We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mccall Mcclellan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
McCall, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.
While I was studying film in college, I had a professor (shoutout to Dean Duncan) who would tell his classes “it’s incredibly hard to make a bad movie.” It is a bit of a silly phrase, but the sentiment resonated with me. This idea planted a perspective of generosity that changed the way I interact with creative works. I began appreciating art simply because of the labor and effort it requires to bring into existence. This idea of appreciating the efforts of artists has become a paradigm in which I try to take into all my interactions — even if the fruits of someones labors are not particularly moving, original, or captivating, I can and do really appreciate the toil that goes into the creative process, because it is indeed a lot of work to create.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a dancer. As a child, I could not sit still, so movement has consistently felt like an extension of myself. My early experiences in creative dance shaped my understanding that dance is an expressive art form. I feel alive in full-bodied and momentum-driven movement. My favorite part of being a dancer is rehearsal, when anything is possible and there’s room to take risks and explore.
I am also a dance maker. My choreographic practice is driven by a commitment to process and collaboration. I believe that the relationships formed during the creative process are as important, if not more so, than the final product. My collaborators and the quality of our time are the most important aspects of my work. I often begin my rehearsals by gathering with collaborators over shared food, creating a space for friendship and generosity. Themes I often explore in my work include conformity versus individuality, migration, humor, and site-specific elements.
In addition to dance, I am a lens-based media artist. My camera interest began early, when my neighbors and I filmed skits in my basement. Later, I realized the power of film to tell stories and now find joy “witnessing” a subject and capturing them at a moment in time. Filmmaking and photography have become an extension of my dance practice, both by filming concerts and through documenting creative processes, which allows more camera movement and invites viewers, through the camera, to become another dancer in the work.
My artistic practices are ever-evolving, but I see myself as a body-sensing, movement-making, camera-wielding human. I don’t claim to have answers to many complexities but I find great meaning in creating collectively. Moving, sweating, and engaging with others through dance and film allows me to process life and share those moments with others.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Skills that have helped me in my artistic journey:
1) Adopting a “yes, and” mentality. “Yes, and ” thinking, is a rule-of-thumb in comedy improv that asks an improviser to accept what another improviser has stated (“yes”) and then expand on that line of thinking (“and”). I have found rolling with others ideas and adding my energy upon those ideas leads to really fruitful collaborations and better camaraderie. “Yes, and” often leads to more interesting places than “No, or”
2) Developing hard skills to use in survival jobs. Dancers often have a lot of soft skills: communication, teamwork, and adaptability, etc. I have found beefing up my hard skills like camera work, editing, grant writing, and financial management have given me other avenues to make money. Don’t get me wrong, the soft skills are at the core of who I am, and I think essential for everyone in a creative field, but often some of these more measurable hard skills can bring in financial stability and have helped me get a job while I audition for things.
3) Making friends and networking everywhere I go. Networking is not nearly as scary as we hype it up to be, it is showing genuine appreciation and interest in people and art that excites us. I have not booked one dance or film gig from an audition or blind interview. Everything I have ever been hired to do has come through someone who knows me. It is difficult sometimes, but empowering because networking is within my control. I am still working on this, but I can show up, talk to artist, and keep expanding my network, and so can you!
Advice:
– No one can tell you that you are an artist, only you can do that. I still find myself seeking validation and approval from others. I feel like if I get cast in something, I’m excited about, than “I’ll really be an artist” or “I’ll really be a dancer.” But that isn’t true. No one can tell me I’m a dancer or an artist, only I can do that.
– You are the only thing stopping you. I often walk into dance and film spaces and feel inadequate, I have come to realize that feeling is not because I am any less capable or equipped than anyone else in the room, but I doubt myself. We really are our toughest critics. You belong in the room, even if you feel less cool, capable, or brilliant than those around you.
– If you don’t like a dance class, go back and try it again.
– Those who end up succeeding in an artist career will surprise you. It is not the most talented people who persist, but those who have a genuine love and can see their careers as a marathon and not a sprint.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
Continuing with this theme of generosity, the most impactful thing my parents have done for me has been their constant and radical belief in me as a person. I have many moments of self doubt “Is this the right field for me?”, “Am I good at this?”, “Will I ever have financial freedom as dance and film artist?”, “Am I capable of meeting the physical and artistic demands this work requires of me?” , “Is this how I want to be spending my life?”… I have voiced theses concerns and questions my parents many times, and they emphatically reassure me that “MCCALL, YOU ARE CAPABLE OF DOING ANYTHING YOU WANT TO DO.” I know they believe in my success as an artist, and they feel that I am rising to those challenges, but also, they believe in me as a PERSON. I have never felt trapped in my art, I know if I were to shift careers, they would support me, and back me. What a liberating thing to be so trusted and supported from the sideline. When I reflect on their belief in me, I feel more capable of taking risks, and being a courageous person and maker. If and when I fail, I know they will support and love me. Thanks mom and dad (shoutout to Robin and Clark McClellan).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mccallmcclellan.com
- Instagram: @mccall.mcc
- Facebook: McCall McClellan
Image Credits
– Photo of dancers in the fog- Features: Maddie Musgraves & Frances Koper Heintzelman, photo by McCall McClellan
– Photo of dancer in front of the tree- Features: Hannah Hardy, photo by McCall McClellan
– Photo of landscape by McCall McClellan
– Photo with the teal background in lunge: featured dancer-McCall McClellan, photo by Nate Edwards
– Photo of dancer with black curly hair- Features: Maya Villanuevaa, photo by McCall McClellan
– Photo of dancer in front of brick wall- features: Kaio Kyree Ahku, photo by McCall McClellan
– Photo of performer with foam/wax – features: TAITAIxTina, photo by McCall McClellan
– Photo of couple- features: Robin and Clark McClellan, photo by Gabe Mayberry
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