Mai-Angel Martis: Scholar, artist, athlete - dances toward her dreams

GREAT BAY--On Saturday, December 6, 2025, 16 year old dancer Mai-Angel Martis will be, hosting a fundraising soup sale in Cay Hill to help finance her trip to the Dance Excellence international program in Los Angeles. From 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Gibbs Residence, Tiger Road #23, just down the street from Kooyman and Premiere supermarket, supporters can enjoy a warm, family atmosphere, a variety of homemade soups, and the chance to invest in one of St. Maarten’s rising cultural ambassadors. On the menu are chicken soup, pigtail soup, oyster soup, conch and dumpling soup, and crab and dumpling soup, served with bread or Johnny cakes, along with information about Mai-Angel’s journey and how every bowl sold contributes to her travel, training, and accommodation costs for Dance Excellence and other arts opportunities.

She also has a leading role in the final showing of Indisu Dance Theater's "Chocolate Nutcracker" musical this Saturday and Sunday at the Cultural Center in Philipsburg.

Now about this amazing young person....

For those who do not yet know her, Mai-Angel introduces herself as “a scholar, artist and athlete.” She is 16 years old and takes her academics very seriously. She is a member of the National Junior Honor Society, which calls her to demonstrate scholarship, leadership, service, and good character every day. She is active in service clubs such as Rotary Interact and the St. Maarten Promoting Young Ambassadors Foundation. In the arts, she is a dancer, singer, and musician; in sports, she plays varsity volleyball and has represented her school in swim and track meets. Altogether, she describes herself as a driven and passionate student who loves to challenge herself in the classroom, on stage, and on the court.

Her journey in the arts began very early. Around two and a half years old, she joined the Indisu Dance Theater of St. Maarten and the Philipsburg Methodist Church Children’s Choir. Around age three, she became one of the very young readers on “The Kids’ Place” radio program on SOS Radio 95.9 FM. She sees those experiences as the place where her love for entertaining and performing truly began. As she grew older, she added more art forms. She started gymnastics at age five, joined her school’s drum band, experimented with instruments like the trumpet and piano, and later became a vocalist with the Philipsburg Methodist Youth Band. At just 10 years old, she launched her own dance and sportswear brand, Mai Mode, so she could express herself through what she wore to dance class and athletic training.

Dance shifted from “just fun” to something serious when she realized her talent could represent St. Maarten and open doors internationally. A major turning point came when she advanced into the competitive gymnastics class and was selected to represent St. Martin in Guadeloupe, where she won gold for her floor routine by incorporating cultural dance elements from home. That experience showed her that her art could carry her island’s culture with it. Over time she performed at national events such as St. Martin Day, Flag Day, and Emancipation Day and traveled for gymnastics and dance to Guadeloupe, Martinique, Florida, Los Angeles, and New York. Each trip reinforced her sense that representing her island is both a big responsibility and a deep honor.

On days when school, training, and life feel overwhelming, she leans on a few key motivations. She remembers that younger children are watching her and that she wants them to see that dreams require hard work and discipline. She reminds herself that every rehearsal is a step toward the next major performance or scholarship opportunity. Just as important is the support she receives from her mother, her family, her teachers, coaches, friends, and church community. Once the music starts, she says, everything else fades and she remembers why she loves this path.

Dance Excellence in Los Angeles is the next big chapter. The program is an international dance intensive, competition, and training platform that brings together dance schools from around the world. Dancers take intensive classes in multiple styles with top level teachers and choreographers, perform on professional stages, and learn what it means to work at a world class standard. Mai-Angel has already represented St. Maarten at Dance Excellence with her Indisu Dance Theater family, where the company has earned gold awards for pieces such as “Purple Rain,” “Rush,” “Million Dollar Baby,” and, in 2021, “If They Could See Me Now.”

For her, Dance Excellence means pushing herself to the next level technically and artistically, training with renowned choreographers, and seeing how dancers from other countries work. It also means gaining exposure that would never be possible if she stayed only on the island and, most importantly, walking into every room as a proud cultural ambassador for St. Maarten. At programs like this, she expects to take classes in ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, tap, house, musical theatre, and more. She has seen how dance can create opportunities through scholarships and international networks. At Dance Excellence, many Indisu students have been selected as cast members of Heart Global Outreach Tours, which have taken them to Japan and other countries, giving them the chance to sing, dance, perform, and mentor the next generation of globally connected creatives.

Locally, she notes how the Art Saves Lives Foundation, founded by former professional dancer Nicole de Weever, has provided scholarships to young artists. During an Art Saves Lives intensive, she earned a scholarship from the “Will the World” Content Creation Program in Los Angeles and, while attending Dance Excellence in 2024, she received a one on one session with Jazzston Williams. Experiences like these remind her that Dance Excellence is not just a trip, but part of building a real pathway into the arts.

Los Angeles itself is a source of inspiration. The teachers are often choreographers and dancers who work directly in the industry, so learning from them gives her a realistic sense of what it takes to succeed at that level. The studios are large, professional spaces that feel like movie sets or music video rehearsal halls. The energy of the city is intense; everyone is chasing something, whether in music, dance, or film, and that energy pushes her to work harder. She also loves meeting dancers from other countries. They come from different cultures but share the same language of movement. What excites her most is the idea of bringing that knowledge and energy back to St. Maarten to share with her classmates, her Indisu Dance Theater family, her church, and the younger dancers coming up behind her.

Balancing all of this with school and sports has required real discipline. A typical week starts with school during the day, where she works hard to stay on top of assignments because her grades matter to her. After school, she may have varsity volleyball practice or other athletic training, depending on the season. In the afternoons and evenings, she has rehearsals with the Company of Indisu Dance Theater. On some Thursdays she performs at Topper’s, and on Fridays and Saturdays she has band practice with the Philipsburg Methodist Youth Band. Weekends can also include extra rehearsals, church, cultural performances, and time set aside for fundraising activities and organizing trips such as Dance Excellence.

To keep everything running, she uses a planner and schedules her week, tries to complete assignments early when possible, communicates with her teachers, instructors, and coaches, and relies on her mother, her family, and her support system to help with time management and logistics. She has learned that if you want something badly enough, you have to organize your life around your goals.

The soup sale is one of the first “fun” ways she and her family are raising funds for this journey. A second fundraising effort, which she describes as a surprise that has been a long time in the making, is planned for around the beginning of February 2026, if everything comes together. For the soup sale, people can expect a warm family atmosphere, good food for a good cause, and a variety of soups “prepared with love and Caribbean flavor.” Each bowl served, every ticket purchased, and each donation, she says, helps her access world class training and bigger stages while putting a brighter spotlight on St. Maarten.

To the people of St. Maarten who are considering supporting her, Mai-Angel offers heartfelt thanks in advance. She says their support shows that they believe a young girl from a small island can stand on international stages and shine and that they are investing not just in her, but in the future of arts and culture on St. Maarten. When she travels and performs, she does not go as “just Mai-Angel.” She represents St. Maarten. She carries the island’s flag, culture, stories, and rhythm with her and always tries to bring back what she has learned, whether through performances, helping younger dancers, or simply showing others that it is possible.

“To everyone thinking about supporting me,” she says, “thank you for helping me to dance our island’s name onto bigger stages. I promise to work hard, stay humble, and make you proud.”

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