Mara Alper's affinities with dance, animation, film and video as expressive media have shaped her life. Her themes focus on social issues, older traditions and questions about people's similarities, differences and motivations.

These questions led Mara to study world mythologies and religions with Joseph Campbell and absorb the work of Carl Jung. Her enthusiasm for first-hand experience of the wisdom of older traditions leads her to study sacred dance from around the world and to unique travel experiences in Europe, Asia and Central America.
 

In Mexico, she has interviewed shaman and tribal leaders in the native Huichol tribe, descendants of the Aztecs. They discussed forgiveness, attitudes toward aging and death and imagery in their sacred arts. This led to her video Visions of the Huichol.

In Bali, she studied the art of shadow puppets, dance and sacred water rituals, intrinsic elements in the Balinese Hindu religion. After five visits to this Indonesian island, she created Sacred Waters of Bali. On the Greek island of Crete, she wrote and painted for several months in a mountain cave facing the Mediterranean Sea, influenced by their ancient Minoan culture. These experiences have helped her learn to appreciate and respect the many values humans share, and to focus on our similarities rather than our differences.
 

Mara teaches digital video, media art and courses aboutr water issues at Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY as an Associate Professor.