Today we’d like to introduce you to Martha Brim.
Hi Martha, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, let’s briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I was born in 1954 in Columbus, GA, I grew up spending many hours of my childhood collecting scrap material and crafting under my grandmother’s dining table while she and my mother sewed frilly dresses for my sister and me on the Singer sewing machine. Occasionally we’d be called to stand on top that table in excruciating stillness to ensure every seam was finished, each hem straight. Those moments were imprinted deeply as both my sister and I became artists. Still, those formative occasions of cutting threads and refashioning scraps infuse my brain and body and seem to come out regularly in my work. My formal training as an artist began in visual arts studying painting, collage, fiber arts, and three-dimensional design. But, when I discovered modern dance, I decided to be a choreographer.
Fast forward to 1983, when I began 35 years as a dance professor at Columbia College in South Carolina; there, I nurtured generations of dance students and artists while developing my artistry and supporting the work of other professionals as a presenter.
In 2000 I created The Power Company, initially as a professional dance company. Later PoCo became PoCoCo, The Power Company Collaborative, to emphasize the company’s mission of collaboration and inclusion. At that point, PoCoCo began producing large-scale performance installations co-created with musicians, designers, artists, and communities. I have received numerous commissions, awards, and professional recognitions and have performed and presented work internationally. Engaging communities with exuberant play and thoughtful rigor, I have taught a broad spectrum of populations, from incarcerated youth and adults to public school teachers and students, from senior adults to dance professionals.
I am Distinguished Professor Emerita of Dance, having retired (I prefer the word “graduated”) in 2018. I continue to conduct residencies working as a full-time artist and running The Power Company Collaborative.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I only know people who get to this stage of their artistic career with some rough rides. Those challenging episodes are the most valuable lessons. So many great works of art are inspired by adversity, so I keep that in mind during difficult times; some of the work I am most proud of has come out of some intense struggle and reflection. So embracing struggle is one choice, but I have been told that I am a “glass half full person,” I believe that attitude helps me navigate smooth roads while relying on my creativity to endure the bumps. The old folk tune says, “Keep on the sunny side of life.” Some days/weeks/years are hard, but finding delight is essential to keep going.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a choreographer/performer/teacher/leader who believes everyone dances. How one defines dance is the hurdle they set for themselves. I believe each of us has what it takes to craft our beautifully authentic physical expression. We all do our dance whether we acknowledge it consciously or not. In 2000 I established The Power Company as a professional dance company based on the next mission. “The Power Company believes power can be found in art, dancing, and the spirit of each individual. We hope our name and slogan, ‘The Power Company – moving people,’ embraces the idea of power for all. The Power Company invites you to join us in tapping the most precious source of power: energy and light for the mind and spirit of all people.”
As a founder, I still follow that mission to advance the company artistically and respond to the community. One example of recent work is Singing Wall, which PoCoCo took to the Czech Republic in 2019 and was selected to be featured in the Prague Quadrennial 2019. The proposed concept was in response to all the talk about building a wall on the southern US border. PoCoCo’s solution was to build a wall of energetic serenity on the grounds of the Industrial Palace in Prague. Hard to imagine, I know, but after a year of collaboration with dancers, an architectural designer, and a sound designer, we built a piece that we performed multiple times at PQ2019 and engaged with the audience and PQ participants worldwide.
In this case, and most when talking about a dance, you must be there to experience it. Anyone interested can check out PoCoCo’s social media or website, www.thepowercompanycollaborative.org.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Being a born introvert would hinder someone aspiring to be a performer. But I love what I do and am compelled to push myself to uncomfortable places. Once I am in the discomfort zone, I find that almost everyone else feels the same. It is like an invisible ropes course. We hold onto each other and create a human life raft through connection and play. I call on these three statements daily. “My spine is my tool. Humanity is my material. My process is a serious discipline of play.” Whether I am performing, choreographing, designing an installation/costumes/sets, or teaching, joyful and meaningful human connection is my goal for every project.
As an artist whose work springs from physical experience, I manage multiple roles, from solo performer to community facilitator. I create situations and design spaces to evoke the question, “Who is teaching who?” and design spaces intended to shift hierarchies into horizons. My practice embodies and advocates in two extremes – from the quietest personal moments of listening for the spark of authentic movement to producing environments that generate luminous webs of human engagement.
My choreography has evolved through a developmental flux of revision from a myriad of influences for forty-plus years. Today my work is informed by body/mind and somatic practices, decades of feminist theory, fascination with neuroscience, voice (including a self-taught yodeling practice), and many days of digging in the dirt.
Most recently I have been using embodied movement to interact with and respond to collected, found, and gifted clothing materials. In this process, I see my work as a crusade, unraveling unconscious toxicities and harmful attitudes held in the body. It is a kind of embodied activism.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thepowercompanycollaborative.org
- Instagram: @marthabrim & @pococollab
- Facebook: Martha Brim & The Power Company Collaborative
- Other: https://www.marthatothebrim.com
Image Credits
Brailey Johnson, Brailey Johnson, Loren Schwerd, Martha Brim, CJ Anderson, Tim Amos, Eva Neuzilova, Christina Shmigel
