Catching Up With Mary Grace McNally

On Friday, Jan. 17, Mary Grace McNally BFA ’15 (Dance) performed at MOVES at The Montalbán in Los Angeles for the 2020 Capezio A.C.E. Awards. As the 2018 Capezio A.C.E. Award winner, McNally was invited to present the world premiere of her contemporary piece When it Falls. In this evening-length production with her collective, MG + Artists, McNally “examines the way in which we navigate our changing selves, in an ever-shifting world, through movement and an original sound score.” 

We caught up with McNally after her return from the premiere in L.A.
 

UArts: MG + Artists: How did this collective come to life?

McNally: I started making and showing work in [New York City] shortly after graduating. And over the past five years of living and dancing in the city, I slowly started to connect with artists who were interested in the kind of work and collaborations I was hoping to create. Four of the original dancers were UArts alumni—Catie Leasca, Haley Sung, Emma Lawes and myself. The current collective members of MG + Artists and dancers in When It Falls are Catie Leasca, Haley Sung, Gabriella Sibeko, Rebecca Corrigan, Jordyn Santiago, Madeline Wright and myself. I did not necessarily intend on creating a collective, but I finally gave the group a name, because it had become clear to us that this space we were creating together felt like a home and a place we want to be able to return to and continue evolving together.

UArts: How do you develop your original sound scores? Do you create them yourself or collaborate with others?

McNally: I usually create/design most of our scores using music that was already created. I really enjoy playing with different pieces of music and seeing how I can meld them together in a score or break them apart. As well as working with different genres of music, I’ve always been interested in how people relate to certain songs depending on the history we have with them societally or personally. For this latest work, When It Falls, I was lucky enough to collaborate with a music composer, Ryan Vettel, on creating an original track for a 20-minute section of the work. We spent a lot of time figuring out the right sounds and energy for the piece. He was one of the first people to know the planned trajectory of work before I had even created it. If feasible, I would definitely love to work with a composer like that more often.
 

I had my most important introductions to collaboration at UArts.

UArts: Can you speak to the importance of collaboration in your work?

McNally: Collaboration is incredibly important to the work of MG + Artists. I definitely like to design a lot of the movement, but I love working with artists who are excited about playing in the studio together, bouncing movement ideas around and using improv exercises that inspire where I go next within the creation. We love a good brain teaser, whether that’s challenging ourselves with deconstructing a phrase again and again, giving a difficult pathway pattern and phrase rearrangement, creating solo material around any phrase we have made in the past year, etc. I tend to get bored with myself very easily, so anything I can do to whip us up in an exciting way is really fun for myself and the dancers within a process. It’s very important to me that the work feels like all of us, not just me and my movement.

 

 

 

 

UArts: Did you learn anything at UArts outside your dance courses that influences your work now?

McNally: I had my most important introductions to collaboration at UArts. My junior year, I was asked to create a 30-minute live performance for a Music Composition major’s senior thesis. It was a huge lesson on working with someone else to bring their vision to life and how to bring myself to the process, as well. That experience is something I think back on often and believe really prepared me for the work I’ve done with other artists in dance, music, film, etc. There was always an opportunity to collaborate on projects at UArts, and that energy is something I definitely always hope to bring wherever I’m working, especially while living in big, artist-filled cities like New York and L.A.

UArts: Any exciting upcoming projects?

McNally: I'm headed to East Carolina University to create a new work for their senior dance majors. I post regularly on my Instagram when I’m teaching in the city or presenting work somewhere: @marygracemcnally.


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Photo credit: Break the Floor Productions