Jess McCall in Tassel Me This, a dance show which puts female friendship in the spotlight. Photo / Supplied
There's a particular kind of delight that comes with the performance of Tassel Me This by Jessie McCall and Shani Dickins.
In part, it comes from their ever-so-subtle signalled sending-up of certain conventions of feminine friendship, a shared craving for bling and the unspoken desire to every once-in-a-while be the
centre of attention.
In part, it also comes from their lampooning of a psychoanalytic exchange in a looping narrative about attachment and dependency but also a very deliberate resistance to our soft porn culture. They accomplish the latter by ironically and absurdly directing attention to particular modern styles of dress and deportment.
But mostly delight comes from the sheer goodwill towards the world which saturates McCall and Dickins' dancing and their delight in teasing out the audience applause.
Surrounded by dangling art deco style fringed lampshades raised and lowered by tasselled cords, they dance to a score by James Risbey. It's a collage of repeating sections which include industrial grunge, chichi 1960s' department store muzak and the pop group Berlin's big hit Take My Breath Away.
