As part of LA Dance Chronicle’s quest to highlight those in our dance community who are doing interesting and important work just under the radar, I bring you a glimpse into the world of contemporary dance light Mackenzie Martin and her female-centric company Geometry, which is entering its sixth season as part of the LA dance scene. We spoke about Ms. Martin’s dance journey, how she hopes to change the way that contemporary dance is both viewed and experienced, and what charms her about her dancers and community.
Mackenzie Martin grew up in the Midwest as a competition kid, dipped her toe into the college dance scene then decided to pack it all up and move to Los Angeles. She moved out comparatively late, at the age of 24. She laughs and says, “That’s not late now, but like, at the time, I was like, oh, man!” She had a rough start. “I’m in auditions, with like 18 year old’s, you know, I’m trying to get my feet wet. And I didn’t have any contacts out here and, you know, I moved out here without a job, like, packed everything in my car with my partner at the time, and we just kind of were like, let’s go. We’re gonna make this work.”
Mackenzie Martin – Photo by Marissa Mooney
She caught a break when she joined Justine Menter’s company, Flirt. “For me, it was a giant lifeline; getting plugged into a company.” Flirt was a commercial, heels based company, a very sexualized form of dance, “which is funny, because, you know, I’m a contemporary dancer and choreographer.” Ms. Martin is quick to point out her gratitude for the work and the company life. The experience was twofold; while she didn’t find commercial work artistically fulfilling, she found that company life, being part of a specific community of dancers sustained her emotionally. “I mean, even still, even to this day, I have relationships with the dancers that were in that company together.” The realizations led her to form Geometry.
“I started Geometry kind of out of the need for me to find a community that was fulfilling, to kind of fill this artistic void that I had had since moving out here; wanting to use contemporary language as a way to speak to the community, and to provide a space where female identifying movers could come and use their body in a way that wasn’t so objectified.”
Geometry – Full Company – Photo by Marissa Mooney
Over the last several years, Ms. Martin has refined an aesthetic that is feminine in its energy without being sexually promiscuous. It’s not about arousal nor an outside gaze, but of the dancers real grounded experience. I asked what draws her to dancers, beyond simply finding like-minded souls who want to create together.
“It’s not just about dancers who are interested in what I’m doing, although that’s a definite plus.” She laughs and continues, “I think something about a dancer that draws me to them is their ability to get present in their body, which is a lot of what I teach inside of other classes and I have cultivated inside of Geometry.” She talks about a pathway “homebound, meaning inside our bodies.” Once again this is in contrast to much of the commercial dance scene. “A lot of what I’m charmed by are dancers that are really moving from an internal place. And that doesn’t necessarily mean private or shut off, it just means that they’re really grounded in their home body and able to articulate movement that feels really rooted inside of themselves.”
Geometry – Photo by Alyssa Park
The discussion of gender within her belief system and work has evolved as she has matured as both a human and choreographer. “I still feel really strongly about creating spaces where women’s voices are upheld, because they’ve been suppressed or minimized for so long. I feel really strongly about that. But I also feel like the way I view gender expression has really opened up in the last several years, and so any dancer who identifies as female identifying or, maybe more towards, like a neutral line is welcome in my company.” She continues to question herself, her beliefs and her boundaries. “How can I open this up more…being female, or being a woman is very, very broad terminology and like, you can identify in different, you know, components of this or flow through it and out of it and back into it. How can I be more inclusive about that, how that’s represented? I hope that, as Geometry continues to grow, and as dancers land inside Geometry, that [growth] will allow me to continue to maybe push the boundaries and keep expanding upon what we think is women identifying and that is a hope of mine, because it’s something I personally, you know, believe in. I think it’s at the heart of anything I’m doing; really pointing to the empowerment of women. But that means all kinds of women.”
Members of Geometry – Photo by Lexi Colvin
Ms. Martin has clearly tapped into a real need in the community. Her company has grown from a few dancers into a current group of twenty seven, including some in Europe and across the United States. She has taken the opportunities that the pandemic revealed, opening up via Zoom while growing her presence at both conventions and in local performance spaces. She creates on film and just released a new film, SIT ME BACK DOWN which includes dancers she met in person for the first time on set.
Mackenzie Martin – Photo by Marissa Mooney
What is next for Geometry? The company is set up as a for profit, so is not reliant on donations, though “if someone wants to make a donation, and you’re reading this article, I’ll take it and use it!” However, the company is a bit of an outlier. “I set that structure up, because I already had two for profit businesses, and I knew that model really well. And, um, I just think dance should be profitable.” The company has numerous income streams; conventions, classes and a second training company. Ms. Martin is working towards making contemporary dance as profitable as commercial dance. While her first company is currently paid per project, the goal is to create a substantial income for them. “I think my desire for the company is for dancers to leave rehearsals and to leave projects, feeling like they’ve really accomplished something because of a dollar sign that equates the value of what they’re contributing in a way that makes them feel proud.” She continues, “ That’s part of what I want to try to shift and help change and progress forward. It’s just as important as any other style of dance. You see more contemporary dance now in film on television and commercials. There’s just no reason for that, you know, disparaging difference.” With her ambition, constant reassessment, deep curiosity, and a genuine love for the art form, she is well on her way.
To learn more about Geometry, please visit their website.
To learn more about Mackenzie Martin, click HERE.
Written by Nancy Dobbs Owen for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Members of Geometry – Photo by Lexi Colvin
