Retrospective by Xavier Le Roy is an exhibition conceived as choreography of actions and speeches that will be carried out by performers during the opening hours in the Historic Hall at Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin. It is part of the series of events „What the Body Remembers. Dance Heritage Today““ (24. August to 21. Septembre 2019) by Akademie der Künste, Berlin. The exhibitions can be visited free of charge at Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin.

During the exhibition twelve performers interpret individually chosen excerpts of solo works by Xavier Le Roy created since 1994, and integrate their own experiences and life journeys of his choreographies to compose their own narratives. Those coexist with the collective choreographies that intersect with the presence and the flow of the visitors. Thus the retelling and performance of these narratives make us observe, how our existences are shaped by circumstances and vice versa, how stories are always told in multiple voices.

This exhibition employs retrospective as a mode of production rather than aiming to show the development of an artistic oeuvre over a period of time. It seeks to recast the material from the solo choreographies in situations with live actions where the apparatuses of the theater performance and the museum exhibition intersect.

Retrospective is one of 21 productions in a priority programme of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin focusing on the importance of dance heritage for contemporary art. The programme was jointly developed with the Tanzfonds Erbe (Dance Heritage Fund) of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation).

Artistic Collaboration: Scarlet Yu
With: Alexandre Achour, Saša Asentić, Josep Caballero, Caitlin Fisher, Zeina Hanna, Berit Jentzsch, Sabine Macher, Ming Poon, Ingo Reulecke, Julia Rodríguez, Emmilou Rößling, Nicola van Straaten

“Retrospective” was originally organized in 2012 by the Fundació Antoni Tàpies - Barcelona on invitation of Laurence Rassel. The exhibition in cooperation with the Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin at Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin is part of the series of events „What the Body Remembers. Dance Heritage Today“ by Akademie der Künste, Berlin.

A production by HB Berlin GbR (Barbara Greiner, Xavier Le Roy). In coproduction with Akademie der Künste and Le Kwatt supported by Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles d’Ile-de-France. Funded by Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa and by Fonds Darstellende Künste supported by the Commissioner of the Federal Government for Culture and Media.