TRAJAL HARRELL / ZÜRICH DANCE ENSEMBLE: the collection

TRAJAL HARRELL / ZÜRICH DANCE ENSEMBLE: the collection

Thu 11. bis Sat 13.12., Halle G

After pieces for the big stage, Trajal Harrell returns to more experimental forms. Inspired by Japanese avant-garde artist Tatsumi Hijikata and his search for the genuine dance experience, Harrell and his exceptional performers let us experience their artistic pursuits at close quarters in "the collection". 

Trajal Harrell draws upon the intense years of his research in Japan and his dialogue with the experimental dance of Japanese artist Tatsumi Hijikata. In his quest for a true dance experience, Tatsumi Hijikata founded in 1960s Tokyo a place for living and working, the Asubesuto-kan (engl. Asbestos Hall). There, the paths of many artists crossed: they created new works, slept, and debated diverse topics, giving rise to what remains one of the most significant moments in contemporary dance in Japan. After touring major theatres, Trajal Harrell, together with fellow artists, revives the intense and experimental spirit of this studio through unique, free-form, multidisciplinary performance evenings. "the collection" was born over the last couple of months from an open-ended process, under the attentive gaze of the audience. It offers a series of snapshots of a creative journey open to chance, risk, and encounter, blurring the line between research and result.

At Tanzquartier Wien, the audience is invited to discover a daily changing selection of five short pieces in different constellations. 

"the collection" consists of the following five short pieces:

• "Arena": loosely based on the only two characters, the dealer and the client, in the play "In the Solitude of the Cottonfields" by Bernard-Marie Koltès.
• "A Ghost Ballet": the notion of the black and white leotard ballet takes a spin.
• "Five Friends in Five Acts": a duet for three performers – Trajal Harrell, Songhay Toldon, and Perle Palombe – inspired by the exhibition "Five Friends" at Museum Ludwig of work by Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Jasper Johns, Merce Cunningham, and John Cage.
• "Education in Tambourines or The Celebration of the Girl Child": a Puritan re-evaluation of passion and the role of women as a contemporary mirror of our own time.
• "The Powder Rooms": a series of different soloists each perform a voyeuristic trip through a diptych of light and dark.