Maya Milenovic Workman

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Maya Milenovic Workman
Born1959 (age 65–66)
Maribor, Slovenia, Yugoslavia
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Choreographer
  • educator
  • filmmaker
Spouse Reggie Workman (m. 1977)
Children1
Awards Guggenheim Fellowship (2020)

Maya Milenovic Workman (born 1959) is a Slovenian choreographer, educator, and filmmaker based in the United States. A 2020 Guggenheim Fellow, she has worked as artistic director of the Montclair Academy of Dance and Laboratory of Music (MADLOM), which she and her husband Reggie Workman co-founded.

Biography

Maya Milenovic was born in 1959 in Maribor. [1] She went to the London Contemporary Dance School; the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio, [2] where she worked with Cunningham, Ruth Barnes, Chris Komar, and Robert Kovich; [3] and The New School, where she got a Master of Arts degree. [4] In 1977, she met jazz musician Reggie Workman while in Italy; [5] they married in 1985, and they have one daughter. [5]

In a review of Christopher Bannerman's 1985 production "Shadows in the Sun", Jann Parry of The Observer said that Milenovich's "strongly-curving choreography, with its abrupt changes of direction and marked rhythms, was more interesting than the music." [6] 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. [7] [8] She later produced another special needs-themed production, Guernic 2012, funded by the city of Maribor and the Ministry of Culture. [7]

In 1999, she was hired as dance coordinator at the Montclair State University Preparatory Center for the Arts. [2] She and Reggie co-founded the Montclair Academy of Dance and Laboratory of Music, [1] where she has also served as artistic director. [7]

In addition to several collaborations with her MADLOM students, [8] she directed the 2009 documentary Perfect Blend. [9] She wrote and produced Outcry, a 2020 documentary on her husband. [8]

By 1999, she had won the Slovenian Ministry of Culture Choreography Fellowship Award four times. [2] In 2020, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition. [4]

She and Reggie separated in 2005 but have still remained creative partners. [5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Maja Milenović Workman". Choreographers Directory Slovenia. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Forecast '99: Workman to Head MSU Dance Division". Daily Record. 24 January 1999. p. F26. ProQuest   438412245.
  3. ↑ "'Reggie Workman Jazz Night' on Saturday in Montclair". The Montclair Times. p. D16 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 "Maya Workman". Guggenheim Fellowship. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Stieb, Matt (25 May 2020). "Profile: Jazz Musician Reggie Workman Can't Wait to Play: Reggie Workman played with John Coltrane, won a Guggenheim at 82, and is tired of Zoom". New York. ProQuest   2466135265.
  6. ↑ Parry, Jann (15 December 1985). "In search of a fragile Giselle". The Observer. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 Emling, Shelley (19 September 2011). "Maya Milenovic Workman—Empowering Kids With Special Needs". Patch. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 "Maya Milenović Workman". koreografski imenik (in Slovenian). Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  9. ↑ "Perfect Blend Doc". Maya MW Productions. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
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