Maya Milenovic Workman (born 1959) is a Slovenian choreographer, educator, and filmmaker based in the United States. A 2020

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

, she has worked as artistic director of the Montclair Academy of Dance and Laboratory of Music (MADLOM), which she and her husband

Reggie Workman Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey, in addition to Alice Coltrane, Mal Waldron, Max Roach, Archie Shepp, Tri ...

co-founded.

Biography

Maya Milenovic was born in 1959 in

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

. She went to the

London Contemporary Dance School London Contemporary Dance School (informally LCDS) is a contemporary dance school located in London, England. Previously part of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, since 2022 LCDS has been independently registered with the Office for Stud ...

; the

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

Dance Studio, where she worked with Cunningham, Ruth Barnes, Chris Komar, and Robert Kovich; and

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

, where she got a Master of Arts degree. In 1977, she met jazz musician

while in Italy; they married in 1985, and they have one daughter. In a review of Christopher Bannerman's 1985 production "Shadows in the Sun",

Jann Parry Jann Parry is a British ballet critic and writer. She was ballet critic of ''The Observer'' from 1983 to 2004. Her biography, ''Different Drummer: a Life of Kenneth MacMillan'', was the Society for Theatre Research’s book of the year in 2010 ...

of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' said that Milenovich's "strongly-curving choreography, with its abrupt changes of direction and marked rhythms, was more interesting than the music." In 2011, her production ''I Hear With My Eyes'', which she dedicated to her deaf brother, made its premiere at the Maribor Slovene National Theatre. She later produced another special needs-themed production, ''Guernic 2012'', funded by the city of Maribor and the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

. In 1999, she was hired as dance coordinator at the

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...

Preparatory Center for the Arts. She and Reggie co-founded the Montclair Academy of Dance and Laboratory of Music, where she has also served as artistic director. In addition to several collaborations with her MADLOM students, she directed the 2009 documentary ''Perfect Blend''. She wrote and produced ''Outcry'', a 2020 documentary on her husband. By 1999, she had won the Slovenian Ministry of Culture Choreography Fellowship Award four times. In 2020, she was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in Music Composition. She and Reggie separated in 2005 but have still remained creative partners.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Workman, Maya Milenovic 1959 births Living people Slovenian choreographers Slovenian women choreographers American choreographers American women choreographers Slovenian documentary filmmakers Slovenian film producers Slovenian film directors Slovenian women film directors Slovenian screenwriters Slovenian women screenwriters American documentary filmmakers Film producers from New Jersey American women film producers Film directors from New Jersey American women film directors 21st-century American screenwriters Screenwriters from New Jersey American women screenwriters Slovenian expatriates in the United States Artists from Maribor Entertainers from Montclair, New Jersey American artistic directors The New School alumni