Permutations of Humanity
Choreographed by Thulani Vereen
April 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia

Thulani Vereen’s, The Permutations of Humanity is a contemporary ballet piece performed by a cast of dancers who together will answer the exploratory questions of what it means to be human and the permutations of such experiences of humanity, what is the result of the combination of human experiences, and what does it mean for ostensibly different humans to be extensions of each other. The five artists featured in the work execute an athletic mix of contemporary ballet and modern techniques as a vehicle to embody a set number of human experiences that combine, collide, and exist to encapsulate the pursuit of understood human behavior. Believing in the shared experience amongst all forms of life, Vereen has studied concepts such as collective behavior in schools of fish to relate to the collective behavior she’s observed in humans navigating Atlanta’s MARTA stations as a source of influence for the intricate formations displayed in the work. Vereen has carefully structured the piece to take the viewer on a journey that seeks to answer the exploratory questions. This premiere is the first iteration of the work which has been in progress since November 2021.