Dana Michel Mercurial George & Lay them all down (Screening)

A double screening exploring the meaning of “identity” in our world today

With her unique physical language informed by sculpture, cinematography, and psychology among other fields, Canadian choreographer Dana Michel disrupts the social conventions that underlie our everyday. Her work has been presented in various parts of the world to great acclaim, and now Kyoto Experiment is introducing her to audiences here with a double screening: a recording of her solo work Mercurial George, which she has staged on numerous occasions since 2016, and her latest video work Lay them all down (2020).

Mercurial George uses meticulous gestures, sounds, and songs to ask very universal yet personal questions: “Where does identity come from? How do you find it for yourself and how is it placed on you? How can one’s identity register or fail to cohere in relationship to objects, feelings and affectation?” Meanwhile, Lay them all down is a video work that premiered at this year’s 11th Berlin Biennale amid the coronavirus crisis, a collaboration with visual artist Tracy Maurice based around a live performance. Michel is seen moving from one museum space to the next while constantly changing in appearance—in a men’s suit one moment, wrapped in rugs the next—and establishing her own self through channeling mental states and emotions such as anger, sexuality, confusion, power, and joy. Don’t miss this opportunity to fully experience Michel’s subtle and rich world of dance!