MEET MARLOWE

Art by Ainhara

Classically trained and fiercely visionary, Marlowe Bassett is a multi-faceted Creatress. Performer, costume designer, and founder/ director of production company METAMORPHOSIS Ballet, & co-founder/director of DREYMA Dance, Marlowe conceives stunning presentations that communicate beauty, sensuality and courage.

Marlowe’s performance styles include contemporary ballet, fusion belly dance, temple-flow arts and fire dance. She has been featured as a soloist and principal artist with many Bay Area dance collectives and has worked with prominent Companies including Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet, San Francisco Opera, California Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet to name a few. In addition, Marlowe has toured and performed throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Central America.

Marlowe founded METAMORPHOSIS Ballet in 2009 as a platform to present Avant-garde ballet, circus arts and couture fashion concurrently, while offering unique performances based on the site-specific space and atmosphere of the venue.

METAMORPHOSIS Ballet has been featured at Coachella Music Festival, Burning Man’s Annual Artumnal Gathering, Burning Man Festival, Fractal Planet, Star Star Road House, Edwardian Ball, Enchanted Forest Gathering, Lightning in a Bottle, Symbiosis Gathering, Envision Festival, and Ylang Ylang Beach Resort. Marlowe’s vision is to inspire and uplift through movement, visual arts, and fashion, conceiving stunning presentations that communicate beauty, sensuality, and courage.

In 2019 Marlowe co-founded 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐌𝐀 Dance Company. 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐌𝐀 - a stunningly composed, Viking inspired theatrical dance experience. Dark Norse tableaux, precise choreography, couture costuming, set to a powerful musical score melding the old world and the new.

𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐌𝐀 Dance Company is a visionary performance collective, comprised of professional ballerinas, bellydancers, and character actors, featuring original choreography, artistic composition and handmade costuming by directors Tracy Windisch, Marlowe Bassett and Aradia Sunseri.

Photo: Jane Hu @plainjane

"Light Vs Dark"

Black costume by Marlowe of Metamorphosis Ballet

J: Marlowe, first a thank you for being our December Solstice Edition for Permaculture Pinup.

M: I feel honored to have been asked by KaytiBunny and to have participated in this incredible project and movement. I’ve known KaytiBunny from many years of working the festival circuit. She first came to know me because I would bring my own food to the events. I'm sure she has told you about my commitment to health and I trust we will discuss that later. So anyway, I love that I was chosen for this special edition of Permaculture Pinup as I've been tuning in with the lunar calendar for many years. I consult the lunar-cycle before making decisions on travel, starting art projects, and making big decisions. In Dreyma dance, as a group of women, we celebrate the equinox and solstices. We love sharing our art and ritual in celebration of these special dates in the cycle of the lunar calendar.

J: Please tell us about your performance career and its beautiful intersection with Nature.

M: Although I don't have any type of certification for permaculture or necessarily attest to being a part of the movement, I have an intuitive knowing of it. I've been exposed to the concepts of permaculture for many years by attending and performing globally at transformational festivals where they are teaching workshops and classes. I love beauty, art, dance, Nature and trying to merge all of them into one big beautiful collaboration. So, art in Nature is a lot of what I do. I love to go to beautiful places and take portraits. In the woods, the desert, or a stream.

J: The Portraits we have seen of you in the wild are stunning. Several you have kindly let us use within this interview. They convey a reverence for Nature, thank you. Have you ever done any extreme photoshoots?

M: Yes, actually, I’ve done many shoots in extreme temperatures. Also, I did one at Arches in Utah, and I thought, "if I fall right now I could die". I was in pointe shoes!

J: Tell us a little about the difference between Metamorphosis Ballet and Dreyma.

M: In 2009, I started a company called Metamorphosis Ballet. It was all about bringing ballet to non-traditional settings such as music festivals and doing photoshoots in Nature.

Very rarely have we used a traditional theater because I wanted to bring it to people who would not normally see a traditional or contemporary ballet. Ballet, to perform it properly, requires special floors for the correct form but, again, that is not what I was trying to achieve with the company.

Anyway, 2 years ago, I co-founded Dreyma, a collaboration with two other sisters, Tracy Windisch, and Aradia Sunseri. We were inspired to do a Viking Bellydance-ballet show to share mystical Norse mythology stories of Humans and the Land. It's been a fun project. We’ve done 2 video shoots in Nature on her land; the next will be on mine. We're Modern-day priestesses telling stories with dance. We have different characters of Gods and Humans. We have so much fun designing costumes. People resonate with the ancient feeling, and message of an ancient future where we are connected to the land. Our full show which premiered at Burning Man 2019 has 11 dancers! We got booked at Envision in 2020, our last show before the world shut down.

J: Have you always had a relationship with the Earth?

