Celebrate the winter season at Dance Place, December 12, 13, and 14 with our next Artist Advisory Council Member Activation Marcus Isaiah’s NOËL. Marcus Isaiah, creative director of All Hail the Creatives, blends dance and music against the enchanting backdrop of the holidays, weaving a story that entertains while honoring themes of generosity, togetherness and celebration.
As part of our Artist Advisory Council Interview series, Dance Place’s Audience and Community Engagement Apprentice, Juliana Pironti, sat down with Marcus Isaiah to explore all the warmth, whimsy, and joy of NOËL and beyond.
Hi, Marcus, Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Marcus Isaiah. I’m a Washington, D.C. native: raised in PG County, but born in D.C. I’ve been dancing since I was about 12 years old. I’ve been choreographing since I was around 15, and I’ve been a director, creative director, artistic director, for about 10 years now.
You wear many hats: dancer, choreographer, designer, creative director, all these elements. How do you balance all those roles, and how do they interact with each other in your creative process?
How do I balance them all? That’s a good question because, honestly, I don’t think I do. I haven’t found mastery in balance, but I can say I’ve found harmony. They all have an interesting relationship with each other, and I use each skill in everything I do, whether I’m choreographing a show, designing a house, or working on a project.
I’m also a full-time project manager and I work in operations, which is a huge asset to the creative work. A lot of creatives, dancers, singers, artists, live on the creative side of the brain, but the administrative part is also creative to me: finding words to solve problems, communicating, the hospitality of it all.
So for me, the harmony, and honestly the humanity, comes first. And I like the word service. I think I’m a servant, in quotes. I’m here to serve, help, support. not just to grow in my craft, but to help others grow in theirs.
Take dance, for example: choreography, teaching, directing, producing a show. You have to learn in the weeds. You have to learn how to communicate with lighting designers, costume personnel, front of house, back of house, everyone. The humanity piece comes first. Being a servant helps keep everything in sync.
Yeah, that makes so much sense. I think a lot of dancers I’ve interacted with, including myself sometimes, became dancers because we don’t like talking or don’t like talking to people. But at the end of the day, it is for people, right?
Exactly. And it’s not for everyone. Being verbal as a dancer can feel strange. But dancers are still human. Some of us get stuck in the body—being a vessel—and don’t know how to explain verbally what we’re experiencing physically.
Not everyone will master that, but I think it’s a practice dancers, and people in general, should work on. Knowing how to speak, ask questions, give and receive feedback, think from your perspective and the audience’s perspective. It’s a two-way street.
You mentioned you have a collaborator for this show, and I’m curious how that process works. Do you ever feel moments of frustration, like, “If I was just doing this myself, I’d have such a clear vision,” versus having to consider someone else’s perspective?
It’s a combination of both. My co-director is Erica Conway, beautiful woman, beautiful person, amazing creative. We’ve been working together for 10 years. Not specifically on NOËL, NOËL is only two years old, but through our dance school, the Conway Academy.
It feels like an assignment. Like we were assigned to each other. We finish each other’s sentences. We know what the other is thinking. It’s a duet that works without a lot of effort… until the effort is needed. When we clash, we go back to the vision, the seed of the work, and figure out how to navigate frustrations, disagreements, or even what goes unsaid.
Someone told me recently: “Tables don’t turn, people change seats.”
You can switch your seat. You can walk away. Or you can stay and deal with the meal at the table. Sometimes you switch your seat and then come right back to the head of the table.
I love working with Erica because our heart postures are right. We’re willing to work through the hard parts so we come out more resilient. And creatively, it’s God-given. It feels like an assignment, like we know what we’re here to do. Not every dancer or creative gets that kind of partnership. So it’s special.
That’s so beautiful. Shifting a bit, I want to talk more about NOËL. On your website, I loved the analogy of dance as a tapestry, weaving stories of human experience. How does NOËL fit into that? What can audiences expect to take away?
NOËL was birthed from the beauty of winter. We do a lot of cultural work that shows our differences, which is beautiful, but winter is something we all have in common. I wanted to create something that captures that through dance, music, and the holiday season without making it strictly about Santa, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, etc. Something universal, but still with that sense of tradition—especially in the Black community.
Winter has this light and this transition. Things die, but there’s joy, generosity, togetherness, nostalgia, the newness of a coming year. NOËL is a place, but she’s also a person, a bit of humanity and a bit of fantasy. It’s about hope, faith, remembering the past, being in the present, and preparing for the future.
NOËL was presented for the first time last year at Dance Place. How has it shifted this year? Any new elements you’re excited to explore?
This year’s goal is expanding the storytelling. More ideas. One major theme is toys, childlike playfulness. We’re also including the element of gift-giving, physically giving something from the heart.
The talent has grown tremendously. So many dancers auditioned. Narrowing the cast was challenging because the talent is just so good. And that’s part of why NOËL exists: to give DMV dancers performance opportunities no matter their studio, school or company.
I’m also excited about the repetition. Like The Nutcracker, Debbie Allen’s Hot Chocolate Nutcracker, Black Nativity, we wanted to build our own tradition from scratch. Something innovative and fresh for a new generation while holding onto traditional values.
I love that. And Dance Place’s theme this year is Home is Coming. How does “home” resonate with you and with NOËL? And how has Dance Place been more than just a host for you?
Whew. Loaded question. It actually makes me emotional.
As an artist, you work so hard to become good at your discipline, and then you work to create spaces for others. And when a venue creates space for you? That hits deep.
I never thought I’d get here, especially as a Black man. It didn’t feel like those doors were open. And then somehow, a door opened. Or I broke one down. I still don’t know. But I’m grateful.
Dance Place has been a home. Not just to me, but to everyone connected to me. That’s the emotional part. It’s like they saw something in me and helped make the impossible possible.
Home isn’t just a physical space. Physical things come and go. Home is where your heart is, your values, your grounding. Even if I never present at Dance Place again, it has been a hub, a home, something I’ll carry.
Especially in times like this. We get caught in ego as artists, “my story, my vision”, and yes, that matters. But it’s more than that. And Dance Place brings us back to the why.
And you’re a member of the Artist Advisory Council this year. What does that role mean to you?
Honestly, it’s a space where I can listen. I do a lot of talking in my position now. It’s nice to sit with other people who are also leaders and just listen.
I have a lot of ideas, knowledge, experience, and that’s why they asked me to be part of the council. But it’s also great to receive counsel. Because once people look up to you, who do you look to?
Being among leaders across so many styles is inspiring. We get to support each other, go to each other’s shows, share ideas, and pour into one another. And Dance Place’s team truly cares. You don’t find that often.
Thresholds feels meaningful. It’s pushing forward what dance needs to feel like, while we’re also working on what it needs to look like. And that starts with heart.