Australian belles on stilts sway in Strange Fruit

When the beauty of a fairy tale met 14-foot-high flexible poles, Strange Fruit was the outcome.

This performance art troupe, based in Melbourne, Australia, features three belles who tell a story using music and movement on custom-designed poles that help them glide through the air.

“We also wanted to create a sense of wonder and fun and transform and liven a public space,” said Grant Mouldey, associate director of the show.

“We wanted to showcase an all-female performance and the construction of women and how they tell a story.”

The women on stilts first appeared on campus Thursday outside the IU Art Museum and made three more appearances throughout Bloomington as part of the celebration for the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival.

The act featured three women, or belles, clad in bright magenta and purple and theatrical makeup.

It began with each belle scaling the poles to reach the top. Then, the performers strapped themselves in and pulled up their full-hooped skirts.

The magic started as the belles began leaning and moving in circles on the stilts, allowing them to execute gravity-defying dips.

The belles teased one another and portrayed how they face the ups and downs of life together.

Strange Fruit is a free production that has traveled all over the world.
Transforming any patch of grass into a backdrop for performance art.

The women in the air did just that.

“It was very pretty,” said 7-year-old Gianna Skaggs as she watched. “The girls looked like princesses.”

Besides creating a story for people to enjoy, observers, such as student Lorissa Pietruszka, said they enjoyed how the production also brought culture to IU.
“The different music they used from different parts of the world is culturally significant,” Pietruszka said. “Because we are in southern Indiana, you don’t think we would see much of that, but we get to all the time.”

The women of Strange Fruit said they perfect their act with training and hours of practice. They added that two of the belles have a dance background, while the other has experience as a trapeze artist.

“The main part of the audition was being able to climb up the pole,” performer Natalie Abbott said.

“It takes a lot of core strength. After that, it’s about learning the technique and how to use your body to slow down your movements or how to do the big dives and then stop.”

Those dives and dips were what thrilled attendees who attended the Australian artists’ performance like student Andie Riffer.

“It was brilliant,” Riffer said as she watched the belles swing high in the air.