Rennie Harris Solo Project

This project engages the many ways that artistic collaboration can profoundly mark the passage of time, and how we break and remake ourselves to cobble together a coherent self. Beautiful Human Lies: Chapter 4 is a new, evening-length solo dance performance that conjures a dissonant and rhizomatic dialogue around identity, transformation, and privilege. The work will premiere September 6-8, 2025 at the Drake Theater in Philadelphia, as part of the curated Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

In 1999, rising hip-hop artist Rennie Harris created a 7-minute solo dance for Megan Bridge’s student thesis concert at SUNY Purchase. A mashup of street dance and modern dance, including a recorded conversation between the two artists, the work had its professional debut in 2000’s Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Using the original solo as a seed, Beautiful Human Lies: Chapter 4  takes one white woman’s story and embeds it in layers of media images, unfolding a spectacle that lives in the tension between personal and community healing and a violent, oppressive culture.

In the last twenty-five years, the world has seen profound changes in economies, societies, and political landscapes. These artists, too, have transformed: At age 61 and with two new hips, two honorary doctorates and a Guggenheim, Rennie’s work has shaped an entire genre. Megan, 46 and a mother of two, performs and teaches in universities and around the world, advocating for dance as a powerful healer. Lifetimes of experience accumulate in the body.

Brenda Dixon Gottschild, an American cultural historian, performer, choreographer, and anti-racist cultural worker, is the project’s embedded scholar and writer. Professor Emerita at Temple University, Gottschild has published four books and countless essays and articles.

This project is made possible by the generosity of Fidget’s donors, including seed money from Sallie Findlay. Additional project support is from University of Colorado, Boulder; Ensemble Arts Philly at The Kimmel Center; FringeArts; American Dance Asylum; and 171 Cedar Arts.