Molly Lieber is a working mother and artist in Brooklyn, New York. She teaches Dance and Women’s and Gender Studies at CUNY Queens College. Her choreography with Eleanor Smith problematizes objectification through methodology dependent on care. Molly received a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award for Outstanding Performer in 2016. She performs in works by luciana achugar, Malcolm-x Betts, Oren Barnoy, Keely Garfield, Antonio Ramos, Donna Uchizono, and other experimental choreographers. Her project with Wally Cardona, TIMESFOUR/David Gordon: 1975/2025, is one of The New York Times “Best Dance Performances of 2025.” Her collaborative work with Eleanor Smith, Basketball, was listed in The NY Times “Best of New York Dance for 2017.” Molly Lieber and Eleanor Smith received the 2023/2024 Lifeline Award from Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and are the subjects of a chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Dance and Memory. Molly supports families with chestfeeding/breastfeeding as an IBCLC and her research article Queering Lactation won a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 2023 Women’s and Gender Studies Paper and Project Award. She completed her MFA in Dance and Graduate Certificate Degree in Women’s and Gender Studies at UWM with a Distinguished Graduate Student Fellowship and a Florence S. Healy Scholarship.
NB: What advice do you have for readers who are hoping to develop their creative or artistic practice? Is artistic talent innate and/or can it be taught/developed? How important is daily practice? Do you ever get stage fright/camera shy/performance anxiety or have advice about overcoming it?
ML: I think the main thing is just to keep showing up—for yourself, for your art, for your project, and for the work that supports that project. If you run out of stamina one day, leave the project where it is and return to it the next time you have stamina for it. Don’t give up.
NB: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? What is something you wish you knew a decade or two ago?
ML: Believe in the things that matter to you, even if they aren’t receiving recognition at the moment. (Trends go in and out.) Trust your heart, and listen to what matters in the hearts of the people around you.
NB: What are your favorite restaurants, cafes, theaters, bookstores, exhibits, museums, communities, and venues in Queens? Favorite places to perform in Queens?
ML: I love performing at The Chocolate Factory Theater in Queens.
NB: What do you wish more people knew about being a working mother, artist, dancer, and professor? What is something you wish you knew before you became a working mother, artist, dancer, and professor?
ML: Doing a lot doesn’t necessarily take more effort, because systems support each other and harmonize. You don’t have to minimize yourself to one job or label. Sometimes putting the pieces together in your own way creates peace and stability. The multiple pieces inform each other and create meaning through intersections and overlaps.
NB: What is a typical day like for you?
ML: I wake up and get myself presentable with coffee. I pack lunches. I wake up my kids and get them ready for school. I drive Ruby to school and then Gloria. I go to rehearsal, or to see a family to help with breastfeeding/chestfeeding. I drive to Queens College and teach awesome students. Then I drive home and make dinner and relax and chill with my sweet family. Bedtime!
NB: Can you tell us more about teaching Dance and Women’s and Gender Studies at CUNY Queens College?
ML: I really love teaching at Queens College. I am constantly amazed by the students. It really gives me a lot of joy to share ideas and be in dialogue with them.
NB: Can you tell us more about winning the Guggenheim Fellowship? Where were you when you found out, and how has it impacted your life so far? What are you most excited to do with the fellowship?
ML: I was shocked! I was in my car and had to pull over. So far it has impacted my sense of calm, because I feel temporarily affirmed as an artist.
—Nicollette Barsamian
The Local-Express interview series was originated on July 3, 2013 by Nicollette Barsamian.