From 1998 to 2001, I was stage director, dancer and choreographer for the avant-garde pop band Fischerspooner. For their first show I worked with bandleader Casey Spooner and two singers and primarily helped along some gestures and moves they had already created. I intuitively pulled ideas from Pat Benatar and Janet Jackson videos because it matched the over-the-top energy and humor of the performers. Soon after, Casey asked me to bring in real dancers and that was when we began collaborating on the FS movement style that they maintain to this day. We knowingly combined our influences; his inspiration ranged from Michael Jackson to Bernini, from a Costa Rican coastline to a Paris runway. Mine ranged from Duran Duran videos to Pina Bausch to Kundalini Yoga and all things Indian. Casey gave me something wonderful: permission to find inspiration anywhere, even in the pop culture that Real Artists are supposed to disdain. This freedom allowed me to explore a more humorous, dynamic, sensual part of myself that I had never experienced in straight modern dance projects. Having just come off 7 years touring with Mark Morris Dance Group, I was exploring the concept that structure is beautiful. Casey, coming from experimental theatre was exploring everything is beautiful, even the mistakes. So the dances I created for Fischerspooner had a completely distinct flavor because I had tailored the style, the look, the feel and the attitude to suit their specific kind of avant-garde genius. Their catchy synth-pop beat driven music infused my choreography with the angular flair of robots on acid but their Rococo-meets-Mad Max design aesthetic and their fun is a way of life philosophy set the stage for the dances to really shine.

The style we invented was also born of these restrictions:

• Singers who had never danced, one who had never been on stage
• Dancers who had only performed in small concert venues
• Staging contemporary pop movement within the structure of classical dance composition
• Bringing Casey’s influences together with mine in a way that pleased us both

What we ended up with was tightly crafted but loosely performed dances that were at once stylish, clever and edgy. It happened to be a perfect fit for their wild cinematic art direction and original dance tracks weaved together strategically by composer Warren Fischer.

PRESS LIST FOR FISCHERSPOONER