Flurotica was composed for Rebecca Ashe to play at Electronic Music Midwest in 2010. She is a performer with a distinct performance presence and the ability to pull of a piece with some crazy staging. I took this opportunity to compose something a little different, something that includes some theatrical staging and performance. For this project I repurposed the musicI had created for Two Burlesques, eliminating the video and adding a flute part.

The performance notes will shed a little light on the stagings of this piece:

Flurotica is a silly little piece, in the spirit of burlesque. It will require the use of two music stands placed on opposite sides of the stage. The score for the first movement will be on one and the score for the second on the other.

For the first movement the performer is required to wear a hat, a pair of long gloves, and a feather boa. These will be removed during the performance (a la burlesque striptease). However, there should be nothing erotic in this removal of clothing (nor in the rubbing of legs and stomach). It should be as though the player is learning how to strip by following instructions in a book. The player should keep her attention focused on the score, oblivious of the audience.