The American choreographer and dancer Trajal Harrell (Douglas, Georgia, 1973) is one of the most important choreographers of his generation. He rose to fame thanks to a series of works in which he combined a speculative view of history and canon with the idiom of post-modern dance, augmented with multiple elements from contemporary pop culture. For instance, he immersed himself in postmodern dance history and the voguing ballroom scene. In 2016 Harrell completed an Annenberg Residency at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art in New York), where he focused on the work of the Japanese founder of butoh dance, Tatsumi Hijikata. In 2018, Harrell was named ‘Dancer of the Year’ by the renowned German magazine Tanz. He subsequently created the introspective performance entitled Dancer of the Year in which he reflects on what winning this kind of award means and what exactly his role is as a dancer and a choreographer working on the intersection between various styles and cultures.

Since 2019, Harrell has been associated with Schauspielhaus Zurich, where he has his own company, the Schauspielhaus Zurich Dance Ensemble.

The Romeo was featured at the prestigious Cour d'honneur du Palais des papes at the Festival d'Avignon in 2023. The Festival d'Automne in Paris organised a retrospective featuring his work between September and December 2023.