Dance In Israel » Yasmeen Godder

Batsheva Dance Company’s Mixed Bill: Yasmeen Godder and Sharon Eyal & Gai Bachar

Deborah Friedes Galili — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:46:26 +0000

Video: Batsheva Dance Company in Yasmeen Godder’s The Toxic Exotic Disappearance Act

On first thought, Batsheva Dance Company’s new mixed bill seems an unusual choice of programming. House (titled “Ha’avoda shel hofesh” in Hebrew) by Sharon Eyal and Gai Bachar is a natural pick, since Eyal has served as the troupe’s house choreographer since 2005. The first half of the evening, however, belongs to someone from decidedly outside of the Batsheva fold: Yasmeen Godder. Godder is not a complete stranger to Batsheva, having created Green Fields on the Ensemble in 2000, but her The Toxic Exotic Disappearance Act is the first work by anyone other than Ohad Naharin or Eyal to be performed by Batsheva in several years. Beyond the novelty of a guest choreographer working with the company, the combination of these particular artists initially seems to be an odd coupling. Were I to make a family tree of contemporary dance in Israel, Godder’s branch would be far away from that of Eyal and Bachar. Indeed, aesthetically, these creators occupy nearly opposite ends on the art form’s spectrum.

Yet watching the performance at Suzanne Dellal on January 4, this pairing started to make sense.

For all their stylistic differences, Godder and the team of Eyal and Bachar do have one key trait in common: they are artists who are audacious and provocative, in the best senses of those words. Rather than play it safe, these creators unabashedly delve into the realms of the twisted, the disturbing, and even the grotesque in their repertory. Rarely have I heard anyone deliver a lukewarm review of either Godder’s or Eyal’s work; indeed, it’s practically impossible to not react strongly to their choreography.

Yasmeen Godder’s The Toxic Exotic Disappearance Act. Photograph by Gadi Dagon.

Batsheva’s mixed bill of Godder’s The Toxic Exotic Disappearance Act and Eyal and Bachar’s House may not be an aesthetically cohesive evening. But it’s savvy programming, for each dance has the capacity to leave a significant impact on the audience – and together, these electrifying works outline the range of contemporary dance in Israel today.

Sharon Eyal and Gai Bachar’s House. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Batsheva’s new program continues at Suzanne Dellal in Tel Aviv through January 7 and returns from January 18-20. Additional performances are scheduled later in the season; for more details, please visit Batsheva’s website.

Batsheva Dance Company 2011-2012: The Year Ahead

Deborah Friedes Galili — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:40:31 +0000

Batsheva Dance Company in Ohad Naharin’s Sadeh21. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Last week, Batsheva Dance Company unveiled its 2011-2012 season at a press conference in Studio Varda. And what a season it will be!

On December 30, the troupe will premiere two new works, one by Sharon Eyal and Gai Bachar and the other by Yasmeen Godder. At the end of March, the junior Batsheva Ensemble will debut another new work by Sharon Eyal and Gai Bachar along with a restaging of Ohad Naharin’s classic Tabula Rasa (1986), which has not been shown in Israel since 2004. Tel Aviv audiences will also be treated to performances of Eyal’s Bill and Naharin’s Sadeh21, Hora, MAX, Shalosh, Kamuyot, Deca Dance, and Furo, created in collaboration with the Japanese video artist Tabaimo and last staged in Israel in 2008. Both the main company and the ensemble will travel around Israel, appearing in other cities and throughout the periphery; the troupes will also journey abroad, with several performances in Europe in November and December and a North American tour in February and March. By the time the season ends, the two companies will have given a combined total of well over two hundred performances.

The press conference kicked off with a peek at an installation that the main company will perform at the Fondation Beyeler, a museum in Basel, on November 23 and 24. In the museum, the audience will sit around the space and can come and go as they please; in the press conference, we too sat around the perimeter of the space and remained riveted during the brief showing. As company member Guy Shomroni DJ’ed, the rest of the dancers filtered in and out of the center, quoting snippets from across Naharin’s repertory. Here and there duets formed spontaneously and unison took shape organically. Phrases from different works created unusual juxtapositions, while occasionally more and more dancers gathered to build a section from a single work.

