I designed and fabricated costumes for “Fruitopia,” a live dance piece that was performed at the 8th annual Night of 1000 Kates on March 19, 2022. This was my first year participating in this Philadelphia tradition, an evening of spectacle inspired by the iconic musician Kate Bush. Working on this project felt like a return to part of myself that I had lost touch with over the years of the covid-19 pandemic and it was nourishing for me to revive the spirit of artistic collaboration and community that was once a central organizing force in my life.
Jay Roselius conceptualized this performance in response to a series of commercials for the fruit drink Fruitopia that Kate Bush scored in 1994. There are few things on Earth more aesthetically inspiring than fruit and I felt moved by the concept of flesh vs. rind. I worked with this idea by designing capes for nine performers with distinct exteriors and interiors that evoked real fruits.
In addition to painting, dyeing, and constructing many of the capes and headpieces myself, I also facilitated the performers’ ability to contribute to their own looks by providing fabrication guidance, organizing costume build sessions, and sourcing materials.
I was stunned by the choreography that Shannon Lynn Brooks juiced from the cosmic orchard for this piece. Jay Roselius reworked Kate Bush’s original Fruitopia scores to create the music. Katrina Ohstrom and Jay Roselius collaborated on the kaleidoscopic fruit video projected behind the dancers. Dancers are Alanna Bozman, Jodi Bosin, Shannon Lynn Brooks, Dana Cohen, Nora Einbender-Luks, Andrew Keller, Theo Loftis, Jenna Spitz, and Elizabeth Weinstein. This project was a big bang that expanded outward in a brilliant and boundless divergence of new friendships, creative projects, excursions, and celebrations — the sweetest fruits of all!