Michele Stueven
Starting on Thursday, Sept. 11, through Sunday, Sept. 28, creative studio Visomnia, helmed by participatory artist Jeff Hull (The Jejune Institute, The Latitude Society), will present the world premiere of The Cortège: a first-of-its-kind production living in the space between performance, ritual, and festival.
In development since January 2023, The Cortège will premiere at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank on the Cricket Field for a limited engagement. Unfolding at dusk, the three-hour experience is anchored by a 60-minute procession that revives the lost arts of mythic pageantry.
The evening begins with an open-air food market and live musical prelude. As twilight descends, audiences embark on a sonic voyage through choreographed movement, archetypal costuming, drone apparitions, puppetry, robotics, and participation. At the evening’s close, attendees are invited to join the procession and gather for shared tea and ambient sounds in the Afterlife Tent.
Courtesy The Cortège
During the performance, a wordless, cinematic score is transmitted via wireless headsets, with original music by El Búho, Boreta, and TOKiMONSTA, alongside tracks from Air, Andrew Bird, Beautiful Chorus, Freedom Fighters, and others.
Inspired in part by Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious, The Cortège is described as speaking through archetypal symbols, sound, and movement rather than narrative dialogue. By embodying archetypes instead of characters, and ceremony instead of spectacle, The Cortège offers participants a space to witness, feel, and begin to process what cannot always be named.
Choreographed by Japanese battle dancer MiYU, the production features a cast of eight dancers and six ensemble members, with street-style dancer Capjay in the lead role of Everyman.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the procession begins at 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays through Sundays. Find tickets, more info, and early access here.
Courtesy The Cortège