Although I was invited to this press conference as a dance writer, I attended it along with the other 29 dancers who are studying Ohad Naharin’s movement language in the inaugural year of the Gaga Teacher Training Program – and in the midst of my total immersion in Gaga, my viewing was undoubtedly colored by my recent experiences in the studio. I couldn’t help but notice the Batsheva dancers slip in and out of phrases we have been learning in our repertory classes, like the quiet unison from Kamuyot (based on Mamootot) and a short, speedy solo from Sadeh21.

While a thrill surged through my body as I recognized these movements, I was even more fascinated by the dancers’ mastery of Naharin’s movement language. Trained for years in Gaga, these dancers move fluently in Naharin’s idiom, and their knowledge of his recent repertory is encyclopedic. Like writers cleverly engaging in wordplay, these dancers rummaged freely through Naharin’s vocabulary and deployed witty plays on movement.

I continued to mull over the Batsheva dancers’ relationship to Gaga as the press conference continued on to previews of the new work by Sharon Eyal and Gai Bachar as well as that of Yasmeen Godder. Sharon Eyal, herself steeped in Gaga as a former member of Batsheva and as the company’s current house choreographer, has developed a unique voice that nevertheless is a cousin to Naharin’s language. Having worked with Eyal on previous productions, the dancers moved in her creation as if speaking one of their native tongues. And even though Yasmeen Godder’s language is further removed on the family tree of contemporary dance, the five Batsheva dancers in her new work adapted admirably to her vocabulary. This mixed bill is one to look forward to, for it showcases the range of this company’s extraordinary dancers in works by some of this country’s most exciting choreographers.

Contemporary Israeli Dance Week: Gala in New York

Deborah Friedes Galili — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:19:50 +0000

Quiet by Arkadi Zaides. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Heads up, New Yorkers! In June, a wave of contemporary dance from Israel is coming your way as part of the annual La MaMa Moves Festival. The city is already home to an astonishing number of Israeli-born choreographers, and La MaMa’s celebration will include five of these New York-based artists and groups: Deganit Shemy, LeeSaar The Company, Netta Yerushalmy, YelleB Dance Ensemble, and Neta Pulvermacher. But the Contemporary Israeli Dance Week mini-festival is also scheduled to feature a stellar line-up straight from Israel. Yasmeen Godder, Arkadi Zaides, Idan Cohen, Maya Brinner, and the team of Tamar Borer and Tamara Erde will offer a glimpse of the latest in Israeli-made productions, and master classes will give New York dancers a taste of what’s happening in local studios.

On Monday, January 31, a gala evening featuring Deganit Shemy, LeeSaar The Company, Netta Yerushalmy, and YelleB Dance Ensemble will be held at La MaMa E.T.C. (Experimental Club). The gala is a fundraiser for the Contemporary Israeli Dance Week, and more information about tickets can be found at the festival’s website. For those of you who can’t make it to the gala, here’s a sneak peak at the festival with clips of works by Godder, Zaides, Cohen, Brinner,and Borer and Erde.

Video: Preview of Contemporary Israeli Dance Week

International Exposure 2009: A Perspective from Abroad

Deborah Friedes Galili — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:58:21 +0000

Video: Maya Brinner’s Red Ladies was one of several works exploring the individual within the group at International Exposure

A few weeks after International Exposure 2009, not only am I continuing to mull over some intriguing works that I saw, but I am still thinking about the many attendees I met and contemplating the conversations I had with them.

It was truly remarkable to see how many presenters were scoping out Israeli dance with the hopes of bringing Israeli choreographers or companies to their venues. The audience at International Exposure was well-informed, sophisticated, and worldly; its members were knowledgeable about the contemporary dance scene in their own home countries and had seen some of the latest productions from around the globe.

