Mary Beth Bauermann is a writer, tap dancer, and guitarist from Baltimore, Maryland. She studies American cultural history through the lenses of popular music, performance, dance, literature, and media. Her research investigates sonic and kinesthetic manifestations of social tensions through popular music performance. 

She holds bachelor's degrees in American Studies and English from William & Mary. Her research projects have focused on 1960s popular music (especially Motown and The Beatles), the history of tap dance, the singing voice in literature, popular music in film soundtracks, and the cool aesthetic of music and movement. Her most recent article, "'Wake Up!' with Narrative Film Music: Optimizing Narrative Power Through Spike Lee's Soundtracks of Popular Music," can be found in Film Matters Magazine. She also writes on various topics for public-facing audiences.

Mary Beth is a guitarist in the UVA Jazz Ensemble and she enjoys playing rock guitar in her spare time. Ever inspired by George Harrison, she also started taking sitar lessons in 2023. Mary Beth has trained for most of her life in tap, ballet, modern, and jazz dance technique. Her dance training informs her research on movement and choreography in popular music performances.