MetLiveArts in partnership with New York Live Arts, commissioned a unique, site-specific iteration of Taiwanese-American artist Lee Mingwei’s durational performance work OUR LABYRINTH. Originally performed at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and Centre Pompidou, Lee has invited legendary American dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones to collaborate on a special version specifically for New York City and The Met as a meditation on this moment of instability and profound change.
OUR LABYRINTH is a live performance for an online audience, streamed over three weeks from three Met galleries while the Museum is closed. Each performance features a different cast member, a single dancer who uses a stylized broom to sweep a mound of rice along a labyrinthine path of their choosing. Performing this profoundly spiritual task, the dancer may encounter obstacles along the way but continues to navigate silently and mindfully. Lee conceives of this project as a gift from the performers to the viewers, providing a “pure” space both physically and spiritually. Jones expresses his influence on the work, a respectful conversation with Lee across time and space, through the diverse cast of performers representing the spectrum of New York dance and performance, and in the sonic landscape provided by three experimental vocalists and musicians that echo through the galleries.
Performance 1
Wednesday, September 16, 12–4:30 pm
The Great Hall
Performers
I-Ling Liu
Ragamuffin (Jesse White)
David Thomson
with Holland Andrews
Watch livestreamed performance here
Performance 2
Wednesday, September 23, 12–4:30 pm
Gallery 206, The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Asian Art
Performers
Nayaa Opong
Brian “HallowDreamz” Henry
Huiwang Zhang
with Justin Hicks
Watch livestreamed performance here
Performance 3
Wednesday, September 30, 12–4:30 pm
Gallery 700, The Charles Engelhard Court, The American Wing
Performers
Sara Mearns
Linda LaBeija
DeAngelo Blanchard
with Alicia Hall Moran
Watch livestreamed performance here
See the New York Time’s interview for more information.
