Bodiography Contemporary Ballet presents Heart (Function vs. Emotion) World Premier Ballet by Maria Caruso.

Live Musical Accompaniment and Original Score by Cello Fury.

Sponsored by UPMC and The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

This work is inspired by and dedicated to patients with pulmonary hypertension and advanced heart disease. While developing this original ballet, Bodiography Artistic Director and choreographer Maria Caruso shadowed physicians and surgeons of the Advanced Heart Failure Program at UPMC as they cared for patients undergoing Heart and Lung Transplantation. Her interaction with patient support groups for subjects with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and women with peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) facilitated and assisted in shaping this monumental presentation. Ms. Caruso’s intimate meetings with individual patients and masterful surgeons allowed her to gain insight into their struggles and victories over advanced heart and lung disease in turn utilizing ballet as an artistic medium to raise awareness.