Dream inspired and incorporating a famous stage illusion by Robert Harbin called The Zig Zag Girl; Dancerbation is a work that examines the overt and subconscious nature of the “erotic gesture” and its contemporary use in theatre, life and art.
Using a percussive, metallic sound-scape alongside a collective of women, Nishikawa’s sculptural theatre subtly breaks down the masculine conventions that are normally associated with the magician and his assistant. Established theatrical patterns are expanded through dance, becoming structural improvisations that blur ritual to open new doors. The costumes have been designed in almost hallucinatory opposition to the sequined convention so usual with such stage illusions, their eccentricity emphasizing just how accepting we are of the patronizing norm.
Nissa Nishikawa’s performance work transforms environments of scientific, sacred and cultural interest into new orders, which speak of an ancient place to the ancient body of the audience. Combining dance, sound and site specific materials she initiates histories, mythologies and subtexts that exist within these fragile ecologies. Nishikawa received a BFA from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, studied Stage Arts at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and holds an MA in Performance from Goldsmiths College. Her work has been exhibited internationally in theatres, museums, galleries, fields, forests and film.
Cover Photo: Jason Shulman / Photos by Manu Valcarce
