LIC, Saint George Theater, S.I., and at BAM--Fisher for the Brooklyn Dance Festival in 2015.  

    Michael’s dance works have also been danced by the Hong Kong Ballet, Tennessee  Children’s  Continental United States, in Alaska, Paris, Oslo, Stockholm, Italy, Australia, in Edinburgh, UK, and in Beijing, Suzhou, Nanjing, Guangzhou/Canton and Shanghai,     Michael’s works also toured for Festival Internaciónal Cervantino to Mexico City, Monterrey, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Torréon, and Zacatecas, and again in 2019 in Campeche in the Yucatan, Mexico. 

    Michael had his early dance training in Manhattan at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance during Graham’s active direction of the School, then for two summers on Jacob’s Pillow under the tutelage of Ted Shawn Founder of Jacob’s Pillow. Michael’s ballet training included Joffrey Ballet, Margaret Craske, with Carol Jordan and Marie Paquet at Cambridge School of Ballet and with David Howard who was also Company Teacher for Michael Mao Dance for over ten years. Throughout the latter part of his dance career Michael was heavily influenced by David Howard and Zena Rommett in their complementary teachings.

    Michael performed in Twyla Tharp’s early work Medley, and subsequently for Judson choreographers Toby Armour, James Waring, Aileen Passloff, Remy Charlip, as well as in Ports de Bras for Referees, an original work for Armour’s company by Carolyn Brown, who also trained Armour’s company dancers in Merce Cunningham’s dance technique. Michael continued to train at the Cunningham Studio while Brown’s work remained in repertory of Toby Armour’s dance company. Michael danced in Graziela Daniele’s choreography for Sarah Caldwell’s Opera Company of Boston. He appeared as Dancing Curley in OKLAHOMA!, and danced for Mandala Folk Dance Ensemble, featured in international folk forms such as Irish, Bulgarian, American Cakewalk, Appalachian clog dance and the Italian Tarantella. He continued dance training with Zena Rommett, Carol Jordan and David Howard while also directing, and choreographing for Toby Armour’s company with a mixed repertory which included over twenty works by Armour, five by Waring, two by Remy Charlip, two by Passloff, Trisha Brown, Hans van Manen, Gotte Goslar and Carolyn Carlson, among others, curating a wide range of guest works while developing his own.

    Concurrent with professional dance training and performing, Michael earned an academic BA from Princeton University and an MA from Harvard University, where he was also a Ford Foundation Prize Fellow. He taught literature and language at Harvard University, Boston University and Clark University, and dance/choreography at David Howard Dance Center, Boston Conservatory, Jacob’s Pillow under Ted Shawn, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. During his junior and senior years at Princeton, he championed successfully for dance to be recognized for freshmen credit, set up a studio in the Creative Arts Building at 185 Nassau, and taught ballet and modern dance to more than 80 Freshmen for credit.

    Michael was co-founder of Dance/NewEngland Festival. He was a planner, writer and continuing facilitator for New York City Department of Education’s BLUEPRINT FOR DANCE, and was panelist for The National Endowment for the Arts,  Mid-Atlantic Arts Alliance, Pennsylvania-On-Tour, Center for Arts Education, Tribeca Performing Arts Complex, New York State Council On the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Center for Arts Education, Jadin Wong Dance Awards, and the National Endowment for the Arts, A Federal Agency, and Pennsylvania On Tour. Michael Mao’s dance works have been recommended for International touring by United States Information Agency, and has received funding from the Polaroid Foundation, the Dolfinger McMahon Foundation, and the American Dialogue Program, a project of the National Task Force on Presenting and Touring the Performing Arts funded by the National Endowment, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Rockefeller Foundation. For his work with teen immigrants Michael received an award from New York State Foreign Language Teachers Association. He also received a lifetime achievement award from Alto Jonio Dance Festival in 2011. He represented the US on an advisory board for Shenzhen Arts Center, and recently served as evaluator for Tirana Youth Ballet in Albania. Since 2015 Michael divides his time between dance activities in the US, Albania, Bulgaria, Italy, and as EFM accompanying his diplomat spouse for the Department of State, throughout the Middle East, Mexico, UK and Schengen countries.