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«Late to the Party»
Trajal Harrell / Zürich Dance Ensemble

Dance

Together with a large ensemble, the internationally touring choreographer Harrell explores the magic of the voice of the singing icon Nina Simone, presenting his first premiere at the Gessnerallee.

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  • Thu 03/12 20:00

    Halle

    Opening Night Reception

  • Fri 04/12 20:00

    Halle

  • Sat 05/12 20:00

    Halle

  • Sun 06/12 20:00

    Halle

Harrell is regarded as one of the most significant choreographers working in contemporary dance today. In his work, he explores the extent to which the body can become a vessel for memory, speculation, the past and the present. Copyright: Paula Court

In ‘Late to the Party’, Trajal Harrell approaches the music of Nina Simone from a belated yet urgent perspective. The work begins from a personal encounter whose resonance unfolds only decades later: the discovery of Simone as voice, as body, as attitude. Moving between voice and music, classical form and radical expression, the choreographic project asks what happens when these elements are separated and brought together anew. A piece about listening, missing, and the late, irrevocable falling under a spell. It is also an exploration of memory and transmission, tracing how artistic influence can arrive unexpectedly and continue to transform perception across time.

Trajal Harrell, who was a welcome guest at the theatre with his earlier works and subsequently spent six years as artist-in-residence at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, founded the Zürich Dance Ensemble and is now staging the premiere of a new work at the Gessnerallee for the first time.

Accessibility and practical information

  • Aged 12 +

  • As the production is still being rehearsed, more information on the accessibility of the show will be released closer to the premiere date.

  • For sold-out performances, we reserve a small number of accessible seats (wheelchair spaces and beanbags). We ask that anyone requiring accessibility support contact kasse@gessnerallee.ch. 

  • The play is by Trajal Harrell.

    Trajal Harrell is a choreographer.

    A choreographer creates dance pieces.

    He works with the Zurich Dance Ensemble.

    The play is about the music of Nina Simone.

    Nina Simone was a musician from the USA.

    She remains famous to this day.

    Trajal Harrell only discovered her music later in life.

    Her music moved him deeply.

    The play brings together dance and music.

  • Choreographer:
    Trajal Harrell
    Dancers:
    Christopher Matthews, Nasheeka Nedsreal, Mark Lorimer, Thibault Lac, Songhay Toldon, Trajal Harrell, Perle Palombe, Thierry Raynaud
    Rehearsal Director:
    Ondrej Vidlar
    Alternate Dancers:
    New Kyd, Ondrej Vidlar
    Sound Design:
    Asma Maroof, Trajal Harrell
    Costume Design:
    Trajal Harrell
    Set Design:
    Trajal Harrell
    Dramaturgy:
    Miriam Ibrahim
    Production Assistance and Communication:
    Cynthia Naef
    Production and International Relations:
    Björn Pätz / Zürich Dance Ensemble
    A production with:
    Zürich Dance Ensemble
    In coproduction with:
    Gessnerallee
    Further co-producers:
    Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (New York), Sadler’s Wells (London), Festival d’ Autumn à Paris, Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston), Theater Rotterdam, DE SINGEL (Antwerp), Kaaitheater (Brussels), Kampnagel (Hamburg), HAU Hebbel am Ufer (Berlin), Theater Freiburg, December Dance - Concertgebouw and Culturcentrum Brugge

  • Trajal Harrell gained international recognition for his first period of work which addressed the historical links between the early postmodern dance and the voguing dance tradition. His audience and critical recognition grew further with his second period which theoretically addressed the bifocal lens between butoh dance and early modern dance. He is considered to be one of the most important choreographers working in contemporary dance today. The artist puts the body at the centre of his research exploring the ways in which it becomes a receptacle of memory,​ speculation, the past​, presence, and historical ​f​igures who have inspired his work. Intertwining notions of time, ​t​he historical imagination, and transcultural references, his oeuvre reveals the multitude of layers that make up the richness of ​the histor​i​es of ​art and contemporary dance.

    His work is presented internationally in theaters, museums, festivals and galleries. In 2013-2017, he was one of the first long term artists in residence in Performance at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. in 2017, his work was the subject of a major survey performance exhibition In London at The Barbican Centre Art Galleries, In 2023 Harrell was invited to create a work, The Romeo, for the prestigious Cour d’honneur for the 77th edition of Festival d’Avignon. Later that year, Festival d’Automne in Paris dedicated a portrait to Harrell, presenting nine of his works in Paris. In 2024 Harrell ​w​as awarded the Silver Lion of ​The Venice Biennale of Dance​. In 2025, he was the artist associate of Holland Festival holding the centerpiece projects of the festival. Currently he is founder and artistic director of Zürich Dance Ensemble.

  • Stadt Zürich Kultur, Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council, Ernst-Göhner-Stiftung, Landis & Gyr Stiftung

Copyright: Paula Court

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