Shoe Stories: Marquette Korff

Marquette Korff, Eugene Lang junior

NSFP: How did these shoes find you?

MK: On a very obsessive compulsive shopping spree at Buffalo Exchange in Brooklyn. Glad I found these before M.I.A. did.

NSFP: Where did these shoes take you?

MK: Right here in the Lang courtyard! And many a compliment they did get! They helped me transform into a spider for a skit. For my physical theatre class, we had to compose a five-minute piece that included certain things like a peach, tenderness, innocence, stillness, action, collective movement. We sang [the Destiny’s Child song] “Survivor” and changed all the lyrics to “peach.” With my special shoes on I performed this move we call “the Kafka.” I crawled around in the bridge position like a spider. Everyone was sitting right there, the entire middle staircase was watching us. They got quite a performance. It’s fun to wear crazy things and act and be physical with the things you own and take them places. To be in that scene and forget everyone’s existence and go to another world and take the shoes with you. They’re magical. You can’t wear them often, but on the days you do wear them, special things will happen. You can’t plan them. Spontaneous.