This diverse array of cultured visitors – and their well-informed observations – reinforced my own perception that there is indeed something especially appealing about Israeli contemporary dance. It was illuminating to talk to repeat attendees and learn that they found this year’s festival stronger than in previous years; it was also encouraging to speak with first-time visitors and discover that they found several works of interest.

I had several stimulating conversations about the festival with Brian Schaefer, a dance writer and administrator based in San Diego, California. He has generously written a thorough, thoughtful reflection on the festival for Dance In Israel, offering an invaluable perspective from outside the scene. Enjoy!

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Seeing Israel through the Lens of Dance

By Brian Schaefer

Oil and water may be the most contentious of the commodities in the Middle East. But who says art can’t be a country’s natural resource as well?

Such is the purpose of International Exposure – a type of cultural trade fair to encourage the export of one of Israel’s most valuable products: its creativity. Each year for the past fifteen years, a flock of foreign presenters, managers, choreographers, and journalists has descended upon the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv to get a crash course in contemporary dance in Israel in the hopes that we fall in love with an artist or company and take them home with us to introduce them to our families, or rather, audiences. It’s souvenir shopping on an entirely different scale.

The Israeli Ministry of Culture brings us here to demonstrate the wealth of dance in Israel, show us Tel Aviv as an exciting, cosmopolitan city, and let us discover just how far Israel has come from the pioneering, agricultural days of the kibbutzim and sabras when Israeli dance meant communal folk gatherings, which is still how most Americans consider it. So the point of International Exposure is to destroy that myth and show us an Israel that is innovative and cutting-edge, both in its technology and in its art.

The process of actually bringing a company to the States is a complicated pas de deux that relies on a lot of other factors that come later on. But for now, for this week, it’s about seeing work. A lot of work. An exhausting amount of work.

Still, the experience is extraordinary. And the impact is powerful. Five days later, we leave with a semblance of an idea of what makes contemporary dance in Israel so vibrant. Without trying to lump everything together – after all, one of the strengths of the program is its diversity – there are a few noticeable characteristics, trends, and themes that emerge.

Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor’s Big Mouth. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

It’s difficult as an outsider not to read too much about the regional conflicts into the work we see. Few artists, save perhaps for Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor who explicitly reference Israel’s military history in the engaging trio Big Mouth, admit to addressing politics in any way.

Yet as foreign critics and presenters who for the most part view Israel from the lens of international media, we inevitably look for ways that artists respond to their social surroundings. Maybe we look too much. But perhaps also the fact that such intentional reactions to the political environment are conspicuously lacking in so much of the work we saw is equally telling.

What we actually got in many instances was a complete departure from the realities of this world, and surprisingly often, we were thrust in to the realm of the absurd where the unexpected can occur at any moment, where things are never quite as they seem or can in an instant morph into something unrecognizable. The absurdity is also in the behavior, where over-the-top characters cavort about with exaggerated gestures, inhabiting fantasy worlds in extravagant costumes and bright make-up.

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

Perhaps no Israeli choreographers better encapsulate this aesthetic and sensibility than Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak. At International Exposure, the duo showed excerpts from the company’s repertory, the charming Rushes, made a few years ago for the American company Pilobolus, and the new evening-length work Trout, created in 2008 in Norway. In each, the zany characters and extravagant sets and props transport audiences into an imaginary place that may resemble reality at times but clearly isn’t.

Barak Marshall’s Rooster. Photo by Kfir Bolotin.

In Barak Marshall’s Rooster, we took a colorful visit to the shtetls of the 19th century to witness a love triangle mixing stories from the Bible and Yemenite folklore with a period aesthetic and surreal scenes of, for example, a man “laying” eggs in his mouth. It’s a work that, while perhaps a bit unfocused and difficult to follow for non-Hebrew speakers, exudes energy and charm and provides a strong showcase for the performers.

Across the board (for the most part), International Exposure guests walked away with a deep appreciation for Israeli dancers, whose focus and commitment is a noticeable strength of the performances.

