Dance does not … diligently conduct a building project of the world, but rather stops mechanical building and begins poetic living.
Michael Kliën’s choreographies are predominantly movement-based works of art, situated in galleries, museums or on stages. Increasingly, visual art works form part of his choreographic output (Situational Choreographies); yet, other creations may act directly upon the social sphere (Social Choreography). His choreographies for dance are deeply political endeavors, marked by distinctive methodologies and the subsequent, unique movement aesthetic.
All choreographies are the outcome of lengthy periods of research, so-called Field Studies. They are rigorous, poetic artefacts that aspire to engage ‘the unkown,’ observational and reflective realms offered to the audience to sense reality beyond rationality and purpose. The inner processes of these choreographies take years to fall into place. They change and grow whenever performed or situated; they are cradles of relations—‘organisms’—interacting with the world, affecting and being affected.
Amongst a considerable body of work, Michael Kliën’s seminal choreographies include Einem for Ballett Frankfurt, Sediments of an Ordinary Mind for Daghdha Dance Company (Limerick), Choreography for Blackboards for Hayward Gallery (London), Slattery’s Lamp of IMMA’s (Irish Museum of Modern Art) permanent collection, The Utopians with En Dynamei for the Athens Festival, ES: Martha Graham for New Museum, Martha Graham Dance Company and PS122 (NY), and the pioneering social choreographic series Parliament, Amendment, Constitution, Inauguration. for the Benaki Museum (Athens), Duke University, and others.
… it is like watching a Jackson Pollock painting unfold … Kliën’s style is radically different to everything else.
Full list of works (pdf)
Comprehensive video documentation of recent and past works
