Video: Batsheva Dancers Create

The Batsheva Dance Company’s dancers might have cooled off at the beach to make this video, but this July, they – and many of Israel’s finest dancers – will be heating up the Suzanne Dellal Center’s stages during SummerDance 2010.  The annual festival, called Maholohet in Hebrew (a play on the words for “dance” and “hot”), will take place from July 1-August 31 and boast 84 performances.

Nuevo Ballet Español.  Photo courtesy of Ora Lapidot PR.

This year’s programming kicks off with a festival within the festival.  From July 1-10, Madrid Dance will showcase Spanish dance including the Antonio Najarro Dance Company, Nuevo Ballet Español, Sharon Friedman and Jesus Pastor, and Pastor and José Marino.  More international guests arrive later in the summer with dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet performing their own creations in Incidence Choreographique and with the Black Light Theatre from Prague in Africania.

Video: Rachel Erdos’s OU’ premieres at SummerDance 2010

As in previous years, premieres abound at SummerDance.  This year’s bounty, totaling 19 new works, will include premieres by Dana Ruttenberg, Kamea Dance Company, Tamar Borer and Tamara Erde, Portal Dance Company, DaNaKa Dance Group, Yoni Soutchy, Idan Sharabi, Ronit Ziv, Sigal Ziv, Elina Pechersky, Rena Schenfeld, Dafi Altebab, Mami Shimizaki, Sharon Vazanna, Anat Grigorio, the Jerusalem Ballet, and Rachel Erdos.  Sahar Azimi, Elad Shechter, and Ido Tadmor offer pre-premieres, and Yaniv Cohen’s work will be shown in its Israeli premiere.

Arkadi Zaides’s Quiet.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

For audiences who missed some of this year’s most intriguing premieres, SummerDance offers a second chance to check them out.  Among the offerings are Arkadi Zaides’s Quiet, which recently returned from a tour of Europe, as well as the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company in Rami Be’er’s Infrared, Fresco Dance Group in Yoram Karmi’s Particle Accelerator, Kamea Dance Group in Tamir Ginz’s SRUL, Kolben Dance Company in Min-Hara, and Animato Dance Company in Nadine Bommer’s American Cinema. Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak’s Rushes Plus and Ohad Naharin’s Kyr/Z/na 2010, both highlights of the last season, combine excerpts of older works in a strikingly new context. And Vertigo Dance Company presents not only its recent hit Mana but also White Noise and the now classic Birth of the Phoenix.

Batsheva Dancers Create.  Photo by Yoav Barel.

Several evenings pop out from the schedule with a mixture of interesting fare.  This year’s festival includes Batsheva Dancers Create, an annual workshop featuring two programs of Batsheva’s dancers in an array of their own choreography.  Another intriguing evening is Noa Dar’s presentation of her recent Anu alongside a work-in-progress, Banu, which is the extension of her previous creation.  And audiences will have a chance to sample a combination of choreographers when established artists host up-and-coming contemporary choreographer.  These programs include Dana Ruttenberg and Shlomit Fundaminsky hosting Neta Ruttenberg and Uri Shafir; Sahar Azimi hosting Elad Shechter and Yaniv Cohen; Dafi Altebab hosting Mami Shimizaki; and Idan Cohen hosting Sharon Vazanna.

Beta Dance Troupe in Meeka Yaari and Ruth Eshel’s Fathers and Sons. Photo by Ofer Zvulun.

SummerDance 2010 also features several companies and choreographers that add an ethnic flavor to the Israeli concert dance scene.  Beta Dance Troupe blends Ethiopian traditions with contemporary choreography in Meeka Yaari and Ruth Eshel’s Fathers and Sons as well as Adam McKinney and Daniel Banks’s What We are Saying. Rona Bar-On, Sigal Ziv, and Elina Pechersky bring belly dance to the stage, while COMPAS, Silvia Duran, and Tania Vinokur offer variations on flamenco.  Adding to the mix is Bangoura, an African dance company that will perform The dance of the drums.

