Meet the Associate Artist: Trajal Harrell

The Holland Festival and De Balie present an evening dedicated to the work of choreographer and dancer Trajal Harrell, associate artist of the Holland Festival 2025. This unique event offers an opportunity to meet Trajal Harrell in person, ask him questions, and dive into his perspective on dance and his relationship with the audience.

Trjal Harrell at De Balie

At De Balie, Trajal Harrell will engage in a conversation about his artistic practice and the themes that define his work. What does dance mean in a museum context? How do different dance traditions and art forms influence one another? What is the relationship between performer and audience? This discussion provides insight into the underlying ideas of his work and focuses on the projects he is presenting at the festival.

Associate artist Trajal Harrell

Trajal Harrell (USA, 1973) is a one of the major international contemporary choreographers. His unique style combines elements from various dance traditions, fashion, music and visual arts. He 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 modern dance form the basis.

The festival has worked with associate artists since 2019. They present their own work and explore possibilities for deepening the programme and effecting a sustainable connection between the artists and the city. Besides their work, the festival puts the spotlight on themes relevant to them, as well as on related artists. This year, that new project is Welcome To Asbestos Hall. In addition to this project and the MTA event at De Balie, Trajal Harrell will perform in two productions at the Stedelijk Museum and introduce a film of his choice at Eye.

Trajal Harrell at the Stedelijk Museum and Eye

Caen Amour (June 19 and 20)was inspired by the hoochie coochie-shows of 19th-century America: sensual dance performances full of orientalist fantasies. These shows come back to life in a fictional encounter of Trajal Harrell with modern dance pioneer Loïe Fuller, legendary Japanese dancer Tatsumi Hijikata and Comme des Garçons-founder Rei Kawakubo. In his solo Sister or He Buried the Body was inspired by the expressiveness of butoh and early modern dance. Accompanied by pop music and Afro-American jazz voices, he sets out to find a dance he will be able to perform well into his seventies. On June 24, Eye will present Dance of Darkness: Butoh in Film, a film program curated by Trajal Harrell. The selection includes the short film Rose Color Dance, preceded by an introductory interview with Harrell. What makes this film special, and how does it relate to his own work?

New project: Welcome To Asbestos Hall

At the Holland Festival, Harrell presents Welcome to Asbestos Hall at Likeminds (Amsterdam-Noord). For this project, he drew inspiration from Asbestos Studio in Tokyo, founded in 1962 by butoh pioneer Tatsumi Hijikata. For about twenty years, the studio served as a legendary meeting place for avant-garde artists across all disciplines. In Welcome To Asbestos Hall, together with his dancers, as well as invited designers and musicians, he transforms Likeminds into a dynamic space for experimentation, rehearsal, and performance. During the day, Harrell and his dancers will work in the space; in the evenings, they will perform for an audience.

Visits and invited guests

In addition to performances, discussions, workshops, and pop-up events, Visits offers visitors an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Trajal Harrell’s creative process. The Holland Festival has also invited artists at Harrell’s instigation. One of these guests is his close friend from Tokyo, choreographer and dancer Takao Kawaguchi. Sharing a deep affinity and love for Kazuo Ohno, Kawaguchi will present a piece about him at Likeminds on June 13. Harrell also welcomes choreographer and dancer DD Dorvillier to the festival. The two met long ago in New York, and she will perform No Change or “freedom is a psycho-kinetic skill” at Frascati on June 17 & 18. Additionally, on June 21, a blind date will take place between Trajal Harrell and musician Craig Taborn, during which Harrell will perform an improvised dance to Taborn’s live music. There will be more guests and guestperfomances.

Come and discover the world of Trajal Harrell; the conversation at De Balie is the perfect opportunity to learn more about him, his artistic practice and the diverse influences that shape his work.