In the Mood for Frankie

In the Mood for Frankie, a trio featuring Thibault Lac, Ondrej Vidlar and Trajal Harrell, is a homage to muses past and present. Over the course of a vertiginous choreography, the piece combines reminiscences de butoh, pop culture and high culture. 

Clearly, Trajal Harrell's personal pantheon is full of personalities stemming from a wide range of horizons. The American choreographer is unparalleled in his ability to blend different cultures and influences. With In the Mood for Frankie, he promises us "a park full of muses between history and imagination". Switching from dream to reality, Trajal Harrell looks into the unique statute of the muse. He summons up figures from the world of butoh, from Yoko Ashikawa to Kazuo Ôno, the cinema of Wong Kar-Wai, pop music by Sade and the style of Rei Kawakubo, the fashion designer behind the Comme des Garçons brand. Trajal Harrell uses this universe of different sources to create a fully-inhabited performance, alongside two faithful companions, the performers Thibault Lac and Ondrej Vidlar. In the Mood for Frankie, developed during his residency at New York's MoMA in 2016, takes on the allures of a living installation in which the different bodies are in the closest possible proximity to each other and the audience. It is this idea of collectively re-imagining the impossibilities of history that Trajal Harrell investigates, in the here and now.

Text : © Philippe Noisette 

Photo: © Laurent Philippe