“ ...the performers are so refined that they leave no doubts about future success.”
Venue: On the Boards, Merrill Theater
June 16 - 18
6/16; 8pm
6/17; 8pm - followed by post-show conversation
6/18; 8pm - this performance will be filmed
Approximate Runtime: 1 hour 19 minutes
Degenerate Art Ensemble’s (Seattle) Skeleton Flower is a performance of live music, visceral movement theater and dance, projected cinematic imagery and storytelling ritual. It is a semi-autobiographical exploration of Haruko Crow Nishimura’s (DAE’s director) struggle with identity, depression, childhood trauma, and the awakening of personal power. The piece deals with these issues with humor and imagination, casting her family as monsters from a Godzilla movie, and traces her personal struggle through three fairy tales which were read to her by her mother growing up (The Fitcher’s Bird, The Wild Swans, and The Red Shoes). The world of Skeleton flower is a multi dimensional patchwork quilt that conjures and consoles her female ancestors through the use of hand felted wools, ten thousand hand painted silk flowers, and knitted sweaters which fill fantastic worlds in the work’s cinematic imagery.
“The piece attains power and awakening by examining the fairytales that my mother read to me when I was young, which ultimately became clues, which through creative work, I was able to confront and navigate my own darkness. It also deals with a violent assault that I experienced as an adult which became the catalyst for healing and the realization of feminine power. Skeleton Flower is a commitment ceremony that confronts the painful energies and tangled karma of my women ancestors. It is an exorcism and personal proclamation to choose my own path consciously for my own life.”
Skeleton Flower was first shown as a work in progress in Plovdiv, Bulgaria as part of American Dance Abroad’s Spotlight USA Festival followed by its world premiere in Seattle in March of 2019. It was performed at the International Festival of Contemporary Dance (FIDCDMX) in Mexico City in 2021, and will be performed at the Hans Christian Andersen Festival in Denmark in 2022.
Photos by Bruce Clayton Tom
About the post-performance conversation
About the artists
Credits
Choreographer / Lead performer Haruko Crow Nishimura
Composer / Musician Joshua Kohl
Video Design Leo Mayberry
Cinematography Leo Mayberry and Ian Lucero
Light Design Tom Wiseley and Jessica Trundy
Costumes by Willow Fox, Wyly Astley and Elizabeth Jameson
Video production Design Elizabeth Jameson
THIS IS AN IN-PERSON SHOW WITH SPACE LIMITED TO 300 PEOPLE PER PERFORMANCE
Content Considerations: Bright lights, loud sounds, references sexual assault and alcohol abuse
Proof of vaccination* or negative Covid test within 24 hours will be required for entry. Patrons are required to wear masks during the entire event.
*Photo of vaccination card is acceptable. If you do not have your card, you can access your vaccination record remotely by creating an account on the WA Dept of Health Immunization Information System, WA.MyIR.net.