Batsheva Ensemble in Ohad Naharin’s Kamuyot.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Want to attend a dance performance with your family?  Several family-friendly programs are dotting this year’s bill, including the Batsheva Ensemble in Ohad Naharin’s Kamuyot, Kamea Dance Group in Or Abuhav’s The Ugly Duckling, COMPAS in Carmen and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and Noa Dar Dance Group in Children’s Games.

Rounding out the programming are several critically acclaimed works created in recent years, including Yasmeen Godder’s Singular Sensation and Yossi Berg and Oded Graf’s Four Men, Alice, Bach and the Deer, and evenings of work by independent choreographers including Iris Erez, Shlomi Frige, Maya Levy, Michael Miler, and Michal Herman.

Related Articles on Dance In Israel

• Maholohet: SummerDance 2009 at Suzanne Dellal Center
• More on Maholohet: A Hot Summer of Dance Continues

Related Links

• Suzanne Dellal Center

Barak Marshall’s Rooster.  Photo by Avi Avin.

As autumn turns into winter, there’s an interesting progression from one dance festival in Tel Aviv to the next. Tel Aviv Dance introduces Israeli audiences to top-notch dance from around the globe before giving way to Curtain Up, a celebration of new Israeli-made works. And then, in a few concentrated days of concerts, International Exposure attempts to introduce Israeli dance to the world by showcasing the past year’s bounty (including recently premiered Curtain Up works) to foreign arts presenters who just might invite local choreographers to perform in their home countries.

Now in its fifteenth year, International Exposure will present the work of twenty-seven Israeli choreographers to over ninety guests including theater directors, festival directors, and journalists. These visitors will witness a stellar lineup boasting Israel’s most prominent dance companies as well as many independent choreographers at various stages of their careers. Some of the works on the program have been performed many times over the course of the year; others, such as the selections from the still in progress Curtain Up festival, are in their initial performances. Together, these dances offer a valuable retrospective on the past season and paint a representative picture of Israel’s vibrant contemporary dance scene.

International Exposure 2009 runs from Wednesday, December 9 until Sunday, December 13. Many of the concerts will be held at the Suzanne Dellal Centre and are open to the public, so local audiences can catch up on shows they missed during the last year. Other performances will be held at the Israel Classical Ballet Centre, the Nachmani Theater, Clipa Theater, and the Herzliya Theater, giving visitors a peek at the larger scale of dance venues in Israel.

Below is a day-by-day virtual tour of the festival with photographs and videos of many of the dances which will be performed. Want to learn more about the choreographers, companies, works, and festivals I mention? Click on the underlined names to see related articles published on Dance In Israel.

As we say here in Israel, צפייה מהנה – tzfiya mehana, pleasant viewing!

Wednesday, December 9

Last year’s International Exposure closed with Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak‘s Hydra, and now the couple’s company will kick off this year’s festival with a double bill. The first program features Rushes, which was originally made for the American company Pilobolus. The second program moves to Yerushalmi Hall for a showing of Pinto and Pollak’s Trout and a new work by company member Talia Beck.

Video: Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak’s Trout

Thursday, December 10

Video: Tel Aviv Dance Company in Yaara Dolev’s BLOSSOM.

Day 2 of International Exposure 2009 starts early with the Tel Aviv Dance Company in co-artistic director Yaara Dolev’s BLOSSOM, which recently premiered in Curtain Up.  Participants will then visit the Israel Classical Ballet Centre in Tel Aviv to view excerpts from the Israel Ballet’s repertory.

Video: Artour Astman and Ilana Bellahson in Artlana

A mixed bill at Suzanne Dellal will include excerpts of two works that premiered this summer in Maholohet, the center’s SummerDance festival.  Artour Astman and Ilana Bellahsen perform part of their evening-length duet Artlana, while Rina Schenfeld and her company take to the stage in Angels.

Video: Maria Kong in fling

Across town at the charming Nachmani Theater, the collaborative company Maria Kong offers fling, the group’s debut work. The day’s programming also features a visit to Clipa Theater for Michal Herman’s Fellowship, based on a short story by Kafka, as well as presentations by the Acco-based group Hamama and choreographer Shlomi Frige.

