We recently connected with Maja Kereš and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Maja, thanks for joining us today. Have you signed with an agent or manager? Why or why not?

This is not going to be a story of “how to get signed with an Agent”, because I think there are so many ways and all of them work for someone, but it’s gonna be a story of how I got signed with my Agent, because I think it speaks on how you never know when and how an event can change your whole life path. So, back in 2012, I was almost at the end of my ISVP (International Student Visa Program) at Broadway Dance Center in New York City. I came to NYC to learn about more dance styles, to train, to learn from the source where that was available. I was taking at least 12 classes a week, from ballet, contemporary, jazz, to hip hop, vogueing, waacking, house etc. So much information, so much training, and I loved every minute of it. I was there simply for my curiosity, eagerness to learn and my love for dance. I didn’t have any other agenda. The plan was to get the training and come back home, to Croatia, where I had just left my previous dance studio and basically had no solid plans or a studio to train and teach at for when I come back. Anyways, I was taking classes from many great teachers, and somehow I started to get noticed and complimented. One of the classes I’d often take was Brian and Scott Nicholson’s. At the time they lived and taught in NYC, but fast forward, now they are Ariana Grande’s choreographers :) So one day after class, Scott tells me, are you coming to Clear Talent Group open call audition? We told Julianna about you. Julianna was the agent at CTG and CTG is one of the biggest talent agencies in the US. I remember saying, um ok, no pressure, huh? So, I went. Together with another 700 dancers or so (it was packed) and somehow I stayed to the end, and somehow I got the call from Julianna few days later saying that they would love to sign me, and asking if I had an O-1 visa. Here comes my white lie. I said I was working on it. Meanwhile, I had just found out what an O-1 (artist) visa was not too long before. So in that moment, my life took a different turn, I researched about what this visa was, built my confidence, made a decision, contacted a lawyer, spent all of my savings and finally applied for my artist visa. And got it! 2 years after that audition. Never did I think my trip to New York would end that way, but that audition and the call from Julianna were a part of the butterfly effect that eventually led me to realizing some of my biggest dreams. So, moral of the story is: do what you love, do it with love, and let life reward you in unexpected ways.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi, My name is Maja Kereš. I’m originally from Croatia. I started my dance journey there, that soon evolved into pursuing it as a career. I started teaching and choreographing when I was about 18 years old, and had an opportunity to work with some major Croatian artists and perform on big stages and big events on that side of the world. I was always eager to learn more about my craft, about all different styles and expressions of dance, and that curiosity and eagerness eventually brought me to New York City where I’ve spent almost a year just being a student of all forms of dance. That’s when I got noticed by an agent from my current agency Clear Talent Group who planted the seed that evolved into me applying for the artist visa, packing my bags and moving to NYC to continue my career as a dancer. This was 9 years ago! A year after I moved to New York, I packed my bags again and moved to the west coast, Los Angeles, and I’ve lived here ever since. It is sometimes still incredible to me that being from a country that small, with not many resources, I managed to emerge into the dance scene in the epicenter of the entertainment industry, and turn my dream jobs into reality. My biggest dream from when I was a teenager was to dance with Justin Timberlake, but I cannot even explain to you how unrealistic this dream was being from where I’m from. And somehow, it happened. I was first a part of his music video and soon after I was booked to tour the world with him and a handful of other extremely talented dancers on his Man of the woods tour. Hardly any gig can top that one. But I’ve gained some pretty amazing experiences in these 9 years working with the most renowned choreographers, A-list artists, performing on some of the biggest award shows, and Superbowl, being a part of some huge campaigns, seeing my face on TV etc. But besides being a dancer, I still nourish my love for teaching and choreographing. I’ve had the opportunity to work as a choreographer, assistant choreographer, and movement coach. I enjoy being a creator of movement, helping the visual and the idea come to life. On top of that, I teach a regular intermediate/advanced choreography class at the newly re-opened Movement Lifestyle dance studio in Burbank. I am also one of the faculty on Nexus Dance Convention where I teach hundreds of kids. My “specialty”, let’s call it, is musicality. Considering I have a broad vocabulary in my body coming from my curiosity for all styles of dance, I love to not define my class as a certain style, so I just call it choreography. But one thing that is always present is connection to music, intricate musicality (my ear was trained in 10 years of classical music education), story telling and feeling. I can truly feel how dance is my purpose, in any shape or form. Whether it’s being a dancer, or choreographing and/or teaching, I fully enjoy every part of it. Having the experience myself, I love guiding others, my students, to their own new levels. My favorite thing is witnessing my students tap into their full potential. And one thing that I find really special, and maybe unique, in my way of teaching and approaching my students is emphasizing the equal importance of mind training and body training. I am a firm believer in “our external world is just a reflection of our internal world” and I try to spread that message through dance.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

It’s not necessarily a lesson, more of the mindset that I needed to change, or release in order to live more fulfilled and happier life. The world that I’m a part of is based on external form of validation. When we audition, when we are in class, when we’re on the job, when we’re teaching, we are constantly being chosen (or not). Sure, when you get that job, when you get praised, when you are given a solo part, when you have a sold out class, it boosts your confidence, it gives you the approval that what you’re doing is right, it gives you the confirmation that you’re good at what you do. But it’s those times when you don’t get selected, chosen, praised that when they happen can easily mess with our minds and our own sense of worthiness. If you’re not one of these people and being told “no” doesn’t affect you at all, I am in awe of you. But speaking from my own experience, I used to get into my own head so much. Analyzing what I’m doing wrong, is it my looks, is it my skills, is it what I was wearing, is it my freestyle? Trying to see what I could change in order to get chosen. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not promoting being stagnant and not improving, but what I had to realize is that I am worthy regardless of if I’m chosen or not. Finding that internal approval of myself exactly how I am liberated me from so much pressure. Knowing that I’m doing MY best is now enough for me, regardless of someone else noticing it or not. And once I remembered who I am and not looking for approval of my worth from others, that’s when I started vibrating differently. I started attracting circumstances and people in my life who recognize and appreciate me for me. And saying “no” to or getting a “no” from certain jobs or environments that don’t feel aligned with me feels completely fine, because I know I’m opening the space for something else that’s going to be in alignment with my vision of myself. Not to say that this is now my natural state of being, it requires intentional practice and focus, but I am definitely in that space more often than not, and moving forward with that awareness in mind.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think what might be challenging for non-creatives to understand is a concept of putting a value on an idea. It’s such an abstract thing, but us creatives live off of ideas and monetizing them. The other thing that follows along is the hours spent working as a creative. We don’t have a 9 to 5 usually, nor a week split into a work week and a weekend. Every day can be a work day or an off day. However, when we work, it’s not only hours spent actually physically doing something. There is so many hours spent “behind the scenes”, in preparation, in thinking, in researching, in brainstorming which are equally important and have value even though they cannot really be measured. What might also be difficult to understand are those times when we are blocked. No inspiration. Nothing coming out. Blockage. It’s hard to force an inspiration, actually I don’t believe it’s possible. I believe the inspiration has to be let in. So sometimes, when feeling blocked, creatives will turn to doing something completely different in order to let that inspiration in, which might look to a non-creative like we’re not really working, we’re procrastinating and just doing some random stuff. And for every individual, that process might look different, because different things work for different people. But creative blockage is a real thing, and it often happens.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.majakeres.com
• Instagram: @majakeresh
• Facebook: Maja Kereš
• Youtube: mkeresh

Image Credits
Chris Singer Eli DiFiore Joanna Paciorek Tina Kadoić