Today we’d like to introduce you to Maxine Lyle.
Hi Maxine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My journey as an artist began as a young girl in Newark, NJ. As the youngest of three growing up in a low-income Jamaican household, the African American art form known as “step” was one of my only creative outlets and means to find a sense of belonging.
The ability to generate rhythms with my little hands and feet and make unified sounds with my peers was intoxicating. After that first magical taste of step, my interest in the art form grew when I went on to college and co-founded Sankofa, the first and only step team, at Williams College. Nestled in the mountains of Western Massachusetts, Williams, a predominantly white institution, looked and sounded very different than the hip-hop, house, and reggae-infused streets of Newark. Step was a way for me and my peers to bring the cultural soundscape of home and this time-honored Black tradition to our college community.
During those formative years, I learned that step could function not only as a form of expression but also as a cultural bridge. My experience was the impetus for me to create Soul Steps, LLC, in 2005, a few years after graduation. Soul Steps, based in the New York-New Jersey region, is one of only a handful of professional step companies in the world. For almost twenty years Soul Steps has performed and taught everywhere from Brooklyn to Paris. It is now my life’s work and passion to engage people of all ages in the dynamic history and cultural legacy of step and embrace the art form to help foster community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When my journey with Soul Steps was just beginning, the biggest obstacle was getting dance studios and institutions to understand that step belonged within the cannon.
We used to get shut out of studios in Manhattan that weren’t prepared to rent space to a loudly percussive dance ensemble. They would either ask us to step without shoes on so we didn’t disturb other renters (which is like asking a ballet dancer to go without ballet shoes), or they would refuse to rent to us unless we booked their most expensive soundproof studios.
Another challenge in the beginning was finding dancers who were willing to pioneer and embrace step as a profession (a novel idea at the time). Through networking, I was able to overcome that obstacle and find a great community of artists who have worked alongside me for years and are committed to spreading the culture of step.
In this current season, my struggle as a Black female artist is two-fold: I work daily to push past the resistance from people in the industry who try to discourage me from wearing so many hats. While my male counterparts are celebrated for all the hats they juggle, I am often told I should be doing less. Thankfully, I’m a stubborn woman and I continue to proudly exercise the many gifts at my disposal to live out my calling and help others do the same.
The second greatest obstacle in this current season is finding ongoing financial support to keep my projects alive. The development of my original production, Step Show: The Musical, has been particularly difficult. Typically, when theatrical projects are being developed, at some point in the process a lead producer, investor, or theater partners with the creative team to provide resources and get them across the finish line. While we have been blessed with tremendous support from institutions that believe in us and have opened their stages and studios to us, we have often had to be our own wind and find our own resources to keep going in between those larger opportunities.
It is in the quieter moments that a dream can sometimes die, which is why keeping the momentum going with this work until we find long-term investors has been so critical. For my team, this has looked like organizing small fundraisers to pay artists, gathering in someone’s kitchen to record music, or meeting on Zoom to read lines because we lack rehearsal space. Despite it all, my team and I are tough and we have grit. The obstacles are very real, but they have not and will not stop us from reaching our goals and continuing to make our impact on the world.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am the Founder and Artistic Director of Soul Steps, LLC, a professional step dance company dedicated to performing and teaching audiences all over the world about the African American dance tradition known as step and creating avenues for cultural exchange and awareness among diverse communities. We bring step into schools and partner with local organizations to teach young people about leadership, teamwork, and community building.
In addition to my work as a performer and teaching artist, I am working with my team to develop a new musical titled, Step Show: The Musical to produce as a commercial theater piece on Broadway or beyond. I proudly carry the multi-hyphenated title of writer, choreographer, composer, lyricist, and producer on this work. The show is a fictional piece that celebrates step on college campuses and journeys with a female protagonist who seeks to find a place for herself in the world and carry forward her family legacy through step.
I am proud and grateful that my artistry is multi-faceted, but what I most treasure has been my impact on the world through these gifts. What sets me apart is that for over twenty years I have pushed the boundaries of step beyond the traditional college environment into a professional market, and I have embraced step’s transformative power to amplify voices and stories that often go unheard in the classroom, the studio, the stage, and local community.
In a world becoming increasingly divided I take pride in bringing people together through a physical medium that supersedes the barriers of verbal language and promotes unity as well as social and emotional growth.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
I enjoy The Mel Robbins Podcast which keeps me mentally grounded, the Bible App which keeps me spiritually grounded, and NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast which gives me my fun fill of the latest in entertainment.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.soulsteps.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/soulstepsllc
Image Credits
Lou Jones, Nicole Pilek, and Berkshire Pulse
