Sumaya Mulla-Carillo Dances Her Way Into Your Heart

Sumaya Mulla-Carillo is passionate about many things: traveling, baking, sewing, Ruth Badger Ginsberg, financial literacy, and the fact that the Upper East Side apartment she shares with her partner is (in her opinion) far too tiny for her Zoom dance rehearsals.

Under normal circumstances, when she isn't dancing her heart out, you can usually find Sumaya teaching pilates, or advising others on how to save their money in her job as a financial coach.

Movement comes naturally to the 23-year-old. Growing up in California, she participated in a wide array of competitive sports such as gymnastics and track. With supportive parents who encouraged her ambition to follow her dreams from a young age, it's no wonder she's a triple threat.

Despite this, Sumaya didn't start dancing until she was around 14, and didn’t decide she wanted to pursue dance as a career until college.

After graduating from Cornish College with a BFA in dance, Sumaya eventually moved to New York City, where she joined the "Gibney Dance" company.

However, as with most paths to success, no matter how driven you are ambition, is only part of a promising career. The rest is hard work."There's so many people who want to do it as a career," Sumaya says. "If you have talent, that's great, but if you're not willing to work hard as well, then it's just not gonna cut it."

It is truly an experience to watch Sumaya in her element. Her artistry is palpable even through short video clips. Her short black hair moves with her, as she twists and turns to soft classical music. Her toes remain pointed as her kind eyes fill with emotion. Her movements are careful but graceful, full of both meaning and purpose. She's a storyteller through and through both on and off the page. "When [Sumaya’s] invested in something her work ethic is fantastic," says Anna Bjella, a past coworker at the Gibney Dance company. Her current dance company Kinesis Dance Project Theatre focuses on "generating movement in a specific fashion," which she says shows in the way Sumaya dances. Anna appreciates the fact that Sumaya brings this quality to her dance spaces. "I think when you consider the studio to be a specific space that you’re working in and not a generic place that everyone is at, I think it can really change the environment."

Sumaya’s passion for her work is unwavering, therefore it's easy to see why she falls so naturally into the role of a financial coach. It's evident that decision making has always been an enormous part of Sumaya's own life, now she finds joy in helping others with theirs. Sumaya says that although her parents wanted her to do her best in everything, the choices were up to her.

"She was incredibly patient. She did a good job at breaking [things] down and making sure that I was comfortable in talking about money successes that I’ve had but also money failures," says Chrysanthemum Binayug who attended Cornish College with Sumaya and is a past client of hers.

Sumaya initially began her business as a financial coach after finding inspiration through social media. Aside from wanting more freedom and flexibility from her previous job at a non-profit, she wanted to do something she truly enjoyed. "I just wanted to start speaking up and putting my voice out there. Especially in finance, it's so heavily dominated by men, and lacking diversity that I think to hear from a different voice can be refreshing for people."

Sumaya is passionate about helping to teach others in marginalized communities about financial literacy and tries to "tune out" any assumptions people might make about her as a young woman of color. "She sees learning about financial literacy as a way to dismantle wealth gaps and wage gaps and just create more equality" for women, people of color, and queer people. "We're in a system that is not built for marginalized people."

Authenticity and a strong sense of self are traits Sumaya carries. She remains calm and collected. She's confident in her abilities not only to help herself but to also help others on their own journeys. Whether she is coaching people on how to get their finances under control, dancing, or teaching pilates, she wants to make sure that everyone is "getting the same Sumaya." She also believes that you shouldn't have to sacrifice all your passions for just one." I think the overall thing I've learned is that I can do all of it and bring my whole self to everything that I do, so I don't have to be just one thing," she says.

Sumaya recognized she was analytical from a young age. She says that quality has helped her not only with her business but with the business side of being a dancer, such as submitting self-tapes or networking with others in the industry. " I'm always really clear; I'm always really focused and driven," she says. "It's a plus in my world."

Sumaya feels that dance allows her to embody herself in a way that she believes nothing else does." However, that doesn't mean she isn't without doubts. While she feels at "home" being a dancer, she worries she hasn't made the right career choice, "all the time, even 'today.'"

However, inspired by strong women such as her mother "the original creative problem solver," although she may face challenges, Sumaya doesn't feel confined. "I think my favorite piece of advice is 'That you can always pivot.' If something's not working, you always have the power to switch things up and make a change. It just reminds me that I'm never stuck."

Her aspirations are boundless, from wanting to learn to play the piano like her partner, who's a self-taught player and musical theater major. From joining the DBC (a fashion design) program at the University of Chicago, where she honed her love for sewing and helped put on a fashion show, she then used these same skills to create costumes for her dances. It's hard to believe that she has any reservations at all. One thing she's still learning to do: "to slow down." " I'm always trying to do everything at once."

The current coronavirus induced quarantine has partially granted her wish. Apart from dancing in her living room, this experience has helped her to "maintain a wide perspective" and has given her more time to focus less on dancing and more on her business.

Sumaya doesn't seem to plan on "slowing down" for the long term. Once the city's quarantine is lifted, she's more than excited to get back to her regular life. Despite it all, whether she’s on stage, at "the books," or in her apartment, Sumaya Mulla-Carillo finds a way to dance right into your heart.