Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Raeya Cobb. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Raeya, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Being an artist has its ups and downs emotionally but honestly, I wouldn’t trade it for any other occupation. It feeds my soul. It’s funny though because dance is always there for me, but it’s also caused me a lot of internal and external stress. I missed out on a lot of “regular” experiences that someone may have had growing up because I was always at dance rehearsal, church, or I had a performance; while everyone was out being teenagers. I’ve been injured multiple times where I had to sit down in rehearsals or take it easy for a few weeks. I’ve also had teachers who I knew for a fact did not believe in me or didn’t seem to care about my growth as a dancer. I’ve always been a creative person ever since I can remember too. I was more than likely involved in something creative: art classes, chorus, children’s church choir, voice lessons, I played the flute for a hot second, I took gymnastics for one summer, photography, jewelry crafting, and my mom owned a dance studio until 2006. My parents are also artists–my mother is a dancer and visual artist, my father sings and plays bass. My brother used to play the drums as well. They also have “regular” jobs so they aren’t full time artists. I know being who I am was inevitable especially when your immediate family is involved in any medium of art.

I sometimes teeter between the thought of getting a regular 9 to 5 and “quitting” art (you never really quit when you’re passionate about it) but because of my schedule, it’s hard to commit to that and a lot of organizations want people to give their lives to them. I will not be doing that lol. I have that thought because I raised to have a backup plan as an artist. But I always felt that if you have a plan B, you plan to fail. When it comes to dancing, every loss is a lesson, not a failure. That mantra plays in my head often so I won’t get too stressed out. The last time I had the thought of switching lanes was earlier this year, actually. I started researching UX Design, took a few online classes and even registered for ServiceNow, which is a software company. There was a deal to register for ServiceNow for free and I figured “why not?” The things I learned were actually really interesting but currently, I’m not passionate about it and it would take some time to break into the tech industry. So maybe that’s something I’ll really work on in the future if I ever feel ready to fully dive in. I used to make my own myspace pages for myself and for my friends in middle school and took a few computer science classes in high school and college, which I enjoyed. I would have to tap back into that energy.

With that being said: at the time I was taking the online classes and studying, so many gigs and opportunities began pouring in. My calendar was full for half of the year and I’m grateful for that. I truly think the universe wants me to fulfill my passions because every single time I want to switch up, I get a call or email for an opportunity that doesn’t allow me to have a 9 to 5 or even think to look at job applications. Even when a gig falls through, a few more are always lined up so I’m never really worried anymore. I’ve learned to surrender to the ebbs and flows of my lifestyle which has helped me stay level headed so much. I do all of this without an agent or manager, so managing my time wisely and staying organized is something that is always on my mind.

Currently in the winter, the industry is a bit slower so that gives me time to reflect, replenish, and refocus on things that may have been neglected from having such a full schedule. This is the time where the “should i get a 9 to 5?” question pops up. As a dancer, I need to move around a lot or I get anxious and I start overthinking my life and slowing down can be difficult. Slowing down gives me time to study folk herbalism, which is also something I love. I am fully embracing that I am a healer so I take this time to study herbs and their medicinal and spiritual uses. I make different things for my loved ones and myself because I value being able to know how to heal yourself. Herbal alchemy is so amazing! Herbs and plants also teach me that growth is different every season, and it happens for a reason. Our bodies naturally want to slow down when the weather changes and I follow that. This allows me to focus and truly tap into other things I love to do outside of dancing, which makes me happy and helps me stay grounded.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I started dancing at my mom’s dance studio she co-owned, RJV School of Dance. I didn’t fall in love with the art form until I was around 12 or 13 years old. I always had an interest in it before that though. I grew up watching music videos every single day on 106 and Park, TRL, and MTV, and I would learn the choreography from different music videos by myself or with my best friends. I also wanted to be a Fly Girl because I grew up watching In Living Color. I knew that pursuing dance was possible, I just needed to figure out where to start so I joined a local studio and different pre-professional companies over the years, and blossomed from there. I was also a dance minor in college. I’m in the process of offering private lessons, because it’s been requested so feel free to DM me on instagram or email me and we can chat about your goals! I am also available to choreograph or work on movement direction for music artists. I love educating and showing people their strengths as a dancer and being a form of support to them. My favorite thing about being a dancer is bringing music to life and the overall feeling I get when I dance. People who don’t dance have told me I helped them hear certain things in the music that they didn’t hear before seeing me perform. I want people to know that movement is for everyone and you don’t have to pursue dance as a career to be a successful artist.

