17 — 19.05, 21 — 24.05
Trajal Harrell Zurich-New York
Welcome to Asbestos Hall
dance — premiere
| ⧖ ±40min | €16 / €13 | Limited capacity
Choreographer Trajal Harrell invites us to an atmospheric evening, more experience than performance. Harrell drew inspiration for this new project from the Asbestos Studio of Japanese choreographer Tatsumi Hijikata, founder of the Butoh dance style. Hijikata’s dancers rehearsed and lived in the studio while partially earning their living elsewhere, often as 'erotic dancers'. Daily life and artistic creation merged spontaneously.
Harrell and five performers will move into La Verrière and create a space for research, experimentation, development, and encounter between artists. This expresses his belief that art comes into being through collaboration, emerging from mutual passion and inspiration. For over a week, Harrell opens the doors of his own Asbestos Hall to the public. In an informal setting, audiences can discover one of two choreographic and musical creations based on Koltès' magnificent theatre text, Dans la solitude des champs de coton.
Every night promises to deliver an extraordinary experience. After large-scale productions such as Maggie the Cat (Kunstenfestivaldesarts 2023), we are delighted to welcome Harrell once again, this time with an experimental form that offers a unique insight into his creative process and concludes his long journey exploring Hijikata's legacy.
Guest interventions
Open to those with a ticket for any performance on the same date (attendees of the first visit are welcome to remain, and attendees of the second visit can arrive earlier to see the intervention).
17.05: Talk: Legacy of Hijikata and Asbestos Hall Kyoko Iwaki & Sara Jansen
18.05: With a music performance by Santiago Latorre
19.05: With a Butoh dance workshop organised by Uiko Watanabe
21.05: With a conversation between Trajal Harrell and Eliel Jones
22.05: Lecture: The Nihilism of Yukio Mishima by Hugues Makaba Ntoto
23.05: With an acoustic percussion concert by Aya Suzuki
24.05: Organised reading group with rile* around Koltès’ Dans la solitude des champs de coton (in English, French reader available)
... open to all, and the results are not predictable. We ask you, our visitors, to be open minded, curious and generous – you may be bored, enchanted and inspired ... WELCOME
*
The project Welcome to Asbestos Hall concludes Trajal Harrell’s ‘Hijikata Period’ of work. This period, initially informed by an imaginary map on which Harrell marked Japanese dancer and choreographer Tatsumi Hijikata (1928-1986) and fashion designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, among others. It started in 2013 with Used, Abused and Hung out to Dry at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and has since resulted in twenty-six projects, including Dancer of the Year; The House of Bernarda Alba; and Maggie the Cat. Welcome to Asbestos Hall draws and reflects on the work of the previous iterations. It is inspired by the spirit of the Asbestos studio in Tokyo, Japan. The studio was built in Meguro in 1952 by Akiko Motofuji, and initially housed the Nobutoshi Tsuda Modern Dance School. Ten years later, it was renamed Asbestos Hall (1). It was the site of Tatsumi Hijikata’s work from 1962 to 1986. This Welcome to Asbestos Hall foregrounds process and practice, encounter and collaboration, speculation and imagination, rather than the finished work.
(1) Asbestos Hall was as much a place to live as to work for a whole generation of dancers who rehearsed and lived in the studio while partially earning their living elsewhere, often as ‘erotic dancers’. Daily life and artistic creation merged spontaneously.
Visit 1 and visit 2
This is not a premiere
This is an Anti-premiere
This is not a creation
This is Process Art in the making
When you arrive, we will be nearly finished. We will return to the beginning, and start again.
You are welcome to watch until we leave the performing space.
You are welcome to not applaud,
we will bow only on the last day of the project.
You are welcome to attend the interventions between the visits.
Interventions accept applause.
You are welcome to extend your studio visit and hang out here, before, in between and after the performances.
You are welcome to have a tea, beverage, or any snack made available.
You are welcome to occasionally and/or spontaneously check the Kunstenfestivaldesarts website for possible pop-up and/or last minute events, gatherings, and invitations.
You are welcome to welcome those around you.
17.05
- 18:00
- visit 1
- 20:00
- visit 1
18.05
- 18:00
- visit 1
- Sold out — Register to the ticket alert
- 20:00
- visit 1
- Sold out — Register to the ticket alert
19.05
- 18:00
- visit 1
- Sold out — Register to the ticket alert
- 20:00
- visit 1
- Sold out — Register to the ticket alert
21.05
- 18:00
- visit 2
- Sold out — Register to the ticket alert
- 20:00
- visit 2
- Sold out — Register to the ticket alert
22.05
- 18:00
- visit 2
- Sold out — Register to the ticket alert
- 20:00
- visit 2
- Sold out — Register to the ticket alert
23.05
- 18:00
- visit 2
- Sold out — Register to the ticket alert
- 20:00
- visit 1
- Sold out — Register to the ticket alert
24.05
- 18:00
- visit 2
- Sold out — Register to the ticket alert
- 20:00
- visit 1
- Sold out — Register to the ticket alert
Presentation: Kunstenfestivaldesarts, La Verrière
Choreography, stage, costumes and sound: Trajal Harrell | With: New Kyd, Perle Palombe, Stephen Thompson, Songhay Toldon, Challenge Gumbodete, Trajal Harrell, Vânia Doutel Vaz | Lights: Stéfane Perraud, Trajal Harrell | Dramaturgy: Sara Jansen | Technical direction and sound: Santiago Latorre | Wardrobe manager: Sally Heard | Production, international relations and management: Björn Pätz
Production: Zürich Dance Ensemble | Coproduction: Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Holland Festival, Festival d‘Automne à Paris, Tanzquartier Wien
With the support of Pro Helvetia | Thanks to KWP Kunstenwerkplaats
