Artist Spotlight: Naliyah "Nai Thaillnai" Williams

"Anyone can do a move, but you have to make it yours." - Nai Thaillnai

Meet Naliyah Williams, also known as “Nai Thaillnai (The-ILL-Nye)”. One of Bay Area Creative’s own teaching artists, she is captivating in ways beyond the dancing she is known for; lying beneath the surface of motion, a mosiac of different art practices power her each move.

Alabama-born and raised in Oakland, California, Thaillnai has always been a dancer at heart; in her own words, “I have been dancing for as long as I can remember - before I could even walk.” Her passion for dance led her to an interest in music, where Thaillnai discovered a newfound love for singing; her voice became her new paintbrush, gliding across the canvases of Alternative, R&B, and Rhythmic Flowetry. Here, she began to understand the intersectionality of art as songs revealed themselves as poems, which ultimately influenced her multi-faceted approach to creative expression.

Thaillnai’s exposure to art growing up was abundant; her mother is an artist herself, having dabbled in the fields of fashion, photography, and cosmetology. Throughout middle school, Thaillnai participated in an afterschool dance program, Ebayc, while also exceeding in her school district’s poetry competitions; by the 8th grade, she was the 1st place finalist in the MLK Oratorical Festival.

Despite this, however, it wasn’t until her high school FADA (fashion, art, design, and animation) program did she begin to focus on art more seriously. This was also when Thaillnai joined the Oakland Tech Bullets, a dance group led by Kale Woods. Honing her craft with this crew, a major door opened when she was presented with the opportunity to perform on “Bring It!” - a reality television series on majorette dance, or a “high-energy style that mixes hip-hop, jazz, ballet, and West African dance,” as Thaillnai describes it. Representing Oakland, Thaillnai and her crew, Heat Dance Line, brought home a second-place trophy that remains in her youth dance studio as a marker of the milestone that launched her career. Despite the award, Thaillnai asserts that the true prize is her newfound bond with the dance group, whom she adopted as sisters in the process. In her own words, “My wins should not come from their syllabus”; she was doing what she loved with the people she loved - and ultimately, what is the sanctity of art if not the effect it has on the heart? 

"My wins should not come from their syllabus."

After her time with the Oakland Tech Bullets, she joined Stephon Mill’s Urban Progidy Entertainment where she trained with Corey Action. This mentorship allowed for further networking, placing her in youth teaching positions and event performances, including DAM Fest, First Friday, and Black Joy Pride. Thaillnai remains a member with Urban Prodigy today.

Though she reflects on her past dance experiences with gratitude, Thaillnai’s hunger for further artistic development remains to be satiated. Her past with movement, music, contemporary art, and spoken word performances are now guiding forces as she continues her journey as a teaching artist with Bay Area Creative. When she’s not mentoring young creatives on the techniques of painting/muraling or dance, she’s working on personal projects. She recently celebrated the release of her first EP, “369,” which blends R&B, poetry, and rap to establish a sound unique to her. “369” works through the emotional turmoil Thaillnai experienced at the time of its creation, crediting artists such as SZA, Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, and her mentor, Stephon Mills, as inspiration. Her EP is now available for streaming across all platforms.

According to Thaillnai, “Dance can really change the world.” She recognizes her family, especially her mother and brother for their undying support, and their refusal to allow her to quit. As a fellow dancer, her brother’s courage to perform with high energy inspire Thaillnai’s own dedication to putting herself out there, a trait she greatly admires from the artists in her life; she hopes to encourage others to do the same through her own work.

Extensive and expanding still, Thaillnai’s repertoire of artistic skills is a home-grown example of the symbiotic relationship between art and the artist, between body and movement, between rhythm and word, between pen and paper. Welcoming the flow that connects our environment to the body and mind, she channels creative energy into a new form of being. Through this, she illustrates how one changes the world only if they allow themselves to be changed by it; because “anyone can do a move, but you have to make it yours” - Nai Thaillnai.

"Dance can really change the world." - Naliyah Nai Thaillnai Williams