Zaquia Mahler Salinas is a San Diego-born choreographer, movement artist, educator, and arts organizer whose work expands the boundaries of contemporary dance and community practice. With a BA in Dance from the University of California Santa Barbara and an MFA in Dance: Creative Practice, Salinas has cultivated a multifaceted career that weaves together performance, teaching, and cultural engagement. In 2019 she founded DISCO RIOT, a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to building collaborative, socially engaged movement-arts culture that connects artists across disciplines and amplifies innovative dance practices.

In this ART SHOP TALK conversation presented by Vanguard Culture, Salinas discusses her artistic journey and the vision behind DISCO RIOT — exploring how movement can serve as a medium for cultural connection, creative liberation, and shared experience. She shares insights into her process, her community-centered work in San Diego, and the ways in which dance and performance can shape and reflect collective identity.