M: I feel like I was born knowing I cared about the Earth, but I've grown and evolved to know about our impact. For instance, I like costumes and sparkly things that are not always in alignment with sustainable ideals. I met my partner 15 years ago, and he helped usher in a shift of consciousness about how to do better.

J: How do you feel about our modern dichotomy of the Tech world vs. the Natural world and finding balancing?  

M: Tech and VR are cool but I'd rather be in Nature with the trees and the birds. I feel like it's so important to be in tune with the land. My mother-in-law communicates with the trees and we don't take being stewards of the land lightly, especially when it comes to making a choice about cutting down old trees. Ooh, I have to share something with you!

J: Please, go ahead.

M: There was a fire safety program we participated in for the family land. The people that came out to remove dead wood and underbrush, cut down many of our old Buckeye trees that didn’t seem to be any fire risk. It was devastating. And then we found out the same thing happened to our friends in a completely different county.

J: That's incredibly sad and a testament to society being out of touch. You can take relatively short courses and be certified for permaculture design. In the broad environmental movement, if you will, there is sometimes mention that we will not solve our problems with the same consciousness that created them. This is a real issue that would be a book unto itself or more. I won't elaborate much here. However, I see this as being probably an example of that. For instance, in my own experience, I first had a spiritual awakening and then a few years later it was followed by what I call an eco-awakening. They were different. Some people may feel drawn toward ideas and have good intentions but are unaware of old paradigm programs running in the background of their mind that are not aligned to living harmoniously here on Earth. Although I have been a self-proclaimed activist for almost 15 years, I cannot begin to explain here the ever-increasing expansion or depth of my connection in the last 5 years since I have started living in Costa Rica full time. Perhaps this person did not grow up in the woods.​

M: Right, they looked good on paper.

J: Exactly! So, do you have any specific causes you support or would like to raise more awareness about?

M: I'm a big advocate for saving the rainforests. You can look at maps to see clearly that it is where we are getting our oxygen from. We should know this and that what we need is to protect these forests. I can't believe we are still cutting them down. Is it only just profits or are they planning on going to space? Anyway, I love the project Patricia (a mutual friend) currently heads, the Karen Mogensen Reserve in Costa Rica.

J: KaytiBunny has said that she bought some pans from you. Let's hear about your work with Saladmaster.

M: In 2009, I moved to Yaan's family house in Northern California. I went from being a city girl to pumping my own water and living on the land. Partially because of Yaan's mom, Nadia, I went back to a vegetarian diet, gluten-free, with the occasional cheese, and getting cleansing enemas. The woman giving us the colonic treatments was hosting a Saladmaster dinner. It's a nutritional cooking event with a nutritional chef and a 5-course meal, all prepared in 30 minutes. The cookware is titanium, so it cooks below 190 degrees Fahrenheit, which allows for more nutrition and flavor in the food. The short story is I was impressed and eventually became involved. It's been an incredible experience. I love meeting new people, especially since they are often receptive and interested in the information I have to share. I teach bi-monthly cooking classes. Once you buy even one Saladmaster pan, the company provides free cooking classes for life. Every first Monday is a beginner class with super healthy recipes. We do cook with meat, but it's a healthier way to cook with meat. The rest of the month is focused on plant-based cooking. There are 50-60 people in each class. It's super fun. I believe in building community in both the dance world and this business of healthy cooking. You know, a lot of people don't know how to start, like me, because it's not how they grew up but it’s easy with Saladmaster.

J: It's been inspiring to see the changes that have been made just in the last decade. So many more people are more health-conscious and there are so many more options for vegetarians and vegans. Granted, many of the same vices still exist. I'd love to hear about your experience with nutrition growing up.

M: It's definitely been an evolution. At 14, I wanted to become a vegetarian. My Dad said, "good luck with that". Both of my parents worked as teachers. We were that "latchkey-generation", where kids came home from school but had to have a key because neither parent was there yet. My Dad made the same food all the time. He likes simple food, not gourmet. He likes chicken with rice and cheese, hamburgers - kind of basic American food. My Dad is 75 and is actually fairly healthy because he doesn't overeat and has fruit at night. Anyway, he told me when I was trying to go vegetarian as a teenager that he would not make special accommodations for me. It did not help that he didn't like veggies.

J: My mother told me to eat my veggies, but we often had frozen or canned vegetables. No hard feelings toward my hard-working mother! So for me, I didn't have a good relationship with vegetables growing up. What inspired you to want to become a vegetarian?

M: My sister is 4 years older, and she had become a vegetarian. I too, didn't want to contribute to the suffering of other sentient beings. I stopped liking the taste of meat. But I was 14, didn't understand nutrition, and was eating the wrong foods.

J: My mother told me to eat my veggies, but we often had frozen or canned vegetables. No hard feelings toward my hard-working mother! So for me, I didn't have a good relationship with vegetables growing up. What inspired you to want to become a vegetarian?

