This past weekend my son and I spent time at the 18th annual Lotus World Music & Arts Festival, and we both agreed that the single most engaging piece was Strange Fruit. Lotus is better known for its music acts. I loved dancing with the Swedish hip-hop boys, Movits!, I was swept away by the Caribbean a capella sounds of the Creole Choir of Cuba, and I'm ready for a trip to Nashville to hear more American roots sung by Abigail Washburn (think Alison Krauss, slightly lower-pitched and with banjo instead of fiddle). But to name a singular WOW, I'm going with Australia's Strange Fruit.
How to describe the non-edible, yet loaded with cultural nourishment, Strange Fruit? This troupe's genre is a fusion: part dance, part mime, part circus, part engineering.
One of the most engaging aspects, is the way the performers mount their poles and unfold their costumes in full view--also in full character. Notice in the following video how entranced the kids are. (Of course, one toddler was more interested in the grass. But most remained transfixed.) I saw a babe in arms waving to the women dancing in the sky. And I heard from another mom that after the 3:15 performance, one of the belles, as soon as she had climbed down her pole and set foot on the ground, was surrounded by enchanted children.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzqdZa3Oncw[/youtube]
Strange Fruit's three touring troupes bring a variety of acts to public spaces all over the world. We saw "The Three Belles". If you have the chance, see them on a street or in a park near you. Nourish yourself.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gMptNC8o74[/youtube]