Other works that dove into the absurd included Yasmeen Godder’s LOVE FIRE, complete with the gutting of a stuffed creature resembling some combination of goat and lion, an unexpected shower of blue glitter, and a dramatic illuminated heart made of diagonal fluorescent tubes. Yossi Berg and Oded Graf’s study in masculinity, 4 Men, Alice, Bach and the Deer, also made use of a life-sized dead animal, raising peculiar questions about the role of taxidermy in Israeli society. Okay, not really, but seeing both works in one night gave something to think about.

Michal Herman Dance Group’s Fellowship, based on a short Kafka story, embodied absurdity in the extreme mannerisms of its characters and their exaggerated interactions, as did Irad Mazliah’s Unter den Linden.

While not necessarily “absurd,” Artour Astman & Ilana Bellahsen’s ArtLana presented the two artists as babies in a wide-eyed, charming duet. The grotesque masks in Noa Dar Dance Group’s Anu suggested something of the absurd but dealt more explicitly with another theme that was largely prevalent throughout the festival – the struggle between the urge for individual expression and the pressure to conform.

The aforementioned Big Mouth tackled the topic effectively as did Maya Brinner’s Red Ladies, which followed a trio of women from synchronized harmony to individual awareness and then group conflict.

But perhaps no dance company in the world embodies this tension between group cohesion and individual identity than the Batsheva Dance Company, whose new work Hora closed the festival.

Batsheva Dance Company in Ohad Naharin’s Hora. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Batsheva’s artistic director Ohad Naharin shifts quickly and effortlessly between complicated group sections, done in perfect unison (in a way that no other company can approach), to solos that marry abandon and control in surprising harmony. It’s a tactic utilized in several of his recent works, and just because it’s a recognizable pattern doesn’t mean its predictable. Yet here, the tool loses its impact. While past works like Shalosh (Three) or Mamootot, though still abstract, feel like they follow some sort of arc, Hora in comparison feels circular. At the end, we’re back at the beginning and as a result, it’s a bit harder to appreciate the journey, but then again, maybe that’s the point.

Naharin has always had eclectic music taste, easily moving from a traditional Passover song to the Beach Boys to soundscapes that he himself creates. In Hora, the score consists of some of the most recognizable and clichéd pieces of music by Strauss, Wagner, and John Williams borrowed from the archives or classic science-fiction films. Like the title of the work, Naharin challenges the audience to rearrange its reference points for the associations we have created throughout our lives.

As a result, he creates extremes of possibilities and the space in between where anything can happen and meaning is left ambiguous. Throwing viewers from one end of the spectrum to the other (from familiar to unfamiliar) with unrelated and nonsensical movements forces us to fill in the gaps of how they relate and what it all amounts to. And while you may not walk away with an answer, Batsheva ultimately leaves an impression that, indeed, there is something human within this controlled chaos after all.

I always get a sense, watching Batsheva, that there is something dark and explosive just under the surface, and that’s another thread that seemed to weave its way through the festival of Israeli choreographers and companies. Noa Dar’s Anu plunged suddenly into simulated rape, and Berg and Graf’s 4 Men, Alice, Bach and the Deer similarly incorporated sexual violence into the narrative.

Rami Be’er’s poem Infrared, which is also the name of the work for his Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, follows multi-colored soldiers into a garden, which the over-produced performance suggested rather explicitly. The company appears to have a wealth of resources at its disposal and produced a glossy show that, ultimately, was lacking in the substance and urgency that many of the smaller companies displayed.

Vertigo Dance Company in Noa Wertheim’s Mana. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Noa Wertheim’s Vertigo Dance Company similarly approached the theme of complicated group dynamics. Yet their work Mana offered a depth and sense of intrigue that made it one of the most compelling pieces of the entire week, one that brings together many of the themes discussed here in a tight, luscious, and appealing package that foreign audiences are likely to respond well to.

