The Romeo

Artistic director of the Zürich Dance Ensemble, the American and Switzerland based choreographer and performer deploys a mythical dance that takes its name from the figure of Shakespeare’s young hero in a chorus of singularities. 

Trajal Harrell, a familiar face on the Belgian stage, returns with an ambitious piece, presented in the main courtyard of the Palace of the Popes in Avignon, among other venues. Set against a backdrop of perforated walls reminiscent of medieval Italy, the performers begin by presenting themselves in their natural state: A name, a personal characteristic. People before characters.

Soon, these distinct bodies – with their multiple genders, physiognomies and origins – will form a common body, a chorus and a crowd, a melting pot of mixed identities. This is how Harrell dissects, multiplies and diffracts Romeo. The Romeo, literary and theatrical emblem. The young lover in search of the absolute that this definite article paradoxically opens up to the universal.

In music and movement, the creator plays with mixes: from voguing to butoh, from catwalk aesthetics to queer and black inspiration. The result is a loose parade, a dance that is at once ancestral and contemporary, infused with popular culture and imbued with naturalness and sophistication.

Trajal Harrell received the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2024.

Corealisation Kaaitheater, Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles