Surrender to the Air

Surrender to the Air: Movement, Refusal, and the Politics of Flight  

Montpellier Danse/Bennington College Symposium
Surrender to the Air: Movement, Refusal, and the Politics of Flight
June 15 – 19, 2026
MO.CO Panacée
14 Rue de l’École de Pharmacie 34000 Montpellier

SLIPPAGE director Thomas F. DeFrantz participated in the week-long symposium staged at the Montpellier, France Museum of Contemporary Art. DeFrantz offered a presentation, “Lines of Elaborated Flight and Time: Black Baroque Performance” that explored the line of flight, Glissant’s concepts of errantry and interest in the Baroque, the aesthetic terms of Baroque dance as exemplified by works of Lully, and the singular artistry of Leoimy Maldonado as an exemplar of vogue. Other participants in the symposium, which was organized by Gee Wesley, included Sepake Angiama, Clara Balaguer, Rhea Dillon, Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun of The Otolith Group. The event was part of the 46th Edition of the Montpellier Danse Festival, led by the new collective direction of Jann Gallois, Dominique Hervieu, Pierre Martinez, and Hofesh Shechter, and presented by the Bennington College Low-Residency MFA Dance Program, designed and directed by DonnaFaye Burchfield.