If another theme might be added, it’s the embrace of classical music mashed with contemporary, fragmented movement. It’s not a new idea in contemporary dance, but the idea was particularly noticeable at this festival. In addition to the well-known scores in Batsheva’s work, Godder also used the waltz for inspiration, and Idan Cohen’s take on Swan Lake paired the Tchaikovsky score with sharp, defined, lightning-quick movement that actually made the idea feel current and relevant – no small feat for such an overused score and well-known ballet. But the sense that Israelis are resisting tradition, or at least looking to re-contextualize it to their new realities, came through loud and clear.

Maria Kong in fling. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Of course, one can’t possibly force all of the performances into only a few basic themes. Defying all categorizations was the work by Maria Kong, a new company comprised of former Batsheva dancers. fling opens with an aching violin solo, performed facing away from the audience, while projections on two columns conjure a world of dark hallways, mysterious rooms, and the constant shift of shadows, which gives the sense that time is passing us by. Without a dancer on stage for the first nearly twenty minutes, a captivating world is created. When they do appear, the dancers move with robotic precision. The slight turn of a head sends waves that reverberate throughout another dancer’s body. Similarly, fling is a subtle work that makes a big impression.

And while International Exposure aims to present contemporary dance, we were also brought to the Israel Ballet studios to view excerpts from the company’s repertoire. The dancers were proficient, the partnering well-executed. But the formality of the ballet language doesn’t seem to fit this country.

Interacting with and observing Israelis on a daily basis during the week of the Exposure, the intimacy, suspicion, joy, tension, spirit, and vitality that seems to hover over society here is reflected in the works of contemporary artists that display the same such characteristics.

In comparison, the ballet, with its sterilized look, organized structure, clear gender roles, and polished edges seems to be just what everyone else is fighting against. And that conflict is what makes the dance in Israel so fascinating.

Brian Schaefer is the dance writer for San Diego News Network and the Program & Audience Development Manager for ArtPower! at UC San Diego, the university’s multi-arts presenting organization.

International Exposure 2009: Showcasing Israeli Dance

Deborah Friedes Galili — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 10:30:17 +0000

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.

Curtain Up 3: Yasmeen Godder Hosts Iris Erez

Deborah Friedes Galili — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:04:26 +0000

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

Dance In Israel: What is your relationship to Curtain Up?
Yasmeen Godder: I’ve presented many times, from 1999-2004 consecutively. I’ve experienced the festival many times, and it has had a great impact on my career in a sense that it allowed me to present a work for those six years every year . . . I would premiere something in the winter, and in the summer I would start working again towards the new creation in the winter, so it created a cycle for me that made a lot of sense during the years that I did it.

Iris Erez’s Numbia. Photo by Itay Merom.

DII: What made you choose to host Iris Erez?
YG: When we first had the meeting at the Ministry of Culture, the concept was to invite people whose work has evolved from working with us or from growing within our work. And so when I thought of who has done that, obviously Iris was a very clear choice.

Iris Erez’s Numbia. Photo by Itay Merom.

DII: Do you see strong links between your work and Iris’s work?
YG: Given that Iris has worked with me for many years, I think that her method of generating materials is influenced by the methodology which I have developed over the years and therefore [it] perhaps has similar roots, but ultimately each of our works is developed through the very personalized prism of our worlds both thematically and in the different ways of constructing them . . .

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

DII: Can you tell me a little bit about where LOVE FIRE came from?
YG: I was commissioned to make a work using three waltz pieces in October of last year. At first I found myself rejecting the idea of accepting this commission; I didn’t immediately find an interest in it. And then I decided that because it presents a challenge for me, because the music that was sent to me was not necessarily music that I knew what I wanted to do with [it], that this was interesting and this was an opportunity to do something differently.

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

YG: I was fascinated by this idea that I received this CD with classical waltzes to my Jaffa mailbox. I tried to keep this tension of this music that doesn’t relate to here, and how do we approach it; how can we relate to it. And that was the beginning.

