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Constitution

CONSTITUTION

A Social Choreographic Site
By Michael Kliën

Monday, April 17 & Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Start 7PM (75 Min)
von der Heyden Studio Theater
Rubenstein Arts Center, Duke University

With: Simone Barros, Sang Chi Liu, Marika Niko, Julia Piper, Leo Ryan, Tomo Waters, Miki Zhu, Alphonso Blades Jr., Tyler Burden, Gi Chun, Avery Lythcott-Haims, Joey Rauch, Nicole Schwartz, Ludovica B. Romano, Brooks Emanuel, Barbara Dickinson, Emma Geiger, Kate Guillen, Dr Renata Garces Perez

Lighting: James Clotfelter

Constitution completes choreographer's Kliën's trilogy, a pioneering series of Social Choreographic works (Parliament, Amendment, Constitution). Together, these works explore alternatives to dominant modes of moving and relating, making it possible to face the significant civilizational challenges of our times.

In Constitution, a group of citizen-performers establishes deep and mysterious rules of order, bound by a constitution that formed outside of the realm of language. As people join the site, everyone present affects and is affected by each other. From witnesses, people shape-shift to teachers, companions, scientists, students, lovers, animals, objects, poets - moving together to constitute a fleeting democracy of souls.

Free; prior registration required. Email labsc@duke.edu for more information and to confirm participation in either session (or both). Limited places. Dinner is catered after the event (optional).

This work has been developed through interdisciplinary dialogue at the Laboratory for Social Choreography (at the Kenan Institute for Ethics) and unfolded in collaboration with students of the Spring 2023 seminar "Social Choreographic Praxis." Constitution is a parallel process to the work The Utopians, which will premiere at the Athens Festival on June 7, 2023.