Maria DuBois Genné, Founder and Director of the non-profit intergenerational intercultural performing arts and health producing organization Kairos Alive!, died peacefully on June 28, 2024 in Minneapolis. A dancer, choreographer, educator, and a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to many; she dedicated her life to enfranchising people and communities of all ages and abilities to find joy, belonging and health through community performing arts participation.
A committed feminist who embraced, modeled and championed the recognition of women as humans of equal value; she extended this recognition to children, elders, and people with disabilities as being full creative contributors in community dance drama works. She was a recognized pioneer in the fields of arts and health, participatory arts, and creative aging; her work has contributed to research in all of these fields.
She co-founded the dance companies That Dance Company and Maria, Colleen & Kids. She founded the young people’s modern dance company Young Dance, and she founded Kairos Alive! in 1991. Her Kairos work received national and international recognition, and is featured in the PBS documentary, Arts and the Mind, and in the forthcoming (2025) Bradley Cooper PBS documentary project on caregiving.
She was a co-founder of the arts advocacy organization which became ArtSage, served on the board of the National Center for Creative Aging, and was active in the theater groups Minnesota Folktale Gardening Club and Folktopia.
Born in Chicago on April 4, 1951, her greatest love was her family. Memorials can go to the Maria Genné Legacy Fund at kairosalive.org or to the charity of your choice. A memorial service is being planned. Cremation Society of MN.