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

YG: Then I collaborated with Yochai Matos, the visual artist. For many years he approached me about doing [something], and we’ve talked with each other about our work. Ultimately, we decided that what would be interesting would be that he would create a response – not a collaboration with me, but rather a response to my work. So that’s what’s happening on my stage . . . It’s a performative installation-based response, because he’s actually a visual artist; he’s not a performance artist, but there’s an aspect of what he does that can be seen as performance.

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

Curtain Up 2009: Celebrating 20 Years of Israeli Premieres

Deborah Friedes Galili — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:25:03 +0000

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.

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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.

Israeli Dance: What’s Happening in November

Deborah Friedes Galili — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:47:32 +0000

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.

While international performers are taking over the main stage at Suzanne Dellal, the center’s more intimate Yerushalmi Theater is hosting a mixed bill by emerging Israeli choreographers. On November 6, Odelia Kuperberg presents the trio Without Blinking, while Sharon Vazanna premieres her solo Walking Inside Water. Cuban-born Lazaro Godoy joins the program with his striking Jugo de Limon.

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.

Israeli Dance: What’s Happening in October

Deborah Friedes Galili — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:09:16 +0000

Video: Maria Kong’s Fling

As usual, there are lots of dance performances happening in Israel’s dance scene this month – but as I looked at the calendar, I realized that October is packed with several extra-special events. Below are some teasers for premieres, festivals, foreign tours, online contests, and more. For additional information about the following events and other performances, please visit the Dance In Israel Calendars.

Israeli Dance at Home

The members of Maria Kong. Photo by ASCAF.

Four former Batsheva dancers – Anderson Braz, Leo Lerus, Ya’ara Moses, and Talia Landa – make up Maria Kong, a new company which debuted fling last month to sold-out crowds. Now in its second run at the Nachmani Theater in Tel Aviv until October 10 and with a third set of shows planned for November 9-15, fling is clearly here to stay. 3-D projections, stunning costumes, and a striking score of both live and recorded music set an otherworldly mood for the work, but it’s the group’s supremely dynamic movement and supercharged stage presence which gives fling a lasting impact.

Shlomit Fundaminsky in La Divina. Photo by Aviv Zemer.

In honor of Tmuna Theater’s 29th anniversary, this month’s performances at the Tel Aviv institution are priced at a mere 29 shekels (that’s roughly $8!). Participating choreographers and dance groups include Shlomit Fundaminsky, Hagit Yakira, Ensemble Maya and Tomer, Acco Dance Center, Anat Shamgar, Efrat Reuven, Benyamin Yagendorf, Elad Ben-Sasson, Inbal Shachar, Tzachi Cohen, Shai Faran, Aviv Eveguy, and Maya Brenner. Hear about Shlomit’s work in Shlomit Fundaminsky: An Interview about Improvisation and Israeli Life.

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

Yossi Berg and Oded Graf are presenting their new 4 Men, Alice, Bach and the Deer at the Lab in Jerusalem on October 14-15 and at the Inbal Theater in Tel Aviv’s Suzanne Dellal Center on October 16-17. This often humorous exploration of the idealized man won rave reviews when it premiered this summer in Germany and Poland, and now the choreographers have revamped their work with a cast of standout Israeli dancers: Hillel Kogan, Irad Matzliach, and Yossi Berg and Oded Graf themselves.

Barak Marshall’s Rooster premieres in Tel Aviv Dance 2009. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

October means it’s time for the Tel Aviv Dance festival! This festival brings some of the hottest names in dance from around the world to the Suzanne Dellal Center and the Tel Aviv Opera House. Stay tuned to Dance In Israel for more on Tel Aviv Dance 2009, which runs from October 16 through November 13 – and if you’re nostalgic, you can reread my preview of Tel Aviv Dance 2008. Last year Barak Marshall’s Monger was a big hit when it opened Tel Aviv Dance, and this year, his new work Rooster will close the festival.

In partnership with the Israeli hotel chain Isrotel, the Batsheva Dance Company is presenting the 6th Phaza Morgana Festival in Timna National Park, Eilat from October 22-24. This year’s festival includes Take Two, a program featuring choreography by Ohad Naharin and Sharon Eyal; Anaphaza, one of Ohad Naharin’s iconic works; and a special appearance by the Idan Raichel Project. Check out my most recent article on Batsheva, Batsheva Dance Company: From Graham to Gaga, for background on the company and a list of other related articles about the group.

