In American and English naming tradition, a junior (jr.) is the son of a father with the same name. Thus, with Antigone jr., the New York choreographer Trajal Harrell takes on a study of the role of Antigone from Sophocles' tragedy. It will eventually grow into a much larger work entitled Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at the Judson Church (L). These works take on the proposition: "What would have happened in 1963 if someone from the voguing dance tradition in Harlem had come downtown to Judson Church in Greenwich Village to perform alongside the early postmoderns?" Rather than illustrating a historical fiction, Harrell uses this proposition to rethink our contemporary context. What we see was neither possible at the voguing balls nor at Judson Church, but a third possibility is created, here and now. This jr. represents a potential uni-size in the series, both unique and unisex.

 

Choreographer: Trajal Harrell  / Dancers: Trajal Harrell, Thibault Lac / Dramaturg: Gérard Mayen  / Sound Designer: Trajal Harrell / Co-production: Ménagerie de Verre- Paris / Residency: Ménagerie de Verre- Paris, Workspace Brussels, and Pact Zollverein

 

The documentation of the piece is seen for the first time in Greece. It was curated by Sozita Goudouna.

 

Trajal Harrell came to visibility with the Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at The Judson Church series of works which theoretically juxtaposed the voguing dance tradition with the early postmodern dance tradition. He is now considered as one of the most important choreographers of his generation. His work Judson Church is Ringing in Harlem (Made-to-Measure)/Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at The Judson Church (M2M), has the distinction of being the first dance commission of MoMA PS1. He has been awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship; The Doris Duke Impact Award, a Bessie Award for Antigone Sr./Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at The Judson Church (L); as well as fellowships from The Foundation for Contemporary Art, Art Matters, and the Saison Foundation, among others. Most recently, he has become well-known for Hoochie Koochie, the first survey (1999-2016) and performance exhibition of his work, presented by the Barbican Centre Art Gallery in London during July-August 2017.