is a choreographer, performer and dance teacher. She currently dances with Blacksmith's Daughter under the direction of Nia Love, and with Adele Myers and Dancers, both based in New York. She is also an apprentice with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Prior to these companies, Maria danced with acclaimed contemporary dance company Urban Bush Women for five seasons. She originated roles in "Walking with Pearl: Africa Diaries," "Walking with Pearl: Southern Diaries," and in Bridget Moore's "Sacred Vessel." Touring highlights include performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Joyce Theater in New York, Symphony Space in New York, and the Basel Arts Festival in Basel, Switzerland.
She still works with Urban Bush Women as a Community Engagement Specialist, often co-facilitating workshops and playing an active role in the company’s Community Engagement Projects. Through UBW, Bauman has taught dance as a catalyst towards positive self-imagery at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and at the Atlantic Terminal Housing Development in Brooklyn, as well as at various schools and community centers throughout the country. She continues her community engagement work outside of Urban Bush Women, as well, with an active roster of freelance workshops at sites including the New Jersey Governor's School for the Arts, Greenwich Academy, Spelman College, Wesleyan University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and others.

Maria is an active choreographer, as well. She has created dances for numerous groups across the United States. In New York, her work has been showcased at the New 42nd Street Studios, BRIC and at the Kumble Theater. Most recently, she was a featured choreographer, along with Andrea E. Woods and Noemi Segarra, of the BAAD! ASS WOMEN FESTIVAL 2007. She presented three original works at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance.

Maria's dance activities have been lauded by many, and she is consistently invited to participate in performances and showcases. The Washington Post reviewer Sarah Kaufman wrote, “Hers was a dance of time-stopping balances and sky-scraping extensions, infinitely articulated muscle groups...” She also received a humbling mention in Dance Magazine, wherein Lea Marshall described Maria's work as having “...depth and intensity, melding a meditative quality with an expansive strength that rippled through her spine and radiated through her chest.”

Maria graduated cum laude with a B.F.A. in Dance and English from the Florida State University, and is also trained in the art of capoeira, an African-Brazilian martial art which employs dance.