATERISLIFE
Mario continues in a trajectory of community, heart, and autonomy as they continue creating work and sharing their fire for movement, dance, and social justice.
