Martha Brim

Martha’s formal training as an artist began in visual arts followed by dance. Discovering expression that combined the physical with visual set her on a lifelong venture. For forty plus years Martha’s choreography has evolved through a developmental flux of revision
and transmutation with a myriad of influences. Today her 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.

For 35 years Martha was a dance professor at Columbia College in South Carolina. There she joyfully nurtured generations of dance students and artists, while developing her own artistry and supporting the work of other professionals as a presenter.

In 2000 Martha created The Power Company, initially as a professional dance company. Later PoCo became PoCoCo – The Power Company Collaborative. The word Collaborative more purposefully defined the company’s mission, that of collaboration and inclusion. At that point PoCoCo began producing large-scale performance installations co-created with musicians, designers, artists and communities.

 

Having received numerous choreographic commissions, awards and professional recognitions, Martha has performed and presented her work internationally. One review
described her work as “intelligently conceived… quirky, with shrewd, robust humor.”

Engaging communities with exuberant play and thoughtful rigor, Martha has taught in a broad spectrum of populations, from incarcerated youth and adults to public school teachers and students, from senior adults to dance professionals. Empowerment
through dance is the fundamental mission guiding every creative project she produces.

Currently, Martha is using embodied movement to interact with and respond to collected, found, and gifted clothing materials. In this process she sees her work as a crusade, unraveling unconscious prejudices and attitudes held in the body.