Sister or He Buried the Body

Practical information

Sister or He Buried the Body will be performed twice on the 25th of June at the ABN AMRO zaal at the Stedelijk. This solo performance of 20 minutes is open to all museum ticket holders, who can join in at any time. [seats for visitors with limited mobility are available]

Trajal Harrell

The American choreographer and dancer Trajal Harrell (Douglas, Georgia, 1973) is one of the major contemporary choreographers internationally. His unique style combines elements from various dance traditions, fashion, music and visual arts. With universal human emotions and themes like interconnection, tragedy, tenderness and vulnerability, Harrell’s pieces often move audiences on a deeply personal level.

Harrell became internationally known from 2009 with his Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at The Judson Church, a series of works in which voguing − a dance style that came out of Harlem’s ballroom scene of the 1980s - and early postmodern dance form the basis. During the Holland Festival of 2014, he performed parts of this series at the Stedelijk, marking his first and, to date, most recent contribution to the museum's performance programme. This aligns with his artistic approach of presenting his work in theatres, galleries, and museums worldwide, as well as staging pop-up performances in unexpected places, such as a Paris bookshop.

In his recent work Harrell weaves theoretical elements from voguing with movements and ideas from early modern dance and butoh, a minimalist and socially engaged form of dance from post-war Japan that was developed by Japanese dancer and choreographer Tatsumi Hijikata (1928-1996) in the late 1950s. Harrell’s work explores the overlap between these seemingly divergent dance cultures and puts the body at the centre as a locus of memory, the past and historical influences that shaped his dance practice.

Since 2019, the Holland Festival has worked with associate artists, who present their own work and explore possibilities for deepening the programme and effecting a sustainable connection between the artists and the city. For the 78th edition of the festival, Harrell takes on this role, offering a diverse range of performances throughout June. He returns to Stedelijk, not only to perform his solo Sister or He Buried the Body, but also Caen Amour (June 19 and 20), a group performance exploring the boundaries between dance, performance, and identity. After more than a decade, Harrell is back performing at the museum.