Video: Vertigo Dance Company in Noa Wertheim’s Mana

Thursday closes with another recent premiere from Curtain Up.  Vertigo Dance Company will perform Noa Wertheim’s Mana.

Friday, December 11

Friday’s schedule boasts works from some of Israel’s most prominent choreographers. The day begins with a trip to the Herzliya Theatre for Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company‘s performance of Rami Be’er’s Infrared, which premiered in November.

Video: Barak Marshall’s Rooster

Back at the Suzanne Dellal Centre, we’ll take a look at Barak Marshall‘s Rooster, a co-production of Suzanne Dellal and the Opera House which premiered in this year’s Tel Aviv Dance festival. The afternoon will also include a celebration for the Suzanne Dellal Centre’s twentieth anniversary.

Iris Erez’s Numbia.  Photo by Itay Merom.

In the early evening, we’ll visit Yasmeen Godder’s studio in Jaffa for a showing of Iris Erez’s Numbia and Noa Shadur’s Into the Night, both of which were unveiled recently as part of the Curtain Up festival.

Yasmeen Godder’s LOVE FIRE. Photo by Tamar Lamm.

Friday concludes at Suzanne Dellal with Yasmeen Godder‘s LOVE FIRE, which premiered in November at Curtain Up.

Saturday, December 12

Video: Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor’s Big Mouth

Saturday starts with new works from the Curtain Up festival. Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor take the stage first with Big Mouth, a collaboration with Amsterdam-based dancer Keren Levi.

Nimrod Freed’s Subtext.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Next up is the Tami Dance Company in Nimrod Freed’s Subtext, along with Dafi Altabeb’s Under the Carpet and Anat Grigorio’s Daydream.

Yossi Berg and Oded Graf’s 4 Men, Alice, Bach and the Deer. Photo by Matyas Krotziger.

In the afternoon, Yossi Berg and Oded Graf’s 4 Men, Alice, Bach and the Deer will be performed at the Inbal Theatre in Suzanne Dellal.

Noa Dar’s Us.  Photo by Tamar Lamm.

In another program from Curtain Up, Noa Dar‘s Anu (Us) shares the stage with Irad Mazliach’s Unter den Linden and Maya Brinner’s Red Ladies.

Video: Dana Ruttenberg’s NABA

Saturday includes another triple bill at the Inbal Theatre.  Improvisation-based artist Ilanit Tadmor presents Happiness is Real, Dana Ruttenberg equips the audience with audio guides in NABA, and Tammy and Ronen Izhaki perform their duet This Now Is, which was shown in the Shades of Dance festival in March.  After this program, we’ll move to Studio Varda for a presentation of Arkadi Zaides‘s work-in-progress, Quiet, which has a cast of both Israeli Jews and Arabs.

Video: Idan Cohen’s Swan Lake

The night ends with one more triple bill of excerpts from works which were featured in the SummerDance festival.  Sally-Anne Friedland offers A Private Collection, Idan Cohen presents part of his full-length contemporary Swan Lake, and Ronit Ziv performs in her Tide.

Video: Ronit Ziv’s Tide

Sunday, December 13

After a tour of Jerusalem on Sunday, International Exposure guests will be treated to a few last performances at Suzanne Dellal.

Video: Tamar Borer and Tamara Erde’s Izaora Hun

Butoh-influenced performance artist Tamar Borer and filmmaker Tamara Erde present part of Izaora Hun in the Suzanne Dellal Centre’s Inbal Theatre.

Video: Batsheva Dance Company in Ohad Naharin’s Hora

Back in the complex’s main hall, the festival closes with Batsheva Dance Company in Ohad Naharin’s latest work, Hora.

Nimrod Freed’s Subtext.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Dance In Israel: What is your relationship to Curtain Up?
Nimrod Freed: I was produced in Haramat Masach [Curtain Up] about four times.   At a certain moment I felt that I had to move on, and now it’s a very good way to come for a visit.
DII: On this visit, what drew you to invite both Anat and Dafi to join you in Curtain 1?
NF: I’ve known Anat and Dafi for many years.

