Datum der Aufzeichnung: 13.12.2025

Ort: TQW studios & TQW Halle G

Im Rahmen von: the collection

After pieces for the big stage, Trajal Harrell returns to more experimental forms. Inspired by Japanese avant-garde artist Tatsumi Hijikata and his search for the genuine dance experience, Harrell and his exceptional performers let us experience their artistic pursuits at close quarters in the collection. 

Trajal Harrell draws upon the intense years of his research in Japan and his dialogue with the experimental dance of Japanese artist Tatsumi Hijikata. In his quest for a true dance experience, Tatsumi Hijikata founded in 1960s Tokyo a place for living and working, the Asubesuto-kan (engl. Asbestos Hall). There, the paths of many artists crossed: they created new works, slept, and debated diverse topics, giving rise to what remains one of the most significant moments in contemporary dance in Japan. After touring major theatres, Trajal Harrell, together with fellow artists, revives the intense and experimental spirit of this studio through unique, free-form, multidisciplinary performance evenings. the collection was born over the last couple of months from an open-ended process, under the attentive gaze of the audience. It offers a series of snapshots of a creative journey open to chance, risk, and encounter, blurring the line between research and result.

At Tanzquartier Wien, the audience is invited to discover a daily changing selection of five short pieces in different constellations. You can find the pieces listed under "Additional Information" for each performance date.

the collection consists of the following five short pieces:

• Arena: loosely based on the only two characters, the dealer and the client, in the play In the Solitude of the Cottonfields by Bernard-Marie Koltès.
• A Ghost Ballet: the notion of the black and white leotard ballet takes a spin.
• Five Friends in Five Acts: a duet for three performers – Trajal Harrell, Songhay Toldon, and Perle Palombe – inspired by the exhibition Five Friends at Museum Ludwig of work by Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Jasper Johns, Merce Cunningham, and John Cage.
• Education in Tambourines or The Celebration of the Girl Child: a Puritan re-evaluation of passion and the role of women as a contemporary mirror of our own time.
• The Powder Rooms: a series of different soloists each perform a voyeuristic trip through a diptych of light and dark. 

Choreography, costumes, sound Trajal Harrell With Vânia Doutel Vaz, Maria Ferreira Silva, Challenge Gumbodete, Trajal Harrell, New Kyd, Perle Palombe, Stephen Thompson, Songhay Toldon, Ondrej Vidlar Scenography Nadja Sofie Eller, Trajal Harrell Lighting Stéfane Perraud, Trajal Harrell Technical management, sound Santiago Latorre Dramaturgy Sara Jansen Wardrobe manager Sally Heard Production assistance Cynthia Naef Production, international relations, management Björn Pätz

Production Zürich Dance Ensemble Co-production Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), Holland Festival (Amsterdam), Festival d’Automne (Paris), Tanzquartier Wien (Vienna), La Biennale di Venezia (Venice), Museum Ludwig (Cologne) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) With the support of Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council