Product of Circumstance

The genesis of Product of Circumstances began when, as Xavier Le Roy says, “i began to take two dance classes a week at the same time that I started to work on my thesis for my PhD in molecular and cellular biology.” Many years later, after ceasing work as a biologist, Le Roy was invited to present a lecture on theory and praxis in performance. That lecture then became a performance, Product of Circumstances, where actions subvert the traditional hierarchy of organization and form, and in turn inspire an awareness of the ways that hierarchies are manifested in society today—and the complex rationalizations that support them.

Le Roy holds a doctorate in molecular biology from the University of Montpellier, France, and has worked as a dancer and choreographer since 1991. Le Roy develops his work like a researcher while simultaneously focusing on the relationships between process and product and his own involvement in the process. He regularly initiates projects to question modes of production, collaboration, and conditions of group work.

In Other Words included six artists who delivered lecture-performances, juxtaposed with talks by six thinkers in order to cross boundaries and make dialogue a continuous process of renewal. 

This performance is presented in conjunction with Avital Ronell’s talk The Test Drive.