Obituary of Maria DuBois Genne'

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. She was 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. She choreographed more than sixty-five dance theater works usually performed in non-traditional settings, drawing from a wide variety of movement styles and music. Her parents were activists with the NAACP in the American civil rights movement. She was 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 led women’s spirituality and dance retreats, served as dance collaborator at Jean Houston’s Mystery School, and led pregnant women’s, and new parents and infants dance classes. 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. She founded Kairos Alive! in 1991. The current weekly Kairos Clubhouse 2-way participatory dance, music and story webcast reaches a network of Minnesota senior centers and organizations serving people with disabilities. 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. The Kairos work is recognized as a place and practice for emotional and social healing. 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. She was born in Chicago, IL on April 4, 1951. Her greatest love was her family. She is preceded in death by her parents Joseph and Noma Genné, brothers Joseph Genné (Joan) and Herbert Genné (Peggy), and beloved spiritual parents Nathan and Shizu Lofton. She is survived by her husband Cristopher Anderson; daughters Elinor Anderson-Genné and Parker Anderson-Genné (Thomas Johnson); granddaughter Noma Juelle; sister Beth Genné (Allan Gibbard); sisters-in-law Sidney Anderson and Sara Kretz; brother-in-law Eric Anderson; and also leaves behind dearly beloved nieces, nephews, friends and artistic collaborators. Memorials can go to the Maria Genné Legacy Fund at kairosalive.org or to the charity of your choice. Memorial service will be Saturday, Sept. 21, 11am at First Universalist Church of Minneapolis, 3400 Dupont Ave. S. Mpls, MN 55408