Trajal Harrell / Franz Schubert / Opera Ballet Vlaanderen

The Austrian composer Franz Schubert died at a young age but left behind an extensive body of work, including more than 600 Lieder. Shortly before his death, he composed his famous Winterreise. In a cycle of 24 songs for voice and piano, we follow a wanderer on his solitary journey through a winter landscape, alienated from the world and wrestling with his existence.

The leading American choreographer Trajal Harrell has long been exploring the relationship between dancing and walking. Drawing on postmodern dance and the queer subculture of the voguing ballroom scene, he invariably has his dancers parade down a catwalk – as is the case in Winterreise. To Schubert’s music, Harrell directs and choreographs in his signature style, presenting a collection of winter coats. How do we relate to the universe through which the dancers' catwalk takes them?