As the culmination of his two-year Annenberg Research Commission Residency project "In one step are a thousand animals" at MOMA, Trajal Harrell continued his exploration of Tatsumi Hijikata in the new commissioned performance "In the Mood for Frankie." In this work, Harrell turns toward the figure of the muse, both in Hijikata's work and in Harrell's personal influences. This performance draws upon a diverse set of inspirations, including butoh dancer Yoko Ashikawa, modern dancer-choreographer Katherine Dunham, filmmaker Wong Kar Wai, fashion designer Rei Kawakubo, singer Sade, dancer and choreographer Kazuo Ohno, and Harrell's own working relationships with dancers Thibault Lac and Ondrej Vidlar. In the artist's words, "In the Mood for Frankie spills out like a park of muses settled and unsettled between history and the imagination."

In the Mood for Frankie is commissioned by The Museum of Modern Art, New York and co-produced with the Singapore International Festival of the Arts.