M: My sister is 4 years older, and she had become a vegetarian. I, too, didn't want to contribute to the suffering of other sentient beings. I stopped liking the taste of meat. But I was 14, didn't understand nutrition, and was eating the wrong foods.

J: Common for vegetarians of the past. What were you eating? cornflakes?

M: Hot pockets. I eventually went back to meat because I wasn't healthy. However, that might have been the beginning of my becoming more aware of how food is connected to the planet. I believe humans can survive without it or do with much less. A village could do with one cow for the whole village for one whole winter. Of course, this is if they know how to balance themselves nutritionally. Now, I'm a super-foodie and very creative in the kitchen. I love making up recipes and being healthy. The more I learn, the more I want to spread this information and inspire others.

J: Please share some of the wonderful information you have learned over the years regarding nutrition.

M: There's that Hippocrates quote, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." Mostly, I am inspired to teach people to eat more plants. I work with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). My colleague, who is 30 years a vegan, is one of the pioneers of vegan cooking for Saladmaster. There is a diabetes program we utilize to help reverse diabetes. People don't even realize diabetes can be reversed. This is through a plant-based diet where all the fat is removed. We also teach cancer prevention and survival programs. This part of my job is community service; I don't get paid. We educate about heavy metal toxicity and how salts and acids react with metal. Saladmaster does not leach heavy metals. There is an amazing series called "The Truth About Cancer", it's a must-watch and helps explain a variety of problems, including those we encounter when cooking. I never thought I would be selling cookware or growing food gardens but now it makes perfect sense and I know I am making a difference. Though, my first passion will always be dancing and the arts.

Photo: David DeSilva

Costume by Marlowe of Metamorphosis Ballet

J: Who has inspired you on your path?

M: Yaan, my husband. He is a 2nd generation hippie living on the land. His parents had no money, would hitchhike to town for groceries, and built the family house with no power tools. When I met him, he elicited such a shift in consciousness. He's such a good human, one of the most patient people I know. He's been teaching people how to get into the crypto game, which I think is important to our future. His mother, too, Nadia, is amazing. She lived in a teepee while pregnant, and she is very in tune with nature. One of her dear friends, Patricia Slump has also been a great inspiration. I mentioned her earlier as she has long been part of, and is the current President of, the organization behind the Karen Mogensen Reserve in Costa Rica. She cares so much about the trees and the planet. She's incredibly inspiring in that way. I love her so much for that, but I also love cooking with her. We are both Virgos. She's very fast-paced in the kitchen. Thinking of her reminds me of how much I love visiting her in Costa Rica. When I'm there, we often talk about connecting to Nature. It's so easy there. The ocean and jungle sounds are loud! There are the monkeys and crazy noisy birds. It's so alive! It feels prehistoric there, Costa Rica. As if I could see dinosaurs... if I were a dinosaur, I would live there (laughs). Speaking of Costa Rica, Sophia Thom is another inspiration. I really admire her; she has a lot to give in connecting to the different archetypes of the Goddess. And then there is KaytiBunny! Last year I learned about Air-Crete from her Instagram story posts, and Yaan and I are contemplating implementing this idea on our land.

J: One of our favorite things to ask our Permaculture Pinup features is, what a sexy future looks like.

M: Sexy is more abundance in the direction of all humans. For me, that would be everyone living their best life. As an artist, I'm always making art. The more places I live, the more I can share and collaborate. So, Yaan and I live in different places during the year. We call this a practice of "seasonal living". As I am already living my best life, I want to inspire more people to feel the freedom I feel every day because I believe it helps people heal and find health on their path. Especially through Saladmaster, I've seen the undeniable transformation when people take their health into their own hands. Healthy people, talk about super-empowering and sexy. And for women, I wish for them to feel like they can express themselves freely in their sexuality and sensuality. There is a sensual nature to how I move and express, and it allows others to feel they can do that too. So many women still don't have freedom in this world. If more people can become sovereign through finance and health, we could not only live the way we want, but contribute to helping feed the world, both nutritionally and artistically. Overall, I view what I do as bringing people into the present moment of being our best selves. In that way, the future is Now; and it's pretty sexy.

Photo: Beau Austin @beaudoesgo

Costume by Dreyma Dance

@marloweballerina

Dreyma Dance @dreymadance dreymadance.com

Metamorphosis Ballet @metamorphosisballet www.metamorphosisballet.com

Metamorphosis Ballet at Burning Man

https://youtu.be/W-RZHYNejY8 & https://youtu.be/H_4v77EFen0

Dreyma Dance on the Playa

https://youtu.be/XWTMyVzl5kQ

Dreyma Art video

https://youtu.be/HVWwzViZy_A

Photo: Beau Austin @beaudoesgo

Costume by Dreyma Dance

Airbrush by Icarus @icaruspheonix