(M)imosa

Recorded at the CND 14 April 2016

Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at the Judson Church (M)

In the (M) size show, Trajal Harrell embarks on a widening of the voguing perimeter by inviting three performers from different choreographic backgrounds to come and explore new territories with him. Symptomatic of the strategy of displacement and porosity which characterizes the series as a whole, (M)imosa is a multi-layered affair which is as delicate as it is untamed : a slap in the face of convention and conventions, which transforms the stage into a seismometer of contradictory states, taking in all possible forms of intensity en route. Together or separately, Trajal Harrell, François Chaignaud, Cecilia Bengolea and Marlene Monteiro Freitas take up their places onstage as if it were a free-zone, situated far away from the framework of social conventions. On this projection-based surface which reacts to all operations involving condensing, collage and cross-over, they saturate the space with bodily movement of variable geometry, in a state of perpetual transformation. In this resolutely trans-genre, trans-gender piece, everything – voice, body, gender, style – is turned upside-down, subverted, accentuated, and accelerated. We are witness to baroque singing, fantastical creatures, out-of-synch pop stars, and crazed models. Thus, Voguing becomes a means by which all values are shaken up and turned on their head.

Updating: June 2016