East Coast Premiere Of "The Three Belles" By Australia's Strange Fruit At The World Financial Center Plaza

video from eugenemcdee

Australia's Strange Fruit presented the East Coast premiere of "The Three Belles" at the World Financial Center Plaza as part of "Extraordinary Moves: A Celebration of Dance Through Movement, Film & Art" from July 14-16. The work was mesmerizing and seductive, performed by three artists on 14-foot sway poles. These photos were taken during the July 16 performances.


New York Times review (Gia Kourlas):

The backdrop, overlooking the Hudson River, was a blend of shimmering water, crisp blue sky and cottony clouds. Truthfully, it was a little distracting, even with the garish appearance of Natalie Abbott, Nami Hall and Emily Ryan, who, in Strange Fruit’s “Three Belles,” wear bloomers, shiny bustiers and a mountainous arrangement of flowers in their hair. (It’s a concoction that a 6-year-old girl with a princess fixation and equal worship for purple and pink might have thought up.) Climbing three 14-foot poles, the dancers fasten belts around their thighs and raise their long hoop skirts to their waists. Once safely positioned on the poles, which are as pliable as antennae, the performers, in this work’s best moments, seem to float in the clouds. They act out brief scenes as gossiping coquettes or engage in slow-motion fights, but most of their aimless swaying is monotonous. Apparently, strippers aren’t the only ones hard pressed to think of new ways to move on a pole.