UNDERDOG WITH KATE MARCH: 7.24.20

Kate March is a performance artist, painter, poet, and choreographer. With a Bachelor’s in Dance from Connecticut College and a Master’s in Choreography from Middlesex University in London, Kate’s creative practice spans the fine art and commercial realms. She weaves together live performance, visual art, fashion, poetry, and creative technology to produce distinctive experiences and concepts that draw audiences into her outré world. 

Described as immersive, provocative, inclusive, and feminist, Kate explores her artistic voice through live painting performance solos where she creates large scale paintings with her body dancing on the canvas. She has performed around the world and in 2019, she was selected as the guest artist for the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation’s Center for Art & Culture in Portugal for their International Festival of Performative Arts. 

In addition to her solo work, Kate is the founder and creative director of MARCH : an art house dedicated to making edgy, inclusive, and experiential art for diverse audiences; a metaphysical home for feminist creativity. Her poetry collection: Thirst of Pisces, will be published in February 2021. 

Photo by Amaris Photography

1.  What do you love most about what you do? 

I love having the opportunity to inspire, connect with, and move other people by using my artistic voice. When someone feels a strong emotion because of my painting, my poetry, or my movement expression — I feel like I have fulfilled my life purpose.

2. What inspired you and how did you become involved in your current career(s)? 

I’m 35 and have been dancing since I was 3 years old. I was naturally very good and was supported from a young age to really take dance/performance seriously. I can’t really remember a time where art wasn’t a strong aspect of my life. But I do remember choosing between a path in dance or neuroscience in senior year of college and knowing that I had to try the path of being an artist or I would regret it forever. The different iterations of my career path have been inspired by intuitive choices and honoring my creativity no matter how much uncertainty was involved.

3. How do you start your day? 

I’m not a morning person so I can’t start working right away. I have a cup of coffee, big breakfast, and take my dog on an hour long walk before I do anything else.

4. Tell us about your proudest moment or accomplishment. 

In the context of my career: I have so many proud moments; I’ll give you three. The first of my proudest moments was the successful execution of one of my evening length immersive dining concepts:  An Evening of Meat, in London, England for 55 shows. It’s a huge undertaking to successfully produce that many shows and consistently receive positive feedback from a wide audience. My whole team and I really put in so much work to make it one of the best performance concepts I’ve ever created. Secondly, I have had the privilege of performing for so many wonderful audiences including celebrities but one of the most memorable was when I performed for Leonardo DiCaprio in the Maldives for a private event.  Thirdly, this year I received a publication offer for my poetry manuscript: Thirst of Pisces which will make its debut next year in February!

Photo by Amaris Photography

5. Do you have a hidden talent? 

I can run backwards really, really fast. Probably faster than some people sprint in a forward direction lol.

6. Who or what gives you creative inspiration?

Being in nature is my greatest inspiration especially very remote places where you can’t but feel humbled. I also find inspiration when I’m travelling around the world and discovering new places, cultures, traditions, foods, and rituals (or when I used to travel I mean, thanks Covid-19!). Finally, my body and it’s many cycles of  wellness or pain has been a constant source of inspiration.

I’m also inspired by people I would consider renaissance men and women — people who follow their natural curiosity, are always trying to innovate in their fields, and aren’t afraid to look at the universe’s mystery with awe and exploration. (Think Albert Einstein for example - an incredible scientist who also appreciated and valued humanity from all angles including music, art, spirituality, and matters of the heart. I love finding people like this throughout history and being inspired by the connective web of their many interests.)

7. Coffee fuels our morning events. If you’re a coffee drinker, what’s your go-to order? 

Medium Skim latte — pretty boring, but gets the job done!

8. What is your favorite place in Charleston? 

Folly Beach at sunset or early morning.

9. How do you unwind or de-stress? 

True Crime podcasts; reading a ton of books; and having a glass of biodynamic wine with my husband on our porch.

Rapid Fire:

Morning person or night owl? 

Night owl

Summer of winter? 

Autumn

Mountains or beach? 

Beach

Pancakes or waffles? 

Pancakes

Fiction or non-fiction?

Both