Chef Maria Cooper

05/11/2026

Honoring our dear mommas today at with Tsuki, Stacee Hall McGovern’s (DTBF president) new sweet pup. Tsuki couldn’t stop loving on Lucy Wallace (DTBF Founder)!🐾

Gorgeous day! ☀️We are so pumped about the season to come with more prison work in Dance To Be Free. Lucy and I head to Canyon City next week 🙂
June - Nebraska
July - Pueblo
And we are planning more prison trainings!

Read about what we do! https://www.dancetobefree.org/prisons

❤️If you have any interest in contributing so we can keep going to prison to assist the men and women with creative movement and somatic healing, check out this website. Thanks so much in advance!❤️
us

05/09/2026

Took a trip to Santa Fe to honor a year of my mom’s passing.
Grateful to be here in the spacious beauty

05/05/2026

04/14/2026

Hi dancers! I will be guest teaching for Jackie Diner Wednesday morning this week at 9am at Alchemy of Movement
I’ll be teaching a low impact SoulSweat class to start the day 🌀

Looking forward to it! 👯💃🏾🕺🏽❤️

03/31/2026

Full Moon SoulSweat 🌕✨
Wednesday April 1st | 5:20pm
Alchemy of Movement

We begin with an astro update from Emily Nelsen to ground us in the energy of this Full Moon. 🌕🌀

This moon is an invitation — to open, to expand, to embody the fullness of who you are in your own unique wildness.

Come move, release, and create with us on the dance floor.
Let it be raw, real, and fully alive. 🦋

Zoom option available ✨

03/15/2026

So excited to dance with you this spring. 🦋💜

💛Special classes this week…💛
Wednesday 10am — subbing for Lucy at the Avalon for Dance to be Free
✨No advance sign-up needed. Just come dance.

Wednesday evening — New Moon in Pisces ♓️ dance at Alchemy of Movement. 🌙
A space to soften, flow, and set intentions for the new lunar cycle.

All other classes are at Alchemy.
Most classes also offer virtual options (except Desire and WildBeat). Check Alchemy’s schedule for details.

Come dance. Release, renew, begin again. 🌙
us

03/02/2026

Full Moon SoulSweat 🌕

This Virgo Full Moon and Blood Moon Eclipse 🌕🩸is a release, an exhale…a chance to clear out the noise and come back to what’s real. 🦋

Virgo ♍️is about tending the small things… your body, your breath, your daily rituals. The eclipse brings movement.
🫴🏼 Shift.
🫴🏼 Release.
So we’re going to dance it. 💫
🌀We’ll sweat.
🌀We’ll ground.
🌀We’ll let go of what’s been building up.

If you’ve been feeling the intensity lately, this is a beautiful space to move it through instead of holding it in.

Come as you are. 👣
Let’s clear some space together. 🌕

Tuesday morning, 9am
Alchemy of Movement

02/22/2026

🔥 Paleo Lasagna 🔥

I prepared this for a small catering event last week. This is one of my favorite dishes, as it is simple, beautiful to present, nutrient dense, easy to digest, and very comforting. 👍

Here’s what I did…

Layers:

🌱Homemade meat or vegetarian sauce (heavy on the meat— or use lots of wild mushrooms to make ✨vegetarian)
🌱Grilled vegetables, sliced thin
🌱Cashew cream *
🌱Fresh Basil

The recipe for the cashew cream is in my cookbook. Happy to send it to you. Just send me a DM.

Add layers of mozzarella, fresh parm, or other cheeses you like, if desired

Kick up the flavors in that meat (or mushroom) sauce. I love using 85% ground beef, but you can also use turkey, or bison.

02/18/2026

I made this luscious dish for a small private dinner this week and served it with whipped celery root and parsnips. It was decadent alongside a crisp green apple 🍏salad with sweet lettuces 🍃and arugula.

I love food ❤️

Here’s what I did. ✨🌸

4-Hour Black Olive Orange Beef Braise 🍊

- 1 4–5-pound boneless beef chuck roast
- Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
- 6 garlic cloves, thickly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
- 2 mandarin oranges or tangerines, unpeeled, thinly sliced into rounds
- 1 cup brine-cured black olives, pitted, coarsely chopped
- 2-4 tablespoons rosemary, thyme, sage
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock or low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup tomato purée

Cut deep slits in pot roast and insert the garlic. Season beef with salt, pepper, thyme and oregano and set aside at least 30 min.

Preheat oven to 300°F.

In dutch oven, sear meat in chosen fat until seared well on all sides. Remove meat, and deglaze pan with wine until reduced by half then add stock until almost boiling.

Cover, and pop in oven for approx. 3-4 hours until tender

Top with orange slices, herbs and olives during last 20 min.