Mike Hadreas, aka Perfume Genius, has reunited with choreographer Kate Wallich for a new music and dance work called The Lesson. Commissioned by Seattle Theatre Group, it follows their 2019 collaboration The Sun Still Burns Here and was inspired by The Piano Teacher. Today, Hadreas has shared ‘Natural High’, a resplendent single from his score that was co-produced by Fashion Club’s Pascal Stevenson. Check it out below, and scroll down for dates for The Lesson.
“When we started searching for a framework for this new piece, we kept coming back to The Piano Teacher,” Wallich said in press materials. “We are all drawn to the dynamics between what is good and what is bad…how we’re supposed to behave, and how we aren’t, how to balance desire and restraint.”
Hadreas added: “I’ve always thought of my albums as soundtracks to films that do not exist. There is a freedom to inhabiting something imagined and purely sonic. I can be every character or not exist at all or body swap at will. Scenes can shift immediately just because I feel like it. That doesn’t change when creating a performance with Kate, all the mystery and thrill of going somewhere lawless and dreamlike stays intact — but I’m not alone in building the world and it literally fleshes out in real time. Body swapping feels very different when you are actually in a room holding the other person.”
Perfume Genius’ most recent album was last year’s Glory.
The Lesson 2027 Tour Dates:
Feb 6 – MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA (Work-in-Progress Showing) (Tickets)
Feb 18–20 & February 25–27 – REDCAT, Los Angeles, CA (World Premiere) (Tickets)
Mar 4–6 – Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York, NY (Tickets)
Mar 17–18 – Philharmonie de Paris, Paris, France (Tickets)
Mar 21 Barbican Centre – London, United Kingdom (Tickets)
Mar 24 – Birds of Paradise Festival – Utrecht, Netherlands (Tickets)
Mar 27 – National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland (Tickets)
Apr 1 – Liquid Music / Northrop, Minneapolis, MN (Tickets)
Apr 9 – The 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle, WA
