Honoring Mar, Thank You & Good Luck!

As December rolls in and the end of the year looms on the horizon, we turn our collective minds towards honoring what has been. And we also begin to carve space for transition, for new evolution, and for change. This December, we are feeling tender and also celebratory about saying farewell to true-star Dance Church Teacher (and human) Mar Lures-Keller. 

If you know Mar, you know that the light and gift of his smile is matched by the strength of his integrity as an artist and a community guide. Mar first lit us up when he joined Dominica Greene in leading an increasingly-obsessed community of Dance Church takers in Salt Lake City, UT. The fire that these two brought to the floor in the midst of this desert state was unmatched, unexpected and driven by heart. And it truly blew us away. 

From SLC to NYC, Mar has shared more gifts with us than we deserve. Since the first wild Dance Church ride in 2019, across multiple states, and from your dance floor to our “HQ” team, Mar’s heart and energy have been foundational. 

Mar will shake the sweat out with his beloved New York City Dance Church community just three more times before he closes this chapter with us. Join him on the dance floor on or before December 22nd (we love a solstice goodbye), because we know you feel the magic of this extremely generous delight of a human. 

But before we are willing to say goodbye (and a massive, celebratory “bonne chance!”) to Mar, join us in recognizing the immense impact of all that Mar has shared with our national Dance Church fam. We chatted with Mar about all things dance (Church), art, and life. 

Read on, and then be sure to catch him on the floor this December for a juicy, smiling farewell.

What drew you to Dance Church, at the start?

Mar: I carried a lot of imposter syndrome early in my dance career. Taking class alongside other professionals brought up so much anxiety that I started to wonder if I should step away altogether and move in a different direction. But coming into Dance Church shifted something in me. It helped me reconnect with my dancing body in a way that felt grounding and expansive rather than pressured.

Dominica re-introduced me to Dance Church when she moved to Salt Lake City, and the community that formed around it seemed to grow alongside our friendship. It felt like we were building something together… now, even as we both step/have stepped away from Dance Church, we’re still building — our friendship, our lives, and the directions each moving toward.

If there’s a true “heart” of DC, what do you see at the center of that living, beating, breathing thing?

Mar: If I had to name it..the heart of Dance Church is a shared aliveness. It’s the moment when a room full of strangers begins to groove in the same rhythm. At the center of it all is the community of takers who continually show up. It never feels performative..it is honestly the most riveting sensations I have come to know, to feel connected to that many people at the same time. This is probably what I will miss the most. The quiet or most of the time loud acknowledgement that we are all in it together.

What is your favorite Dance Church move?

Mar: I think most regulars who have come to know me expect that if we are going to do anything in class, it’s move our hips/pelvis around and shake some ass and let go of some s***. 

Wildest song you’ve ever played in class, and how would you describe the energy in the room when it hit?

Mar: I’m not sure if the song in and of itself was wild, but I used What’s Up, by 4 Non Blondes for chest activation and it was a wild experience. There was a lot of pent up energy in the room and it was bubbling on the surface. People were singing and going off. When that first chorus hit, it felt like we collectively released something heavy together. And to top it off, Stephanie Hsu happened to be in class that night, meeting and moving with her in that already changed room made the moment cinematic. It was all the best part of Dance Church: the music, community, and movement colliding and opening something in all of us. 

You’ve made the decision to exit Dance Church, which is of course a change in your world — we’ve been lucky to dance with you since 2019! — but you’ve actually already experienced a lot of change during your time with DC. You moved from SLC to NYC, you got engaged, you got married, you may have passed a new decade marker in your life here on earth… What has shifted in your approach to DC over the years, and what has remained the same?

Mar: The shift away from Dance Church will definitely be a long adjustment. It has been such an integral part of my life and ran parallel to my identity for so long. Life has felt, as cliché as it sounds, both so slow and so fast since I started with the organization. 2020 and the beginning of COVID felt like time stopped altogether, and since then through all the major changes in my life time seems to have accelerated dramatically. Letting go of Dance Church in this chapter feels like another one of those big shifts.

As far as my approach to teaching DC over the years…I feel so much more at home in the journey of class now. In the beginning, I used to go hard from start to finish, partly out of excitement, partly from nerves, partly from wanting to “prove” something. These days, I’m far more attuned to what my body actually needs, and to what the takers/community seem to be asking for in real time. There’s a softness and a listening that wasn’t always there before.

What has remained constant is my respect and connection with the community. Their willingness to try, play, sweat, rest, explore, close their eyes, and just feel. That trust shapes every single class. I never take it for granted.

Is there something about Dance Church that mirrors, amplifies, or balances your larger life as a dancer and artist?

Mar: Dance Church has always mirrored my desire to connect. As an artist, I’m drawn to work that blurs the line between performer and audience and DC solidified that for me. It reminded me that the most potent dance experiences are co-created, not delivered from a distance. DC amplified my curiosity about embodiment, community, and shared presence. 

Of course you’ve been teaching Dance Church for almost five years, but you also contributed to the company administratively. Did you uncover any new (or solidify existing) values during your time working on the “HQ” side of this dance and movement org?

Mar: Working on the admin side deepened my belief that care and structure are not mutually exclusive- they need each other.

I learned the importance of transparency, of communicating clearly and often, of thinking about accessibility at every turn. I also saw firsthand how much labor goes into creating an experience that feels effortless. The whole constellation of people behind every class: studio rental partners, support (now Workx), leadership, teachers, community members solidified my value of collaboration. 

It’s been said, but we’ll never tire of the reminder: you’ve had an incredible impact on the culture, values and energy of Dance Church as a whole. You move with integrity, clarity, and heart, and we all feel it. What do you hope your lasting impact has been at Dance Church?

Mar: I hope I helped cultivate a sense of safety and possibility. That people felt seen, welcomed, and invited to take up space. I hope my classes encouraged folks to listen closely to their bodies and to each other. And I hope that, whether through teaching or admin work, I added to the culture of clarity, integrity, and care that makes DC so special.

Mostly, I hope I made people feel like they belong. Because they always have.

There is so much fracturing, distraction, dissonance and dangerous absurdism in our American life these days. Do you think dance, or movement more generally, offers anything important or valuable inside of this storm?

Mar: Absolutely. Movement gives us back to ourselves. When everything feels fragmented or absurd, bringing attention into the body is a way to return to being present. Dancing with others reminds us that we’re not isolated beings but part of a collective organism.

Movement doesn’t fix the world, but it does help us to face it. It reconnects us to agency, to creativity, and care. That feels important.

What’s next for you, Mar?

Mar: I’m continuing to deepen my creative practice, making new work, and hopefully getting a puppy. I will definitely be popping into DC classes to dance with y’all so you have not seen the last of me.

Before you go, we know there are three more chances for NYC takers to join you in class this December. Got any song teasers or vibe dreams to make us salivate before we join you on the floor?

Mar: Expect some warmth to help stave off the winter blues. Expect nostalgia. You may hear some sparkly synths, definitely some gay anthems, maybe a song that feels like a love letter to the version of yourself who has walked into a dance floor for the first time.