Video by Dave Jaranilla
On March 23 at the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater, Marrow Dance, a brand-new dance company from Artistic Directors Jason Gorman and Nicole Hogg, will present Ghosts, the company’s first full-length performance.
The show will feature 16 hand-selected dancers, incorporating live performance with video projection and state-of-the-art lighting, creating an experience that Gorman and Hogg say aims to “engage the viewer by dissecting the human condition through the use of intricate gestural movement and dynamic musicality.”
Hogg is a graduate of CSULB’s Dance program and works as a dance teacher all over Southern California. Jason has been dancing professionally since he was 16 and toured the world for over 10 years with Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance. He’s also a veteran and ongoing member of several local dance companies, including Long Beach’s own RhetOracle Dance. In addition to running Marrow, Gorman also teaches dance at multiple venues, including Elevation Studios, where Marrow reherses.
Left to right: Robert Prescott Lee, owner of Elevation Studios; Nicole Hogg and Jason Gorman, Marrow Dance Artistic Directors. All photos by Shelby Dereszynski.
So, I guess I thought we’d start with a question that’s been bouncing around in my head. You’ve both been involved, and still are involved, with a great dance group, and had some creative freedom working there. What, then, was the impetus for creating your own group?
Jason: Just to be clear, Nicole is not in RhetOracle, only I am.
Nicole: Jason and I have been teaching together for the past five years and have always dreamed of starting our own company together. Between our two classes we created a following of dancers who really understand our choreography and movement style, and decided it was time to put our work out there in a full length show.
What is it that differentiates your choreography and movement style?
J: My movement is very gestural and story based, something I am still developing and refining. Nicole’s movement is very dynamic musically as well as technically demanding. The marriage of our styles is ideal with Nicole’s choreography filling the blanks in my choreography and vice versa. If you had to label our choreography style I would say we fall in the contemporary category.
Can you give me a specific example of this marriage, in a way that non-dancers might understand?
J: A good example of this would be the way Nicole and I work in a rehearsal setting. We come prepared with our own individual phrases of movement, teach the dancers the choreography and then layer them with staging and arrangement.
Can you discuss how Ghosts evolved? What was the origin of the piece, and how did it come into being? Is it an assemblage of smaller works, or was it conceived as a whole?
N: Jason approached me with an idea for the Ghosts show and together we created a more elaborate storyline over a series of conversations we had. I had done a piece last year called “Blindsided” that he was very inspired by and from that piece we began to create other works. From there, we picked music that fit the storyline and the show became Ghosts.
What is the narrative?
J: Ghosts is a love story centered around a wife, a husband and his mistress. The wife is unaware of his indiscretion while she is alive, but after her untimely death and becoming a ghost she discovers the truth about her husband’s secret affair. The narrative deals with the concepts of grief, anger, betrayal and ultimately forgiveness and acceptance.
What role did collaboration with the performers play as part of the development of the choreography?
N: We are really blessed to be working with sixteen amazing artists on this project. Collaboration is inevitable in our company setting and when working in a room filled with such creative dancers there is always inspiration being drawn from each other.
Was the choreography changed as a result of that collaborative spirit, or was the choreography developed through that collaboration.
J: I think it was more of a developmental process in regards to collaboration. Sometimes we would try something, step back and say “that’s not right” and instead of forcing the moment, turn the decision over to the individual artist on how to proceed based on their instincts in regards to their role in the show. Our artists are very intuitive with Nicole and I and are always respectful of our vision.
Can you talk a bit about what music you chose, and why?
N: We chose music that fit the story line of our show. Music is extremely important to Jason and I and it is the driving force behind the idea of the show. The songs we are using have strong lyrics that convey the very essence of each particular piece and the music choices along with the dancers performance will establish an emotional connection for the audience members. Connecting emotionally is what leads people to having a human experience, which is our goal anytime Marrow performs.
Can you give me a specific example?
J: It’s really the lyrics enhanced by the movement that is the driving force of the story for Nicole and I. For example, in the number “Christmas Past” the last line of the song goes, “Don’t go telling me lies love. Tell me the truth love. Tell me the truth love.” The audience is introduced to the conflict of the story here as well as introduced to the character of the mistress for the first time.
How did you go about searching for the music? Were these all songs you knew, or did you have to search for them and, if so, how?
J: Some songs were agreed upon from the inception of the show and some have evolved over the process. Nicole and I are always discovering new music and sharing it with each other. I would send her songs and say, “what do you think about this?” and she would send me back her thoughts and maybe some other options. The music has always been an evolving process, however there are still those original pieces that have stuck with us over time.
How will the show be funded?
J: Our Kickstarter campaign is a great way for people to get involved with funding. Putting on a show of this caliber is an expensive endeavor but with the help of our patrons it is completely possible. Funds raised will go directly to the theater rental, lighting and projection elements, costumes and most importantly artist reimbursement.
How far will ticket sales, assuming that it sells out, go to cover those costs?
J: Ticket sales will also be directly invested in all of the afore mentioned elements. Nicole and I will not be making a personal profit from this particular performance as it is our first project together. Paying our dancers and crew a fair rate is more important to us.
So, assuming that the show sells out, how much more will you need to cover all those costs?
J: In total we need around $11,000 to successfully put on this show and pay the dancers; $7,000 would come from from the Kickstarter if it’s successfully funded, and the rest from a sold out house (hopefully).
{gallery}sander/marrow{/gallery}
Marrow’s preview show at Elevation Studios
—
Marrow’s Ghosts will play for one night only on March 23, 2013 at the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater in Long Beach, CA.
Tickets are now on sale and going fast; click here to purchase yours.
To support Marrow Dance, join Team Marrow by donating to the Ghosts Kickstarter.
{FG_GEOMAP [33.78835027134162,-118.11285455863646] FG_GEOMAP}