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underbelly: The Predator’s Songstress + enlarge

Haruko Nishimura, of Degenerate Art Ensemble, is the performance director.

Photographer: Rex Hohlbein

underbelly: The Predator’s Songstress

  • PROJECT ROLES
  • Alan Maskin, Designer
  • LOCATION & YEAR
  • Seattle, WA, 2012

Project Details

With the support of a grant awarded by the Seattle Center Foundation, Olson Kundig Architects joins Degenerate Art Ensemble (DAE) to present “underbelly: The Predator’s Songstress” during Seattle Center’s The Next 50 Celebration this September. The performances will speak to the past, present and future by harnessing and revealing the underbelly of Seattle Center as audiences take part in performances held on non-public and unexpected “stages.”

“underbelly: The Predator’s Songstress” will feature a series of dynamic, interactive portraits created by Haruko Nishimura, of DAE, that combine live narration, visceral Butoh dance, song, and virtual characterizations controlled by physical movements. Contributing to the multi-sensory experience are DAE’s Joshua Kohl, who will create original live music, DAE’s video artist Leo Mayberry and Portland-based costume artist Alenka Bravo, who will create hand-made, custom art garments and prosthetics. Olson Kundig Architects will provide kinetic architectural dioramas to serve as virtual stage settings and will work with DAE on site location and props to help ensure a holistic melding of character, setting, and performance.

The Next Fifty Celebration is planned as a six-month long event that will place the Pacific Northwest in the global limelight, serving as an interactive platform to illuminate the world’s challenges as we explore and define our possibilities. From April 21 to October 21, 2012, millions of visitors will descend upon Seattle, with Seattle Center playing host to luminaries, exhibitions, speaker series and entertainment— to debate and define the future.