PROP CORNER
It's love's passion harnessed via prop
Nancy Maes
Published September 23, 2005
Prop: Leather harnesses.
Appearing in: "Kiss," Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.
Tobin Del Cuore and Cheryl Mann of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago know firsthand about the meaning of that little two-word maxim, "love hurts." To remain airborne for a pas de deux called "Kiss," choreographed by Susan Marshall, they are suspended from ropes attached to leather harnesses--harnesses that help them fly but also inflict a little pain.
To get custom-fitted for the harnesses, the two went to Paul C Leather, a Chicago shop (since moved to 6410 N. Clark St.) owned by Paul Christensen, who creates fetish devices and also designs theater costumes. The dancers' harnesses have a wide leather band that wraps around the hips and straps around each thigh.
"The owner lifted us off the ground by our harnesses and bounced us up and down, to give us a sense of what it would feel like when we were hanging from a rope," Mann recalls. "I felt like I was in one of those carriers that mothers use to have their babies sit in front on them. It was very surreal."
The harnesses were custom designed for each dancer's body and are lined with padding--but that doesn't mean they're comfortable. Del Cuore says the straps sometimes pinch his thighs and Mann has a scar on her hip where the harness rubs against it. Oddly, the harness has also helped ease her back problems.
For the seven-minute "Kiss" routine, the dancers wear the rigging in full view over jeans. "I think Susan opted not to hide the harnesses because it's not about creating an illusion," says Del Cuore. "It's more about the emotion of the dance."
Learning to perform the choreography while suspended from a 15-foot long rope was a challenge. "We have to prevent ourselves from going with the flow of physics," explains Del Cuore. "We have to throw our weight around to direct the movement because if you do anything wrong you could go spinning off. . . . Sometimes on stage the moves don't go the way they are supposed to and we just have to deal with it."
The choreography of "Kiss" might be seen as a reflection of love itself.
"I think these are two people who know they will be together no matter what," says Mann, "even though their relationship is difficult and exasperating at times."
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Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Wed.-Thu. Sept. 28-29 and Oct. 1-2, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., $20-$75; 800-882-4275, www.hubbardstreetdance.com.
Appearing in: "Kiss," Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.
Tobin Del Cuore and Cheryl Mann of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago know firsthand about the meaning of that little two-word maxim, "love hurts." To remain airborne for a pas de deux called "Kiss," choreographed by Susan Marshall, they are suspended from ropes attached to leather harnesses--harnesses that help them fly but also inflict a little pain.
To get custom-fitted for the harnesses, the two went to Paul C Leather, a Chicago shop (since moved to 6410 N. Clark St.) owned by Paul Christensen, who creates fetish devices and also designs theater costumes. The dancers' harnesses have a wide leather band that wraps around the hips and straps around each thigh.
"The owner lifted us off the ground by our harnesses and bounced us up and down, to give us a sense of what it would feel like when we were hanging from a rope," Mann recalls. "I felt like I was in one of those carriers that mothers use to have their babies sit in front on them. It was very surreal."
The harnesses were custom designed for each dancer's body and are lined with padding--but that doesn't mean they're comfortable. Del Cuore says the straps sometimes pinch his thighs and Mann has a scar on her hip where the harness rubs against it. Oddly, the harness has also helped ease her back problems.
For the seven-minute "Kiss" routine, the dancers wear the rigging in full view over jeans. "I think Susan opted not to hide the harnesses because it's not about creating an illusion," says Del Cuore. "It's more about the emotion of the dance."
Learning to perform the choreography while suspended from a 15-foot long rope was a challenge. "We have to prevent ourselves from going with the flow of physics," explains Del Cuore. "We have to throw our weight around to direct the movement because if you do anything wrong you could go spinning off. . . . Sometimes on stage the moves don't go the way they are supposed to and we just have to deal with it."
The choreography of "Kiss" might be seen as a reflection of love itself.
"I think these are two people who know they will be together no matter what," says Mann, "even though their relationship is difficult and exasperating at times."
----------
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Wed.-Thu. Sept. 28-29 and Oct. 1-2, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., $20-$75; 800-882-4275, www.hubbardstreetdance.com.
Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune
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