Anat Grigorio’s Daydream.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

NF: I met Anat as a dancer; she came to dance in my Tami Dance Company.   I need to work with very creative people, and from that very moment, I saw her creativity.   As a matter of fact, while she was a dancer in my company, I was already producing her as a young creator.

Dafi Altebab’s Under the Rug. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

NF: I met Dafi when I did the project “On the Edge” in Beit Tami, so I produced her work.  And I think both Anat and Dafi are very authentic and passionate and creative in an unusual way.

DII: Do you see any links between the work that you made for this program and the works that Dafi and Anat made?
NF: There is a common ground which happened by chance.  I didn’t strive for that . . . it happened.  The three of us are dealing with the hidden sides of life.

Dafi Altebab’s Under the Rug. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

NF: Dafi is trying to reveal, to open up stuff that she pushed under the carpet.

Anat Grigorio’s Daydream.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

NF: Anat is dealing with this moment of waking up.  You know, in the morning, when we open up the eyes, trying to wake up; those moments that we don’t know exactly where we are . . . For her, you know, it’s a very intriguing time; many things are happening in this time, and she’s trying to dance it and understand it.  I guess she’s meeting her unconsciousness in those moments.

Nimrod Freed’s Subtext.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

NF: And I’m dealing with subtext.

Nimrod Freed’s Subtext.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

DII: Can you tell me a little bit more about your piece, Subtext?
NF: I am interested more in what is under the words, what is under our life.  I’m more interested in energy, in what people don’t say.  And I’m trying to dance it . . . Whenever we talk subtext, right away there is a new subtext.  And then we reveal it, we discover it, and right away there is a new layer, a new subtext.  When we dance, we find ourselves not dancing, not moving, and still there is a new subtext . . . For me it becomes more and more interesting, the world which is beneath, under, [rather] than the politically correct world.  And I wish we could talk subtext.  Maybe it wouldn’t be very polite, but it looks closer to truth.

* * *

For listings of Curtain Up performances, please visit the Dance In Israel Calendars page.

Related Articles on Dance In Israel

• Israeli Dance: What’s Happening in November
• What is Israeli Dance? Two Festivals Hold Some Clues
• Curtain Up 2009: Celebrating 20 Years of Israeli Premieres
• Curtain Up 2: Vertigo Dance Company and Noa Wertheim Host Elad Shechter
• Curtain Up 3: Yasmeen Godder Hosts Iris Erez
• Curtain Up 4: Tel Aviv Dance Company and Yaara Dolev Host Michael Miler
• Curtain Up 5: Noa Dar Hosts Maya Brinner and Irad Mazliah
• Curtain Up 6: Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor Host Noa Shadur

Related Links

• Suzanne Dellal Centre
• Jerusalem Theatre
• Nimrod Freed

The Curtain Up 2009 poster.  Courtesy of Ora Lapidot PR.

The annual Curtain Up festival has figured prominently in my understanding and appreciation of Israeli contemporary dance.  Every autumn, this festival presents a fresh harvest of premieres by some of the field’s most promising choreographers.  I have now attended Curtain Up twice, and both seasons introduced me to some new faces and showcased the latest creations by choreographers whom I was already following.

As the buzz about this year’s 20th anniversary celebration grew, I wanted to find out more about the history of Curtain Up.  I talked with each of the six headlining presenters in this year’s festival, veteran choreographers who received support from the festival earlier in their careers.  They related their own personal pasts with Curtain Up, but wanting even more of an overview, I decided to go straight to the founder of the festival: Nilly Cohen, who directs the dance division of the Ministry of Culture.

Nilly’s retelling of Curtain Up’s history traces the rise of the Israeli contemporary dance scene.  “20 years ago, there were not so many choreographers in Israel,” she remembers.  “There were only three dance companies, and all the young choreographers, all the fringe simply didn’t exist.  And this was the main target for my initiative.  I [wanted] to build the next generation of choreographers in Israel.  That was the aim 20 years ago.  And now we can see that this aim succeeded.  Now we have many choreographers and many dance companies.”

