Life has come full circle for Laurena Marrone. She grew up
learning modern dance and is now the only dancer/instructor
in Portland who specializes in the Jerez de la Frontera style
of flamenco. In between, though, she's made some odd professional
pit-stops.
For several years she worked as a marketing director for
MCA Records, handling "all the artists that they didn't
know what to do with at that time," including the not-exactly-legendary
Lightning Seeds and the one-hit-wonder heavy metal band
Pretty Boy Floyd.
She bagged the L.A. lifestyle in 1991 to follow her family
to Portland. She opened (and, a year later, closed) Zero
Square Gallery in Old Town, before signing on as the marketing
and public-relations coordinator at the Portland Art Museum,
a job she quit after two years in 1996 to return to dancing.
Her love of flamenco took her to Jerez de la Frontera,
Spain, where she studied for two years. On Oct. 7, she will
be performing at the Reed College Chapel with Carmona Flamenco,
the Seattle-based ensemble making its first Portland appearance.
Willamette Week: Is it true that you worked with
KISS?
Laurena Marrone: I really didn't work with KISS. I was
offered a job with KISS and I went down and interviewed.
My best friend worked with KISS, so I was offered a position
to go on the road with KISS about four and a half years
ago. I went down and met with Gene Simmons.
What was that meeting like?
I flew down [to California] and I went to his house in
Laurel Canyon. I don't know how to describe it. It was surreal.
Was he naked?
No, he came out to meet me in sheepskin slippers, jeans
and
a T-shirt.
Did he show you his tongue?
No.
Did he try and make a move
on you?
[giggles] No...no.
Not even a lil' bit?
No.
Did he look like a normal
old man?
Yeah, he did. So I went to his house and he showed me around.
One room was completely filled with KISS memorabilia. I
mean, pinball machines, gold records, platinum records,
posters. That really struck me. But in his kitchen he is
just like a normal dad, with pictures on the fridge drawn
by his kids at school in crayon. He was a really, really
nice guy. We ate peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches.
Did he kiss you goodbye?
He gave me a hug.
OK, so what brought you
to Portland?
My family has been here for about 13 years and when I was
living in Los Angeles working for MCA, I got very tired
of the music business and decided to follow my family to
Portland.
How was the transition?
I initially went into a state of shock. Portland was very
small compared to having been a bi-coastal manager, half
the time in New York and half the time in L.A.
Were you running away from
your life?
It was running away from the lifestyle. The constant stress.
The constant disappointment for these artists. For every
act that makes it, there are a thousand that don't, and
for each of them it is just as important. So that was really
difficult for me, to watch people's dreams be shattered.
What was it like to work at the Portland Art Museum?
It was very fast-paced, constantly preparing for new exhibits.
My department would handle everything from the advertising
to working with the designer to writing the press releases
to dealing with the press. I really enjoyed the work, though.
What didn't you like?
I disliked the lack of control or trust that was placed
in some of the people on the managing level. I felt it was
difficult to make a competent decision without having to
fear backlash.
Did you ever have backlash?
The November before my departure, I came close to leaving.
I had a very strong disagreement with the Buchanans.
Over what?
Over the way that information was being distributed, or
not distributed, to the media. Maybe this is a strong word,
but I felt that the Buchanans often times wanted to manipulate
the press in the way things were presented.
Were they successful?
I think they were enormously successful at it. I completely
respect their marketing savvy. I don't agree with it, but
I respect it. One of my strengths and my weaknesses in PR
is that I was always as honest as possible.
Were you close to the Buchanans?
Yes.
Are you still?
No, I haven't spoken to them since I left.
So you woke up one day in 1996 and just decided to start
dancing again?
Yeah, basically. When I told Lucy that I was leaving, my
quote to her was "Lucy, I want to dance more and work less."
And was the next step after that?
The next step was to study as much as possible, to find
a way to earn a living in Portland while tying myself to
flamenco. So I did PR work with Miracle Theater, which I
really enjoyed because of their ties to the Latin community.
They had a dance company in which I did some flamenco. Whoever
came to town flamenco-wise, I studied with privately.
When did you decide to devote
all your energy to flamenco?
July of 1998. I knew that nothing I had ever experienced--this
is going to sound so bizarre--nothing I had ever experienced
made me feel as good as flamenco.
Is it better than sex?
Yes. It is better than anything, it is better than chocolate.
That's pretty good.
It is damn good. For me it completely changed me as a person,
my image of myself, my ability to express myself. It was
a moment when I finally felt completely comfortable with
myself as a woman. I have always had such a distorted body
image. Flamenco really embraces women and the curves and
the roundness and women of all ages, from 4 to 94. I just
found a comfort that I had never found in anything else.
I am the happiest I've ever been in my life. I made a lot
of money at MCA at 23 years old; it is not important to
me. I have to dance. I can't really verbalize it any other
way. Sharing it with people is the most important to me.
Teaching I would take any day over performing; my goal is
not to be some great flamenco dancer.
Is it hard?
It is by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
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