Anyone who believes there are no meaty roles for dancers should check out “Borrowed Prey,” starting Thursday. Performed for just 20 people at a time, it’s the rare dance piece that takes place in a butcher shop.
And no, says Carrie Ahern, its Brooklyn-based choreographer and performer: Lady Gaga’s infamous meat dress had nothing to do with it.
“So many people talk about ‘sustainable food,’ ” says the 36-year-old. “I wanted to find out what that really means.”
To bone up on the subject, she hunted deer in Maryland, slaughtered chickens in Washington state and apprenticed with butchers in Seattle and Brooklyn.
Eighteen months later, she carved out a solo — an hourlong piece intended to make you think about your place in the food chain. Accompanying the dance is text by Ahern and Temple Grandin, the autistic animal-behavior scientist; an original vocal and electronic score . . . and a 50-pound lamb carcass, courtesy of Dickson’s Farmstand Meats in Chelsea Market, where the dance is set.
“Dance and meat? Why not?”, asks owner Jake Dickson, who’s game about bringing fresh meat — that is, dance aficionados — into his shop.
Wearing a furry top and cap with a blood-stained smock, Ahern begins by stretching out on the butcher table, then sliding off and crouching under it. Sometimes she’s the hunter, sometimes the prey. She talks about her research and experiences as well, and before your eyes, she gradually turns the lamb into chops and roasts. It may make you think twice about ordering a burger.
But Ahern, who has fond memories of visiting McDonald’s as a kid, isn’t a vegetarian. And while she’s learned to handle a 6-inch boning knife with aplomb, she’s not quite ready to quit choreography for full-time carving.
“It makes me so relaxed,” she says of cutting meat. “But I would need a lot more training.”
Tickets are $25 to $60 — the latter gets you a front-row seat instead of standing room. And don’t worry about protecting your clothes.
“Butchering is not all that bloody,” says Ahern, who’ll take orders for lamb chops to go, “but decomposing flesh, blood and bone does have a special smell.”
Bon appetit!
“Borrowed Prey” runs Thursdays to Sundays through May 13 at Dickson’s Farmstand Meats, Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Ave.; info and tickets at carrieahern.com