Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance

Maxine Montilus is a native of Brooklyn, New York and a first-generation Haitian-American. Maxine has a B.F.A. in Modern Dance Performance from The University of the Arts, an M.A. in Arts Management from City University London, an M.A. in Dance Education from Hunter College via the Lincoln Center Scholars program, and an M.F.A. in Dance from Hunter College as well. She has also had the opportunity to study Afro Cuban dance and culture through the annual “Dog Aguas” program founded by Danys “La Mora” Perez from 2010-2012, which took
her to Havana, Matanzas and Santiago de Cuba; and has studied Afro-Haitian dance with various master teachers, such as Nadia Dieudonné, Adia Whitaker, Peniel Guerrier and Julio Jean. In 2018, she received the Jerome Foundation’s Travel and Study Grant to participate in Dieufel Lamisere’s program Vinn Pran Baget in Cap Haitien, Haiti to further her study of Haitian Folkloric dance.

Maxine is a 2014 EMERGENYC artist with New York University’s Hemispheric Institute for Performance and Politics. As a dancer, Maxine has performed with Ase Dance Theatre Collective, Balasole Dance Company, KaNu Dance Theater, Kriyol Dance Collective and Tamara LaDonna Moving Spirits. Maxine performed with SpeakDance Collective in the Festival of Art and Folklore in Santiago de Cuba in April 2016. She was featured in the theatrical production “La Sirene: Rutas de Azucar” produced by Lukumi Arts in December 2016 at JACK Art Space, and in February 2017 at HERE Arts Center. She also performed in Jean Claude Eugene’s production “Zatrap: HaitiTrauma” at The Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland in
October 2017 and at the Queens Museum Theatre in May 2018.

As a choreographer, Maxine has presented work at various institutions, including The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, and Harlem School for the Arts with Haiti Cultural Exchange for their annual Selebrasyon Festival. Maxine is also a member of Dance Caribbean COLLECTIVE, through which she has presented choreography in their annual New Traditions Showcase from 2015-2017. In 2014, she choreographed BallyBeg
Production's third play and Equity-approved showcase, "The Taste of It", and was a 2015 nominee for Outstanding Choreography/Movement in The New York Innovative Theater Awards for her work in the production. In 2017, Maxine served as an Afro-Cuban/Haitian Folklore consultant for Camille Brown in her work for the Broadway musical “Once On This Island.” Maxine was also the choreographer for Opera Orlando’s presentations of George Bizet’s “Carmen” (April 2021), “The Secret River” (December 2021), and “The Magic Flute” (October 2022). All three productions made their premieres at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

In 2019, Maxine founded MV Dance Project, a dance company that aims to be of service to others through public performances and dance education programming. In June 2019, the company performed its first evening-length production “Strength in Spirit” at Brooklyn Studios for Dance.