Nilly continued, “I [initiated] Curtain Up 20 years ago because of the bad conditions for the choreographers.  They didn’t have the money to make their creations, to do the performances, to do the public relations, the marketing, and so on.  It takes [a lot of] money to do this, and they were very young; they were beginners in this profession.  And it was very difficult.  So I initiated this stage to give the young choreographers all the conditions to make their art.”

Then as now, Nilly explained, the government stepped in to help independent choreographers.  “We give them the money for the creation: for the costumes, for the dancers, for the lighting, for the design,” she elaborated.  “Besides this, we give them free the [concert] halls, Suzanne Dellal in Tel Aviv and the Jerusalem Theatre in Jerusalem . . . We do the public relations for them.  And we also give them the income.”

This generous public support spurred the flowering of Israeli dance, fostering its growth from a small pool of struggling choreographers to a vibrant scene featuring both an array of full-fledged companies and a seemingly multiplying set of individual artists.  Nilly recounted with pride, “I began [Curtain Up] 20 years ago, and then many creators were born on this stage and developed.  They developed to be dance companies like Vertigo Dance Company, like Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak’s company, like Noa Dar’s dance company, like Yasmeen Godder and many others.”

As this significant anniversary of Curtain Up approached, Nilly said, “I thought that the best thing to celebrate 20 [years] is to show what is the fruit of this stage.  And the fruits are all of these dance companies, so I invited them to perform on this stage this year.”  She added that she also was pleased to offer these now mature choreographers the chance to curate the festival by selecting emerging choreographers to join them on their respective programs.

Below is my preview of Curtain Up 2009, which was originally published in the Jerusalem Post as “Celebrating Creative Choreography.” My next few articles on Dance In Israel will zoom in on each individual program, with excerpts from my interviews with the choreographers and photographs of the new works.

* * *

Celebrating Creative Choreography

Participating in the annual Curtain Up festival, the country’s major platform for new works, is a rite of passage for Israeli choreographers.  Reflecting on her history with the festival, choreographer Noa Dar explains, “It really was my school and my initiation program for my choreography.”  Now Dar and other veteran choreographers are returning to Curtain Up for a special 20th anniversary season and they are initiating a new generation of dancemakers into the circle of Curtain Up participants.

As in past years, Curtain Up 2009 boasts several programs of hot-off-the press choreography.  Yet this year, there is a twist.  Each of the six concerts is headlined by an established choreographer who in turn selected one or two emerging choreographers to join the bill.  The result is a sumptuous spread of Israeli contemporary dance featuring both the field’s most acclaimed artists and some of its freshest rising stars.

Nimrod Freed’s Subtext.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Nimrod Freed of the Tami Dance Company chose both Anat Grigorio and Dafi Altebab to join him in Curtain 1 because they are “authentic, passionate and creative in an unusual way.”  Freed’s Subtext, Grigorio’s Daydream, and Altbeb’s Under the Rug all imaginatively uncover and probe the hidden sides of life.

Noa Wertheim’s Mana.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Curtain 2 is enlivened by the electrifying energy of Vertigo Dance Company and its younger division, the Vertigo Ensemble.  Performed against a strikingly geometric black-and-white set, Noa Wertheim’s new Mana explores the essential differences between men and women. Danced with verve by the Ensemble, Elad Shechter’s Roni casts a broader gaze at the dynamics of control in contemporary life.

Yasmeen Godder’s Love Fire. Photo by Tamar Lamm.

Yasmeen Godder was a frequent presenter in Curtain Up during the early 2000s, but her premiere in Curtain 3 marks a dramatic departure from her previous works.  LOVE FIRE, a duet danced to classical waltzes, reconsiders romanticism and includes a “performative installation-based response” by visual artist Yochai Matos.  Iris Erez, who regularly collaborated with Godder as a dancer, unleashes her own choreographic power in the trio Numbia.

