MJ Harper’s first full-length live performance, “Arias For A New World” weaves together dance, spoken word, fashion, music and performance art into an enigmatic exploration of Tanztheater in the age of the algorithm.
Combining a range of influences, from Derek Jarman and the Talking Heads to jazz legend Sarah Vaughn and his own Jamaican mother who brought him to the United States as a young boy, “Arias For A New World” has become an engine for Harper to dissect and explore observations on motherhood and the beauty and complexity of feminine energy.
The performance takes place in the inner room of the Reethaus, an intimate space where audience and artist are in close communion. Light food and drinks will be served over the course of the evening. Based on a semi-improvisational score written and directed by Harper, the piece incorporates live accompaniment by musicians Antoni Komasa-Lazarkiewicz and Thomas Moked Blum, hair and make-up by Kenny Campbell, artistic consultancy by film director Matt Lambert, fashion by designer Stefano Pilati and fragrance by creative directors Alexx and Anton.