Israeli Dance Abroad

Whether you’re in Europe, the United States, or Asia, there’s something coming your way this month . . . .

Barak Marshall’s Monger. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

Barak Marshall’s production of Monger kicked off this month with a trip to Seoul and Daego, South Korea; the final performance of this tour is October 7th.

Video: Yossi Berg and Oded Graf’s Heroes.

Besides presenting their 4 Men, Alice, Bach and the Deer in Israel, Yossi Berg and Oded Graf are taking Heroes to the N.O.W. Festival in Saarbrucken, Germany on October 10. The pair returns to Staatsheater Kassel, Germany for an October 25 showing of a new creation, Fairy Tales, which has its official world premiere in December.

Iris Erez in Arkadi Zaides’s Solo Colores. Photo by Gadi Dagon.

From October 11 until the 25, Arkadi Zaides is touring with Solo Colores and Solo Siento in Asia. After showing Solo Colores at the Shanghai Dance Festival in Shanghai, both works will be performed in Taipei at the Kuan Du Arts Festival and then in Tokyo. For more about these works, check out my article Arkadi Zaides: Community Connections and Stunning Solos.

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

Yasmeen Godder’s Singular Sensation will be performed in Prague on October 11-12 as part of 4+4 Days in Motion, and on the 28th-29th, the work will be part of TANZ IN BERN in Bern, Switzerland. Read more about Yasmeen’s work in Close Encounters Series: Yasmeen Godder.

Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak’s Hydra. Photo by Seto Hidemi.

The Inbal Pinto Dance Company takes Hydra to the Dance Umbrella Festival in London on October 18-19. The creators talked about the development of Hydra in my podcast Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak: An Interview on Imagination.

Gilat Amotz’s Empty Room. Photo by Lucky Trimmer, Berlin.

Gilat Amotz’s solo Empty Room will be performed in Masdanza, the International Contemporary Dance Festival of the Canary Islands. Empty Room is one of only 10 solos which were selected for this competition, which runs from October 17-24. Gilat’s choreography was also chosen to be included in the Masdanza Tenerife Festival at the Teatro Victoria in Santa Cruz in Tenerife from October 25-26.

As part of Nextbook’s Jewish Body Week, the Foundation for Jewish Culture is presenting an evening titled Contemporary Israeli Dance and the Reinvention of the Jewish Body at the JCC in Manhattan on October 22. Choreographers Deganit Shemy, Andrea Miller of Gallim Dance, and Saar Harari of LeeSaar: The Company will show excerpts of their work and participate in a panel discussion moderated by dance writer Elizabeth Zimmer. Read a bit about Deganit Shemy’s premiere of Arena at DTW last spring in From Writing to Talking about Dance, and find out about Andrea Miller’s connection to Israeli contemporary dance in Gallim Dance at Jacobs Pillow: Waves of Influence.

Rachel Erdos’s Alma. Photo from Gvanim Be’machol 2007.

Rachel Erdos is headed to the United States to set Alma on the Washington D.C.-based troupe CityDance Ensemble. Her work will be performed at the Kennedy Center as part of CityDance’s “Latitude” program on October 29-30. CityDance toured the Middle East last spring, and I caught up with them in east Jerusalem; read about their visit in CityDance in Jerusalem: Exploring the Gaps Between American and Israeli Dance.

Israeli Dance Online

Video: Michael Miler’s Speed of Light

Michael Miler’s Speed of Light is one of 10 finalists in the Sadler’s Wells Global Dance Contest 2009. The winning entry will be performed at Sadler’s Wells in London in January 2010 as part of the program Sadler’s Wells Program. Like Speed of Light? Vote for it! Speed of Light caught my eye when it premiered at the Shades of Dance Festival last March; read my impressions in Behind the Scenes at Gvanim: Shades of Dance Festival .

