Experience the Difference

‘Experience the Difference’ was commissioned by the Centre of Contemporary Art (CCA) in Glasgow for the exhibition ‘The Magic of Real Life in Real Situations’ (2006) and also included in ‘ET TU Tribute’ (2006) curated by The Embassy Gallery at Edinburgh Sculpture Court.

‘Experience the Difference’ was a performance that re-enacted original dance routines from selected Michael Jackson’s pop videos. The selected dance routines taken from the videos ‘Thriller’ and ‘Smooth Criminal’ were studied, edited, and methodically learnt by ‘Lisalouise’ and the performers. The process of deconstruction and reconstruction created a precise yet fragmented interpretation of the influential performances. The final re constructed routine created an original if not disjointed interpretation of two seminal moments in popular culture. The performance was presented out of context of the original video narrative and although suggestive of the primary reference altered by the learning process, performance style and environment.

‘Lisalouise’ collaborated with a composer to create a musical re-working of the referenced Michael Jackson tracks (‘Thriller’ and ‘Smooth Criminal’). As with the choreography the musical score was deconstruct and reconstruct to create an interpretation of the seminal songs. The score was composed using the original sheet music on the digital composition programme ‘Sibelius’ and performed on a grand piano in order to create a hybrid of compositional styles.