By Trajal Harrell
Staging and choreography: Trajal Harrell
Premiere: 1. April 2023, Pfauen
ca. 75 minutes, no break
Picture a dance. Let’s call it the “Romeo”, after Shakespeare’s young lover who, in ignited enthusiasm, believed he could conquer death. Picture this dance, which would be known all over the world, although no one would know when and where it was created. Some would say that it was first danced many centuries ago while herding sheep in an alpine pasture; others might claim to have seen it for the first time at a rural funeral; perhaps it was created during a break in a mine shaft or after an errant shot during a hunt on the North American steppes; or maybe the daughter of a Japanese fisherman danced the Romeo for the first time when her father had reached the safe shore again after a violent storm.
No matter where the Romeo would have originated: imagine this dance that people of all origins, genders, and generations, of all temperaments and moods, dance when they face their tragedies and only dance. Trajal Harrell will now bring it to Zurich. And maybe that’s where the story really begins.
ART HAPPENS
Lena Bohnet
© Leon Schwitter