Mara Milam's relationship with movement began at an early age in gymnastics classes. Mara trained in her hometown, Los Angeles, as a high-level competitive gymnast for 15 years. In 2010, upon arriving at UCSC she was introduced to formal training in ballet, jazz, contemporary and modern. While attaining her BA in political science and BFA with an emphasis in photography, she performed in various student and faculty shows including Random with a Purpose, Barnstorm, Open Showings, and Blueprints. Since graduating, she has performed in local Santa Cruz productions including the 418's Emerging Choreographers, Motion Pacific's Incubator Project, and max10 Performance Laboratory, all with Shift the Grid collective. Today, she continues to develop and transform her relationship to movement and explore the possibilities of what the body can communicate.