Gabriel Mata (pronunciation: gah-bryehl mah-tah) is a Mexican American dance choreographer, educator, dance film maker, and performer. He also navigates the world as queer, Latinx, immigrant, and as of recently a permanent resident to the U.S. The StarTribune has called him “Sly, subtle and totally virtuosic, theatrical dancer-choreographer Gabriel Mata holds the stage with expressive movement and witty words.” Gabriel Mata Movement is a Washington DC project-based company, initiated in 2015. His dance works have been performed in Minnesota, California, New York, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. His dances have been commissioned and presented by sjDANCEco, the Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers, the Luna Dance Institute, Joy of Motion, Dance Place, Silicon Valley Pride, the Hispanic National Bar Association, and the Caroline Calouche Dance Co/Charlotte Dance Festival. Recently, he was awarded the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities Fellowship Grant and the UMD Board of Visitors Research Award. He is currently a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Maryland – College Park.