Trajal Harrell
Trajal Harrell. A graduate of Yale University and after studying at the Centre national de la danse (Yvonne Rainer) and at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary dance, North American choreographer and dancer Trajal Harrell worked throughout the world. From The Kitchen in New York to the Festival d’Automne in Paris, from the Holland Festival in Amsterdam to Impulstanz in Vienna, his research is based on a conversation between post-modern dance, the New York voguing scene and japanese dance butoh. His work reimagines our pasts and laughs at chronological, geographical, and cultural distance, leading to performances in venues dedicated to visual arts, such as New York’s MoMA. He uses the tools of critical thought (in particular research about gender, feminism, and post-colonialism) as well as his own deep knowledge of art and dance history. The result of extensive research, his shows are like so many sensitive, hybrid, and joyful objects that borrow equally from fashion, pop culture, and avant-garde artists. Trajal Harrell has performed all over the world, but he regularly comes back to France, and has worked in particular in Belfort, Montpellier, or Caen, cities whose unexpected exoticism is revealed by the titles of his latest shows. Trajal Harrell was appointed director of the Schauspielhaus Zürich Dance Ensemble in 2019.
