Choreographer’s Cut: Dancer of the Year

Dive into some of the most exciting minds in contemporary choreography. Now in its fourth year, this edition of Choreographer’s Cut features Trajal Harrell.

When Tanz Magazine selected Trajal Harrell to be their Dancer of the Year in 2018, the honour prompted the artist to create a solo reflecting on (self) worth, confronting what he means to dance, what dance means to him and the legacy he hopes to leave behind both as a choreographer and as a dancer.

Harrell has selected his 2019 work Dancer of the Year to discuss exclusively for Dance Umbrella audiences.

Digital Event

Premiere

Venue: Online
Date: 6-31 October 2023

Admission: Available to watch with a Digital Pass (Pay What You Can)
Duration: 15 minutes
Access: Subtitles

Language: English

Dance Umbrella Festival 2023 Across London & Online
6-31 October

Trajal Harrell, Dancer of the Year, credit Orpheas Emirzas

About the artist +

Bea Borgers

Harrell gained international recognition for creating a series of works that bring together the tradition of voguing – a modern dance style developed in the late 1980s from the Harlem ballroom scene – with early postmodern dance. In his latest work, the artist combines theoretical ideas from voguing with gestures and formal ideas that derived from Butoh dance, which was conceived in Japan during the late 50’s and early 60’s. Weaving the links between two seemingly distant dance cultures, the artist puts the body at the centre of his research exploring the ways in which it becomes a receptacle of memory, the past and historical characters who have inspired this work. Intertwining notions of time, history and transcultural references, it reveals the multitude of layers that make up the richness of history of contemporary dance.

Harrell has had his work presented at Avignon (2023); Impulstanz Vienna (2023); Berliner Festspiele (2023); Milano Triennale (2023); Ludwig Forum (2023); Aichi Triennial (2022); MUDAM (2022); Holland Festival (2022): Kunsthalle Zurich (2022); Fondation Cartier, Paris (2021); São Paulo Bienal (2021); Lafayette Anticipations (2021), Gwangju Biennale (2021); Impulstanz Festival, Vienna (2021); Manchester International Festival (2019); Ludwig Museum- Cologne (2019); Kanal Pompidou -Brussels (2019); Festival d’Automne, Paris (2019); MUDAM (2018); The Kitchen, New York (2018); The Barbican Centre London (2017); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2017); Tanz im August, Berlin (2017); Documenta- Parliament of Bodies (2017); MoMA, New York (2016); Festival d’Avignon (2016); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2016); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2015); Stedelijk Museum and Holland Festival (2014); Centre Pompidou-Metz (2014); MoMA PS1 (2013); Performa Biennial (2011); and The New Museum – New York (2009), among others.

Currently, Harrell is one of the house directors at The Schauspielhaus Zurich and the founding director of The Schauspielhaus Zurich Dance Ensemble.

Credits +

Filmed on location at
the Barbican
Commissioned and produced by
Dance Umbrella
Filming and editing by
Henry Curtis

With thanks to the Barbican for their generous support.

Access +

Captioned
No audio description available.

Language: English

The choreographer Trajal Harrell wears dark blue clothing and is sat in a rehearsal room, next to a small side table with an iPad and a yellow mug on it. Behind him are a piano and blue case. He is discussing the story behind how he made his work Dancer of the Year, as well as commentating on particularl extracts of the piece which are shown on screen.

In these extracts, Trajal is dressed in all black, with a white dress on top that has a print of Euro bills. He is performing against a white square backdrop and on the floor is a strip of red carpet. In shot you can see 3-4 rows of audience members’ heads.