Hair is one of the few parts of the human body that one cannot move voluntarily and directly. For the most of dance history this has been a nuisance for choreographers, as control of one’s movements is primordial in dance training. To venture into creating a choreography for hair, is to venture into a battle between chaos and order. Loose hair has been a symbol of freedom, liberation and carelessness. These values and aesthetics of released hair have accompanied both revolutionary choreographers, such as Isadora Duncan or Pina Bausch, and various subcultures, such as head banging in metal scene or hair-whipping in ballroom scene. In Hairy, rich historical and social background that hair movement carries within itself is combined with the tensions of choreographing involuntary movement, controlling the uncontrollable. This, together with Strimaitis’ devotion to minimalism and formalism, bears a multilayered choreographic and visual experience marked with counterpoints not only in timing and space, but also in conceptual and historical narratives.

For the short versions of the piece, please refer to Hairy 1.0 / Hairy 2.0 / Hairy 3.0.