Ya’ara Dolev’s BLOSSOM.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

The clean lines, precise angles and graceful curves of the body take center stage as the Tel Aviv Dance Company performs two works in Curtain 4.  Waves of movement wash over the dancers in BLOSSOM, a premiere by the company’s co-artistic director Ya’ara Dolev.  Guest choreographer Michael Miler also displays what Dolev describes as a predilection for “pure, clean movement in space” in his Number 6.

Noa Dar’s Us.  Photo by Tamar Lamm.

When Noa Dar selected Maya Brinner and Irad Mazliah for Curtain 5, the three choreographers talked about uniting their program with a common theme. Dar says that Brinner’s Red Ladies, Mazliah’s Unter den linden, and her own Us deploy unique perspectives on “difference versus conformity and stillness or stuck positions versus mobility and change.”

For Curtain 6, the team of Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor joined forces with dancer/choreographer Keren Levy to produce Big Mouth.  Using their personal relationships to Israeli society as a jumping off point, the trio investigates the conflicting desires of belonging to a group while maintaining one’s self-expression.  The program is rounded out by Noa Shadur’s Into the Night, which compares the reality of death with its melodramatic theatrical representation.

Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak’s Trout. Photo by Asaf Ashkenazi.

Traditionally, Curtain Up hosts an additional program by a well-known group, and this year’s guest concert is guaranteed to make a big splash.  Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak’s Trout, which premiered in 2008 in Norway, floods a black-box stage with water to create an otherworldly setting where dancers mix with musicians from the experimental Kitchen Orchestra.  It’s a magical way to cap off Curtain Up’s celebration of creativity.

More Information

Curtain Up runs from November 24 to December 7 at the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv and from December 8-14 at the Rebecca Crown Auditorium in Jerusalem. Tickets (100 NIS for most shows) are available at 03-5105656 (Suzanne Dellal Center) and 02-5605755 (Rebecca Crown Auditorium).

For listings of Curtain Up performances, please visit the Dance In Israel Calendars page.

Related Articles on Dance In Israel

• Israeli Dance: What’s Happening in November
• What is Israeli Dance? Two Festivals Hold Some Clues
• Curtain Up 1: Nimrod Freed Hosts Anat Grigorio and Dafi Altebab
• Curtain Up 2: Vertigo Dance Company and Noa Wertheim Host Elad Shechter
• Curtain Up 3: Yasmeen Godder Hosts Iris Erez
• Curtain Up 4: Tel Aviv Dance Company and Yaara Dolev Host Michael Miler
• Curtain Up 5: Noa Dar Hosts Maya Brinner and Irad Mazliah
• Curtain Up 6: Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor Host Noa Shadur
• Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak’s Trout

Related Links

• Suzanne Dellal Centre
• Jerusalem Theatre
• Nimrod Freed
• Vertigo Dance Company
• Yasmeen Godder
• Michael Miler
• Noa Dar
• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor
• Inbal Pinto Dance Company

November is a month of festivals and foreign tours.  For more details about these events and other performances, visit Dance In Israel’s Calendars.

At Home

Lee In Soo’s Modern Feeling is part of Tel Aviv Dance.  Photo courtesy of Ora Lapidot.

Tel Aviv Dance 2009 is in full swing at the Suzanne Dellal Center and the Opera House.  Still to come are companies and choreographers from France, Spain, Korea, and Israel.  Check out the lineup in Tel Aviv Dance 2009 Mixes Global and Local Dance and get to the theater from now until November 13 to catch some of the best international dance around.

Sharon Vazanna’s Walking Inside Water.  Photo by Amina Husberg.

Noa Dar’s Us premieres at Curtain Up 2009.  Photo by Tamar Lamm.

