Dream inspired and incorporating a stage illusion by Robert Harbin called The Zig Zag Girl; Dancerbation is a work that examines the overt and subconscious nature of the “erotic gesture” and its contemporary use in theatre, life and art. 

Using a percussive, metallic soundscape alongside a collective of women, Nishikawa’s sculptural theatre subtly breaks down the masculine conventions that are normally associated with the magician and his assistant. Established theatrical patterns are expanded through dance, becoming structural improvisations that blur ritual to open new doors. The costumes were designed and hand painted in almost hallucinatory opposition to the sequinned convention so usual with such stage illusions, their eccentricity emphasising just how accepting we are of the patronising norm. 

Performed twice on the same evening with a group hypnotherapy session conducted beforehand.