Choreography of State

Choreography of State deconstructs the embodied gestures of law enforcement and border patrol to reveal the dramaturgy of state violence. This multimedia installation-performance approaches choreography as a forensic practice, exposing systems of militarized police training shaped by racialized surveillance, spatial exclusion, and the pacification of resistance.

The work invites women choreographers from diverse practices around the world to create dance notations that serve as evidence of these power structures. Drawing on protests, the installation presents videos of scores of acts of resistance, to be activated by performers and embodied by the audience in a celebration of self-defense.

“Choreography of State extends my ongoing interest in exploring the political potential of performance as a practice of knowledge production. The work approaches choreography as a form of analytical writing capable of generating evidence of abuses of state power. My research focuses on the global policing industry, particularly policing practices in public space. International “counterterrorism” efforts have resulted in extensive training exchange programs between law enforcement agencies around the world. This global effort to suppress protests—particularly those led by historically marginalized communities of color—aims to treat dissent and protest as a security threat and protestors as enemy combatants. This cyclical exchange demonstrates the mutual reinforcement of racialized policing paradigms. Choreography of State analyzes these training systems and translates them into choreographic scores, exposing state violence as a form of racialized dominance. It also calls for a reciprocal exchange of self-defense and resistance practices.”

— Tania El Khoury