The attention to detail and dedication to performance by Shani Dickins and Jessie McCall made “Tassel Me This” a pleasant addition to the 2015 Dunedin Fringe Festival. The interdisciplinary work lasted for a brief 45 minutes, much to my dismay. The piece started in quite an abstract manner, but it gradually became clear what the piece was about, at a pace which seemed painstakingly slow. In hindsight, the deterioration of the patients mental wellbeing was not drawn out enough as I sat there slightly disappointed when the two dancers took their bows, golden glitter falling sporadically from their bodies. A way to draw the piece out more could be to increase the deterioration of the mental health through the removal and destruction of clothing, in a way similar to their make up, hair, dance styles, and behaviour. A lot of thematically tasseled props such as chandeliers, sunglasses, and pull cords all worked well into the aesthetic of the performance, keeping the audience on their toes, wondering what the duo would do next. The use of the pull cords which released drop down cloths from the ceiling, also worked as a divider, breaking up the performance into four sections. The pulling of each cord symbolised not only the beginning of another “therapy” session, but also the introduction of a new dance as the patients mental health grew continually weaker. Overall, “Tassel Me This” was well worth the watch despite the need for more of an uphill climb before the piece’s climax.
The attention to detail and dedication to performance by Shani
Dickins and Jessie McCall made Tassel Me This a pleasant addition
to the 2015 Dunedin Fringe Festival.The interdisciplinary work
lasted for a brief 45 minutes, much to my dismay. The piece started
in quite an abstract manner, but it gradually became clear what the
piece was about, at a pace which seemed painstakingly slow. In
hindsight, the deterioration of the patients mental wellbeing was
not drawn out enough as I sat there slightly disappointed when the
two dancers took their bows, golden glitter falling sporadically
from their bodies. A way to draw the piece out more could be to
increase the deterioration of the mental health through the removal
and destruction of clothing, in a way similar to their make up,
hair, dance styles, and behaviour.A lot of thematically tasseled
props such as chandeliers, sunglasses, and pull cords all worked
well into the aesthetic of the performance, keeping the audience on
their toes, wondering what the duo would do next. The use of the
pull cords which released drop down cloths from the ceiling, also
worked as a divider, breaking up the performance into four
sections. The pulling of each cord symbolised not only the
beginning of another therapy session, but also the introduction of
a new dance as the patients mental health grew continually
weaker.Overall, Tassel Me This was well worth the watch despite the
need for more of an uphill climb before the pieces climax.
