Hi, I’M Max

Madeline Maxine Roman if you want to get technical about it. I’m the founder and Artistic Director of GRIDLOCK Dance.

The formal bio

Madeline Maxine Roman is talkative and loud. That’s partly due to being hard of hearing, but primarily because she embraces her queer, disabled, and neurodivergent identity. Featured in Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch, she is the Artistic Director of GRIDLOCK Dance in Washington, DC. A standout force among Gen Z choreographers, she has received numerous commissions, pays her dancers an hourly wage, and presents her work across the United States.

Her choreography is “intellectually probing, politically minded, and personally revelatory” (Dance Magazine), “conceptually rich and ambitious” (Maryland Theatre Guide), "boldly explores technology's downsides" (Washington City Paper), and provides "a searing comment on how pervasive social media and mobile devices affect human behavior" (Arts ATL).

Max’s recent engagements include a James Madison University commission (PA), Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery commission (DC), Dance Loft & Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation commission (DC), Steps on Broadway Choreography Lab (NY), Pentacle’s Tour Ready Lab (NY), Montgomery College’s Artist-in-Residence (MD), Dance Canvas Choreographer Career Development Initiative (GA), Maryland Youth Ballet’s S.H.E./Moves Program (MD), Rutgers University Integrated Dance Collaboratory Choreo Lab (NJ), Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch Showcase (NY), Atlas Arts Lab Fellowship (DC), Dance Place’s Dance and Disability Residency (DC), and a Joe’s Movement Emporium commission (MD).

As an educator, Max has taught a diverse range of populations, including pre-professional dancers, seasoned movers, college football players, and theater actors. Max currently leads an open company class at CityDance Studios in Washington DC and partners with On Our Own of Maryland, a behavioral health nonprofit, to create and conduct workshops on arts advocacy and movement for self-care to young adults with mental health and substance use struggles. Max has also led workshops on arts advocacy to young adults with disabilities through the nonprofit Independence Now.

Max graduated as commencement speaker from Towson University with her B.F.A. in Dance Performance & Choreography and B.S. in Mass Communication. During college, she received the Honors College Award, the Kaplan Award, the Research Impact Award, and the Outstanding Choreography Award.