Into the Wilde
At a time when the arts in America are under attack and many small dance companies are quietly disappearing, San Francisco’s dance scene—for decades second in its volume of activity only to New York—still has a pulse.
PlusWorld-class review of ballet and dance.
In a career spanning almost 30 years, American dancer-choreographer Trajal Harrell has created a body of work borne of a rich imagination and an enquiring mind. Taking some of the ideas underlying early modern and postmodern dance, voguing and butoh as starting points, Harrell’s choreographies cast a speculative gaze over dance and cultural history, presenting alternative scenarios through a unique movement language. The results are captivating and utterly original.
The inventiveness of Harrell’s work makes him much in demand. He and his company, Zürich Dance Ensemble, are regular invitees at major dance festivals, theatres and arts institutions across the world. Harrell undertook a two-year artist residency at MoMA (2014-2016) and staged a month-long performance exhibition, “Trajal Harrell: Hoochie Koochie,” at London’s Barbican (2017). He has also received several high-profile awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2012 and a Silver Lion at the 2024 Venice Biennale.
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At a time when the arts in America are under attack and many small dance companies are quietly disappearing, San Francisco’s dance scene—for decades second in its volume of activity only to New York—still has a pulse.
PlusNoé Soulier enters the space without warning, and it takes a few seconds for the chattering audience to register the man now standing before them, dressed simply in a grey t-shirt and black pants, barefoot.
PlusIn the first few seconds that the lights come up on BalletX at the Joyce Theater, an audience member murmurs her assent: “I love it already.”
PlusThe right foil can sharpen the distinct shapes of a choreographic work, making it appear more completely itself through the comparison of another.
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