Harrell’s series in seven sizes, (XS) – (XL), Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at The Judson Church, charts a path through a choreographic labyrinth in the form of a question: what would have happened in 1963 if someone from the voguing ball scene going on in Harlem had travelled downtown to perform alongside the early postmoderns at Judson Church? (M)IMOSA is a choreographic collaboration authored by Bengolea, Chaignaud, Monteiro Freitas, and Harrell in response to this question, involving the viewer – through sculptural acrobatics, elaborate drag and amazingly virtuosic movement – in a seductive, brilliant synthesis of the contrived theatricality of fashion and the matter-of-fact banality of everyday life.

“Gerard Mayen has written: “Judson reunited middle and upper-middle class artists and audiences, white and culturally selective, politicized, and convinced of the democratic scope of their privilege for an everyday gesture and body – one that was neutral and full of ‘authenticity.’ The voguing ballrooms brought together poorer artists and audiences, non-white, inspired by pop and fashion culture and a search for the ‘realness’ of gesture.” This realness turns out to reveal the artificiality being performed at the root of all social identities.”

Trajal Harrell

Huffington Post – Trajal Harrell: The Next Martha Graham Has Arrived!

Trajal’s works Quartet for the End of Time, Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at The Judson Church (S), along with (M)IMOSA were chosen by Time Out-NY Magazine as one of the best dances of 2008, 2009, and 2011, respectively.

Choreographed and performed by: Cecilia Bengolea, François Chaignaud, Trajal Harrell, Marlene Monteiro Freitas

Lighting design by: Yannick Fouassier

Stylism: La Bourette

Light manager: Sylvain Rausa / Yannick Fouassier

Sound manager: Enora Le Gall / Martin Trinquart

Special thanks to: Matthieu Banvillet, Sarah Michelson, DD Dorvillier, Ben Pryor, Lasseindra Ninja, Alex Mugler, Rumi Missabu, Pascal Queneau, Archie Burnett, Javier Madrid, Matthieu Bajolet, Donatien Veismann, Miguel Bengolea, Marianne Chargois, Joao Figueira, Rio Rutzinger, Emmanuelle Huynh, Jessica Trossman.

Production: VLOVAJOB PRU with Le Quartz – Scène nationale de Brest

Coproduction: Le Quartz – Scène nationale de Brest, Théâtre National de Chaillot, Centre de Développement Chorégraphique – Toulouse, The Kitchen – New York, Bomba Suicida, FUSED – French US Exchange in Dance.

With the support of: la Ménagerie de Verre – Paris et des Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers.

Cecilia Bengolea and François Chaignaud are associated to Ménagerie de Verre – Paris.