IN BRIEFMark DeGarmo has created a repertory of 100 dances, working with and supporting living composers, musicians, musical traditions, and live music ensembles whenever possible. His current artistic research focus includes: real-time improvisational composition; digitalized movement and dance performance; connectivity with natural and constructed environments, architecture, and space; and intercultural transdisciplinarity.
ARTISTIC PARTNERSHIPS
Artistic parterships have provided grounding for the development of DeGarmo's body of work. He continues to work in partnership with many artist colleagues.
Music
An integral part of DeGarmo's artistic vision and scholarly research involves partnering with living composers, performing with live music whenever possible, and bringing music to audiences unfamiliar with it. An example of this intention includes DeGarmo's choreographic work to music of the indigenous Huave and Huichol communities of Mexico. Since 1982, he has worked with and commissioned music from composers and musical groups, such as: Americas Vocal Ensemble, featuring the work of Max Lifchitz (Mexico) and Alice Parker; Rick Baitz; Craig Gordon; Jan Hagiwara; Valerie Naranjo and MANDARA; Grupo Pachacamac (Peru); Judith Sainte Croix (pending project entitled The Interconnectedness of All Things); Alejandro Velasco (Mexico); and Ezequiel Viñao (Argentina) and the Brentano String Quartet.
DesignPartnerships with costumers, set designers, and visual artists have also been an important part of the development of DeGarmo's choreographic body of work. In 1986, DeGarmo began conversations with Andor Weininger (visual artist, designer, original member of Germany's Bauhaus, Bauhaus clown, and dancer with Oskar Schlemmer) to collaborate with Weininger on a new work. The concept included "updating" themes of the Bauhaus. Although Andor died before the work was completed, MDDF premiered Quadratic Ballet in 1987 for 12 dancers as an homage to him. Costume design was by Osamu Uehara. New York painter Sara Abalon created a technologically groundbreaking backdrop for Excavations (duet version) that toured in New York City and State, Mexico, and El Salvador (1998-1999). Igor Roussanoff is a Ukrainian designer known for his ballet and opera design who shares with DeGarmo an intercultural sensibility and with whom DeGarmo developed three important works in his dance repertory: Travelers (1992), My Father Is A Tree (1993), and Dear Children: Awake and Rise (2000).
Photography
Dance photography has been another important element in the artistic development of DeGarmo's work as it provides additional perspectives from another artistic vantage point. DeGarmo has partnered since 1986 with Brazilian photographer Beatriz Schiller who has photographed other dance-theater artists such as Pina Bausch, Trisha Brown, Douglas Dunn, Ralph Lemon, and Twyla Tharp. Her extensive collection of photographic images of DeGarmo's work has been exhibited in Pittsburg, PA (2006) and published by Dance Magazine, The New York Times, and The Village Voice.
Videography
Dance videography partnerships have been important to the development of DeGarmo's work. His first promotional videotape was produced by Hollywood filmmaker David Shore. DeGarmo has maintained a longterm relationship with New York videographer Penny Ward, who has provided extensive video documentation of his work, as well as with video editor Kay Hines of Dekart Video.
Photographs on this page by Beatriz Schiller