Rachel Martín Jones

Rachel Martín Jones serves as an Adjunct Professor of Dance within the Performing Arts Department at St. Mary's College of Maryland, where she teaches in Montgomery Hall's Dance Studio 107. She concurrently holds the position of artistic director for Mystic Caravan Dance, a Maryland-based troupe specializing in Middle Eastern and North African dance traditions.

Education:

• B.A. in Dance and Spanish Language, University of Maryland College Park, 2010

With dance training beginning at age three in Córdoba, Argentina, Martín Jones possesses deep expertise across Flamenco, Belly Dance, Persian Folk, Classical Indian Dance, Bollywood, Modern Dance, and Tango. Her artistic philosophy centers on dance as a transcendent expressive medium that conveys emotions beyond language, believing it uniquely inspires diverse age groups and cultural backgrounds through embodied storytelling and cultural preservation.

Her performance career spans studios, private events, and public festivals including Annmarie Garden's ArtFest, while her teaching extends beyond St. Mary's to guest lectureships at Old Dominion University. Current projects involve directing Mystic Caravan Dance's multidisciplinary performances that integrate traditional Middle Eastern and North African forms with contemporary fusion styles.

Rachel leads Mystic Caravan Dance in advancing cultural education through performance, regularly collaborating with guest dancers to showcase authentic regional styles while developing new choreographic works for Maryland audiences.