Caen Amour Trajal Harrell

The performance is like a hoochie coochie show: the seductive belly-dance shows that appeared during the 1893 Chicago World Expo, as precursors to vaudeville and striptease. Harrell thus opts for a form that balances on the border between dance and entertainment; a dance installation with the energy of a fashion show. Continuous transformations, in which clothing, fabrics and their forms are central, free the performers from a fixed identity.

Caen Amour creates a titillating reinterpretation of butoh cross-dressing, hoochie coochie striptease and the swirling draping of Loïe Fuller. The set initially has a clear front and backstage: the hoochie and the coochie side. Gradually, the boundaries between public and private fade, and the viewer gets to see a completely transparent and seductive game of seduction.