We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maya Billig a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Maya, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
I actually just had this thought the other day. For some backstory, my career as a choreographer and dancer took off pretty immediately after graduating college in 2019. There was a a clear momentum and domino effect as I moved up the ladder from smaller works and films to eventually creating my first evening-length show. Even through the pandemic, this momentum continued.
However, a little while ago, things got a bit quiet. Not completely, but enough to make me worry. I knew that as a freelance artist, there was inevitably going to be moments like this, as we cannot sprint forever. But I didn’t expect it to weigh on my mental health as drastically as it did. I began to truly understand why people would seek something more stable.
But even through this low point, I had an awareness that there is no other way I’d prefer to live my life. The risks and tumultuousness of being an artist is partly what makes it so fulfilling. When I’m comfortable, I’m not thriving. I decided to turn the energy around: I got creative with how I’ll make my next project, I reached out to mentors on how to move forward, and I found new opportunities. Now I’m back in my flow and grateful for the moments where I am forced to slow down and reevaluate my work.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a Miami-based choreographer, director, and dancer; as well as the artistic director and founder of Billy Gee Dance Theatre. A cross between fantasy and poignant reality, my work is rooted in building surreal, hybrid worlds through the medium of dance theater. Before I step into the studio, I have already begun envisioning a particular world for months or even years. Each project begins with a seed where I can see, feel, hear, and even smell the space I want to create: a post-apocalyptic outer space speakeasy, a surrealist Hollywood Western, a 1930’s radio show stuck on a loop. It’s these places, and then the question of “what would humans do here?” I have a fondness for irony, humor, the ridiculous, and art work that suspends us to a place where we are able to reevaluate our beliefs.
My work has been supported by Knight Foundation, Adrienne Arsht Center, Miami Light Project, Locust Projects, and Miami-Dade County to name a few. I was a Jacob’s Pillow Ann & Weston Hicks 2021 Choreographic Fellow and featured in Dance Magazine’s March 2022 Issue of “On The Rise.” My curiosity has taken me to the far corners of the globe and over 30 countries, with my dance films being screened in 5 thus far. I’ve been trained in classical forms, contemporary dance, physical theater, and improvisational techniques throughout the USA, Europe, Israel, and Australia. Sometimes my works are a melting pot of scenes and cultures I’ve witnessed, and sometimes they are nostalgic for a place I haven’t been yet. But when I ask the audience and performers for their trust, I intend on creating a space that is both a safe space and a challenge.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
One of the best parts of my job is that I get to create and be inside of environments that are vulnerable, healing, and hilarious. Inside my work, I get to experience poignant, enlightening moments on a regular basis. This was the main reason I pursued life as a dance artist: I knew what I wanted my days to look like, and it involved being inside that magical space where groups of people come together to share themselves with another, laugh, cry, and surrender in the essence of creation.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn my entire idea of what dance is. Growing up in ballet studios, I had ideas of what a dancer looks like, how it’s taught, and what it looks like to be good at it. And it actually really turned me off from wanting to be in the dance world. But fate would eventually have me called back to it and when I began traveling and studying different forms and approaches, my whole world opened up. Dance is medium, not a product and the best part of any creative journey: you learn to do it your way.
Contact Info:
- Website: mayanadinedance.com
- Instagram: @mayabillig
Image Credits
Brianna Campbell, Enrique Villacreses, Luis Salas, Maya Billig