THAT GIRL AND THE OTHER ONE
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Using personal experience and anecdotal evidence from "Odd Girl Out" by Rachel Simmons as the starting point, performers explore the emotional rift within the self and between self and other through a contemporary dance theater piece. "That Girl and The Other One" depicts the interactive landscape between women and their struggle to exist in a culturally "look-obsessed", "competitive", "jealous" environment. Dancers move from one enigmatic vignette to the next; scenes are skewed, thrown away and then curiously reappear, following the ever determined emotional "logic" of girls' relationships with each other; inside bruised and beating hearts, the thin line between friend and foe, love and hate, pride and jealousy blurs...
This project currently exists as a series of six duets that have been created and performed by DeAnna Pellecchia and Ingrid Schatz over the last 6 years at various venues throughout New England. DeAnna and Ingrid are currently in the planning stages of developing this material into an evening-length piece. An expanded cast of 7 dancers and 10 -15 community members will provide an ever shifting landscape – bullies one moment, victims the next - out of which duets, solos, and trios emerge. Using the folktale “Vasalisa the Wise” as a starting point, a young girl (age 7 -10) traverses this emotional minefield. She is our authentic self, that small still voice within. Joining her are Vasalisa (The Journey), Baba Yaga (The Wild Self), the Good Mother (The Unattainable Ideal), and the Evil Step Sisters (Society’s Expectations) – characters that represent the female psyche, and push the story forward in a non-linear arc.
Out of this, the six duets emerge as a narrative stream, illuminating the struggle between women with intimate partnering that walks the line between love, sensuality and hate. The two physically battle under the weight of one another and then tenderly fix each others hair. Women whisper, throw themselves against walls and compete for attention from the audience. Danced to diverse music including French cabaret by Tino Rossi, Techno-dance music by Royksopp and jazz by Me'shell Ndegeocello, “That Girl and The Other One” will premiere in 2013 featuring costuming by Teka England; digital media by Alison Kotin; and lighting and sets by Lynda Reiman.
