Mario Bermundez Gil
Q: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you as a performing artist and co-founders of Marcat Dance Company?
Cat: ...As a company we ask ourselves what we can make of the situation. Mario has been creating choreography on the terrace and we have been connecting with old artist friends from around the world and we have time to think about what our values are and what we want to do going forward. There are benefits. The beauty is that artists and people are sharing their vulnerability and through this vulnerability we are being able to see. Hofa Sheckter shared this video segment of him talking with music that I wouldn't have been able to see. There is gaga offered 8 times a day when before I would never be able to do that. There is a sensitivity and connectivity that is really beautiful that is affecting us.
Mario: The biggest thing for me is the fact that this is happening. Marcat and the inspiration for the company comes from nature. We live in nature and right now we take this stop because nature needs to breathe right now and we feel like this is normal to say but it is needed. I know people are passing away but this is a way of nature talking to us saying you need to care for me more and as humans you have the power for that and this is why it doesn't feel drastically negative. There is something behind this...
Mario Bermudez Gil, Artistic Director and Choreographer of Marcat Dance, is a prolific creator who has developed a recognizable movement language known for its dynamic physicality and long-lasting emotional impact. His highly acclaimed works and commissions are performed by Marcat Dance as well as other leading dance companies around the world including the National Dance Company of Spain, the National Dance Company of Wales, Flamenco Star Eva Yerbabuena, Hung Dance Taiwan, Nuovo Balleto di Toscana BDT, and Scapino Ballet Rotterdam. Prior to Marcat Dance, Mario was a company member of Tel Aviv based Batsheva Dance Company (2012-2016). With Batsheva he performed work by Ohad Naharin, Sharon Eyal, Hofesh Shechter, and Roy Assaf, and danced in prestigious theaters around the world including the Opera National de Paris (Paris, France), Brooklyn Academy of Music (Brooklyn, NY), and The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.). From 2010-2012 Mario was based in New York City and danced with Andrea Miller’s Gallim Dance and Jennifer Muller/The Works. His training began at age 20 when he studied at Centro Andaluz de Danza in Sevilla, Spain from 2008-2010.