Then they pile up the bodies/And I'll say/"That'll learn ya!"
This was the first of two performances at Abadi Art Space in New Delhi. This was covered in TimeOut Delhi, and the second, encore performance was followed by a talk concerning the nature of choreography and working in collaboration with visual artists.
SONG: Pirate Jenny, by Nina Simone
Originally from Kurt Weil's Two Penny Opera, this song speaks to the frustrations of the exploitation by the wealthy, with obvious connections to both the conditions of Black people in America and the masses of oppressed in contemporary India. The sweeping here was inspired by the women in Delhi who literally bend over and sweep up the crap left each day. Many of the poses here come directly from the garbage lady who appeared at my door each morning, carting away our unmentionables, for very meager pay. I announced this performance as a way for folks to rid themselves of the skin bleach phenomenon by bringing along the packaging and I'd sweep it up and throw it out, as one means to help cleanse ourselves of this social ill. All this came together in this art space with this oppositional gaze. You can read more about the performance in the TimeOut piece posted below.
You people can watch while I'm scrubbing these floors
And I'm scrubbin' the floors while you're gawking
Maybe once ya tip me and it makes ya feel swell
In this crummy Southern town
In this crummy old hotel
But you'll never guess to who you're talkin'.
No. You couldn't ever guess to who you're talkin'.
And the conclusion to this performance:
