Sarah Houbolt: A Conversation About Contribution and KooKoo the Bird Girl

By Suzanne Cowan

Trans-Tasman performance artist, Sarah Houbolt, discusses her journey in New Zealand developing her dance and performance career, her new show KooKoo the Bird Girl, and the gifts of partial sightedness and blindness.

Sarah's KooKoo the Birdgirl pays homage to Minnie Woolsey, an American freak show entertainer in the late 19th and early 20th century famous for her bird-like features, dancing and gibberish. Sarah wants to revive her legacy as a reflection on physical difference.

Born in Australia with a similar genetic condition to Minnie Woolsey, Sarah aims to re-frame the freak show as a space of freedom and delightful kookiness.

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