Strange Fruit, which began in Melbourne in 1994, produces and performs large-scale outdoor public performance art that fuses theatre, circus and dance choreography with elements of sculpture and design. The company, which seeks to provide art to community audiences free of charge, produces seven shows, each of which is performed to an audience in the round.
"Dartmouth was a really receptive community; I wish we had more time here," Michael Carr, the group's technical and production manager, said. "[The Green] was perfect. The idea is for us to have people all around us -- 360 degrees. And the idea of giving entertainment for free is the company's philosophy."
Through their unique presentation of artistic stilt performance, which is based on the image of wheat fields swaying in the breeze, Strange Fruit attempts to captivate the audience's curiosity and wonder through visual design on an elevated medium. During each piece, the performers perch on flexible poles, which are the company's original design. This allows them to bend at seemingly impossible angles, giving both performers and audience members different visual perspectives of the show as the performers change their positions during the dance choreography.
"We are basically on an elevated stage on the 12-foot poles that we stand on," company member Paul Bourk, who noted that members of the audience often change their angles of view during the show, said. "It's really fun. When you first get up there it is pretty scary. You are suddenly 12 feet tall."
The group's repertoire of pieces attempts to express themes such as love, freedom and loneliness through dance choreography and non-verbal narrative. At Dartmouth, the company gave three performances of the 20-minute, four-person piece "Swoon!." The piece revolves around the themes of love, loss, joy, and freedom, while the four performers focus on image-making, comedy and the captivation of the audience. The performance was accompanied by music that includes pieces ranging from Bach and Puccini to Fats Waller and Maurice Chevalier, as well as specially commissioned contemporary music.
"[Dartmouth] is a pretty beautiful environment -- beautiful air to breathe," Kathryn Jennison, who has been a member of Strange Fruit for five years, said. "['Swoon!'] can be simple and complicated. We really want to connect with the audience."
The performance at Dartmouth, which was preceded by two workshops on absurdity with the members of Strange Fruit, is part of this year's Summer Arts Festival, organized by the Center for Humanities. This year's festival, entitled Metamorphoses, focuses on changes in artistic media and differing cultural contexts over time.
"They [Strange Fruit] were really exciting. They are so very different and just right for the Summer Arts Initiative," Mary Bradshaw, director of marketing at the Hopkins Center, said. "It reaches out to a lot of audiences and invigorates the whole community."
The performance of "Swoon!" at Dartmouth was part of the show's American premiere tour, which began on June 8 and will continue through July 14. "Swoon!" is an abridged version of The Field, another one of the group's pieces, which features eight performers who perform a courtship ritual that expresses messages of love, loneliness and joy. The company performs the two pieces at international festivals and events, and has been awarded Australia's Meyr Performing Arts Award in 2000, as well as the silver trophy at the Daidogai World Cup in Japan in 1999 and 2000.