Soon after Tel Aviv Dance finishes, another major festival will take its place on Suzanne Dellal’s stage.  Haramat Masach, or Curtain Up, is an annual platform for premieres by Israeli choreographers.  To celebrate the Suzanne Dellal Center’s 20th anniversary, this year the festival invited established choreographers to create new works and host fresh creations by emerging artists.  Curtain 1 opens with Nimrod Freed plus Anat Grigorio and Dafi Altbeb; Curtain 2 pairs Vertigo Dance Company’s Noa Wertheim with Elad Shechter; Curtain 3 boasts Yasmeen Godder and Iris Erez; Curtain 4 includes Tel Aviv Dance Company’s Yaara Dolev and Michael Miler; Curtain 5 features Noa Dar with Maya Brinner and Irad Mazliah; and Curtain 6 closes with the team of Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor as well as Noa Shadur.  The festival ends with a special performance of the Inbal Pinto Dance Company in Trout. Check back soon for more posts on Curtain Up 2009, and see below for articles about individual choreographers who will be participating in this year’s festival.

Video: Rina Badash’s Revealed Under the Covers

Although Curtain Up dominates the dance programming in late November, there are still a few dance performances to be found outside this platform.  On November 26, Tmuna Theater will host Rina Badash’s Revealed Under the Covers, a multidisciplinary work featuring a solo dancer, live music, and video art projected on four screens.

Abroad

Ohad Naharin’s MAX. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

After presenting Ohad Naharin’s Hora and Mamootot at home during the Tel Aviv Dance festival, the Batsheva Dance Company is packing its bags for a European tour.  Audiences in the Netherlands, France, and Germany can catch performances of Naharin’s Mamootot, Deca Dance, MAX, and Sharon Eyal’s Love. Want to read more about these works?  Take a look at Mamootot: Challenging the Performer-Spectator Divide, Ohad Naharin’s Deca Dance in Israel: A Cycle Completed, and MAX: Connecting to Ohad Naharin’s Choreography.

Ohad Naharin teaching Gaga in Tel Aviv.  Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Meanwhile in New York, Ohad Naharin will receive one of the 2009 Dance Magazine Awards on November 9.  During his trip stateside, he will teach master classes in Gaga at Peridance in New York City from November 9-10.  Hear some of the choreographer’s thoughts on Gaga in Ohad Naharin on Gaga (Video).

Noa Wertheim’s Mana. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Further south in Washington D.C., Vertigo Dance Company will perform Noa Wertheim’s new Mana at the General Assembly of The Jewish Federations of North America (the GA).  This year the GA will meet from November 8-10, and Vertigo will perform at the opening plenary which also features a speech by President Barack Obama.  Israeli audiences can see Mana when Vertigo performs at Curtain Up in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Yasmeen Godder’s Singular Sensation.  Photo by Tamar Lamm.

Yasmeen Godder’s dancers are also headed to Europe for more performances of Singular Sensation in Belgium and Germany.  Learn more about the choreographer in Close Encounters Series: Yasmeen Godder.

For Young Dancers in Israel

Over the next several months, a select group of young aspiring dancers will develop their artistry in weekly Gaga classes and repertory workshops taught by members of the Batsheva company and staff.  Want to be part of this project?   If you’re between the ages of 14 and 22, you can audition on November 10 at Studio Varda in the Suzanne Dellal Center.  For more information, contact Michal at todance@013net.net.

Related Articles on Dance In Israel

• Tel Aviv Dance 2009 Mixes Global and Local Dance
• Vertigo Dance Company: Art, Environment, Community
• Close Encounters Series: Yasmeen Godder
• Behind the Scenes at Gvanim: Shades of Dance Festival (about Michael Miler)
• Noa Dar Discusses Her Dance Career (Podcast)
• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor: An Interview with Dramatic Dancemakers (Podcast)
• Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak: An Interview on Imagination (Podcast)
• Mamootot: Challenging the Performer-Spectator Divide
• Ohad Naharin’s Deca Dance in Israel: A Cycle Completed
• MAX: Connecting to Ohad Naharin’s Choreography
• Gaga in Ohad Naharin on Gaga (Video)

Related Links

• Nimrod Freed
• Vertigo Dance Company
• Yasmeen Godder
• Michael Miler
• Noa Dar
• Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor
• Inbal Pinto Dance Company
• Batsheva Dance Company
• Peridance
• United Jewish Communities General Assembly (the GA)