Sacre Bleu! Or, Camembert 8 Euros. is an investigation into what it means to allow one’s self to be seen. This performance-as-research project has grown out of readings by/about strippers/peep-show dancers, and well as a visit to Amsterdam’s famous Red Light District. I am exploring the implications of putting the body on display, and subsequently the affects of viewing the human body as commodity. Is there a difference between being looked at and being seen? Where and how do these women (as well as the performers) grant permission to be viewed, and what is it they really show?
I currently envision the work as a series of experiments, each structured in response to the setting. I have applied for stage performances and studio residencies (very “safe” environment)s, but ideally I would like to have a development phase situated in a window/storefront space, so that the investigations take place under the real experience of observation (“risk-taking” environment). Also, time and duration in an installation setting are completely different than in stage performance, which adds interesting factors to the research.
The first experiment of Sacre Bleu! had three sections and was performed for the Micro Museum’s 25th anniversary. First, arms and legs appear through slits in a glitzy fabric. Next, the performers emerge (currently two women) and text based on images from French Vogue is introduced. Finally, the third and least developed part, fondly referred to as “The Cheese Section,” is a monologue en Francais, professing love of the food. I began working on the first two sections during a residency at Performing Arts Forum in St. Erme France in August, although the idea of putting body parts through fabric came into being during a Movement Research workshop with Barbra Dilley in June. I am interested in the simultaneous show girl/display and disconnection for the whole that happens when a leg is seductively exposed. I am curious what affect fragmentation of the body will have on the viewer, and think I can push further toward disconnection here than I have thus far. There is also potential for humor, and I am not yet sure how that fits into the work. The type of fabric used in this section also requires further experimentation in order to achieve greater isolation of limbs.
I brought an issue of French Vogue with me to St. Erme, and began by writing in response to images I saw. Once my poem of sorts was created, I began to source movement invention ideas from images in the magazine. When I returned to Brooklyn I set the movement on another body (Tara Sheena) while I remained the vocal presence on stage, further exploring disconnection of the body, and bringing up questions about how power shifts between performers. 
Initially imitating the calls of a Dutch cheese monger, The Cheese Section finally clicked for me after an improvisation session with Contemplative Dance Practice NYC. I began playing with a declaration of love to fromage (Oh, camembert! Gorgonzola-la-la! Bleu!). While the latter worked in performance, the idea of selling and commodity disappeared. I need to reconsider what purpose this material serves in order to rework it.
After this experiment, an audience member suggested play with the idea of antique peep-show machines, where viewfinders limit and focus the individual viewer’s gaze. This would be perfect to play with in a store-front setting. Also, after passing an advertisement for it near Times Square, I’ve become fascinated by Nyotaimori, or the eating sushi off of a naked woman (or man).
The connection between food and pleasure is age-old, but it is the body display and proximity to those viewing is what intrigues me. Examining “looking” at such a micro level, the shift from “looking” to “touching” seems a massive one. Perhaps there is something in that ot explore as well.