For herbalism and jewelry inquiries, I have a business that was a pandemic project, Amulets + Alchemy, where our mission is to provide botanica services, products, and information about crystal jewelry, holistic herbs, and Black spirituality. I’m proud of myself for finally getting this off the ground because it’s been an idea for years because people would always ask me where I got my wire wrapped crystals from. I applied to a DC creative entrepreneurship program, 202Creates, on a whim (I totally forgot I did lol), presented this idea and to my surprise, I was chosen to be a member of the Spring 2021 cohort. It helped me feel confident in presenting my ideas and learning more about being a smart entrepreneur as well. At some point I want to take on metalsmithing and have a small team to help fulfill orders. I was doing everything in my apartment by hand on my own, which I enjoyed, but it sometimes got overwhelming (not too much because I’m pretty organized) when a lot of orders started rolling in. I did all of this without a website!

People are sometimes weird when it comes to Black spirituality and holistic health (especially growing up in a Christian church). While I did lose friends and noticed weird vibes from certain people once I stepped into this path, I gained soooo much more. I was able to connect with a lot of amazing artists, connect with myself, and also pay my rent because of the research and work I was doing. I’m super grateful for everyone who has supported and affirmed me for my gifts. I’ve always been a healer and folk herbalist and those that truly know me, are aware of this. My great grandmothers were folk herbalists so this was something that came naturally, although I still do the necessary research since there is an art and science to it. Herbs are not one size fits all, contrary to popular belief. I want to eventually study clinical herbalism to fully help people address health issues that can be solved holistically. For now, I offer different tinctures and oxymels to the people closest to me and give them in depth details about how they work and what their benefits are.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I am not ignoring you when I don’t respond to messages within an hour! I have limited free time depending on my schedule. I am only one person and I will respond to you when I have the capacity. I deeply appreciate those who respect and understand that boundary. I’m always interacting with people for work (via phone, email/DM, and text) and I require time to myself, every single day. People also lean on me for support so I’m also the therapist friend sometimes. I have a few leadership roles that I take on as well, so I’m always in conversation with people who are inspired by me. On performance days/weekends, you will most likely not hear much from me because there’s so many things that go into it. Tech rehearsals, plans changing at the last minute, the commute, finding time to eat, taking care of my body, staying present with those around me, and mentally preparing to put on a great show for supporters. It’s not me stepping into the space, dancing, then leaving. I am not ignoring you on purpose or forgetting about you, I just need space and time to maintain my autonomy before anything else on this journey.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Pay us the rate that we are requesting and show up for us! It’s wild that a lot of dancers can be costumed in designer clothing, but when I go to social media there’s conversations my friends are having about how it takes months for a payment to be sent from a well known company. Crediting us in our work is another way to support. I’ve seen posts on instagram where the entire production crew, down to craft services, are tagged but there is nothing to show for the dancers. Dancers literally bring music to life, promote brands, and we are a big reason as to why a lot of popular songs are successful. We deserve so much better and we also have to treat our brands like a business to be taken seriously. Showing up for us outside of our career as well. We’re humans that have needs outside of what we do. If you have the means, pay for a massage, treat us to lunch or dinner, share/repost our work, come to our classes and performances, etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AmuletsandAlchemyCo
• Instagram: @theonlyraeya
• Other: Plenty of people have requested jewelry orders via DM or email, so if you’re interested just hit me up on instagram or email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Studio Diana, The Roman Creative, Jason King, Donovan Green