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For a calendar including these events and other performances, please visit the Dance In Israel Calendars . Know of some other exciting event relating to Israeli dance in Israel or abroad? Leave a comment below with the details!

Experiencing Yasmeen Godder’s Repertory Workshop

Deborah Friedes Galili — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:04:39 +0000

Yasmeen Godder and Iris Erez in Godder’s Two Playful Pink. Photo by Tamar Lamm.

More than a year ago, I had the opportunity to take a week-long repertory workshop at Yasmeen Godder’s studio. I found the intensive enriching both as a dancer and as a dance researcher, and I recounted my experience on The Winger on April 4, 2008; that article is posted below.

Now another batch of advanced dancers will have the chance to sink their teeth into Godder’s meaty material during a brand-new, year-long intensive. Hosted by ActSearch and held at Godder’s studio in Jaffa, this program will build participants’ physical and expressive skills through a mix of technique classes, repertory workshops, and sessions with dramaturge Itzik Giuli.

Besides preparing for this exciting endeavor, Godder has been touring one of her latest works, Singular Sensation. Want to watch some of her work and see what’s in store for her new students? There are lots of upcoming performances in several locations. After one more performance of Singular Sensation at Suzanne Dellal on October 1, the production is traveling to Prague and Bern in October before touring Germany and Belgium in November. For more information on the intensive workshop and the tour, check out the links at the end of this article.

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Yasmeen Godder’s Repertory Worskhop (April 2008)

It’s been more than seven months since I have learned new repertory, and while I’m loving my dance classes and improvisational projects, I do miss the process of absorbing and living in a piece of choreography. So even though my body feels a bit tired now, my spirit is extremely happy after tasting a bit of Yasmeen Godder’s work!

I just finished a five-day workshop at her studio in Jaffa (at the south of Tel Aviv – technically, the city is Tel Aviv-Yafo). Yasmeen is currently on tour in Europe with her production Sudden Birds, so two of her dancers led the intensive. Each day began with Eran Shanny’s technique class, which was very similar to Yasmeen’s with its influences of release technique, yoga, Feldenkrais, and more.

After Eran helped us absorb the principles of Yasmeen’s movement style, Iris Erez took over for the repertory segment of the workshop. We did improvisational exercises like those Yasmeen uses in her creative process, and we learned solo and duet material from Two Playful Pink. Yasmeen’s choreography is meaty, both in its movement vocabulary and its emotional content, and Two Playful Pink – a piece originally performed in 2003 by Yasmeen and Iris – is no exception. The dance concerns attitudes towards femininity and the body, and the movement often shifts a conventional expression of sexuality into more unfamiliar (or unaccepted?) territory: a hand seductively placed on the upper thigh soon insistently clutches the crotch; the slow fixing of messy hair is paired with a sudden spank-like slap to the hip; a smile is distorted by tucking in the upper lip or tugging the cheek into a sneer.

Yasmeen Godder and Iris Erez in Godder’s Two Playful Pink. Photo by Tamar Lamm.

There’s so much I could say about what I gained through this experience – in fact, my stream of consciousness free-write in my notes file was enough to make Word send me a few error messages last night – but I’ll try to keep my post here manageable . . . If you haven’t noticed yet, I tend to be a bit wordy!

I’ve found myself explaining recently that yes, I am both a dancer and a researcher, so I’ll write a bit about how these two activities are complementary. Quite wonderfully, this workshop reinforced my belief in the value of physical research. My experience in technique classes this year has provided me with important information about the physicality used in Israeli contemporary dance. Yet with repertory, there’s another level of experience and analysis to be found; instead of simply dealing with the raw material of technique – some of the building blocks of a finished dance – learning choreography allows me to explore issues of composition and content along with the movement itself.

This week I got a physical sense of Yasmeen’s partnering work, which epitomizes an intricate, aggressive style employed by many young Israeli choreographers. Actually attempting to dance excerpts of this duet gave me a deeper appreciation of what I had admired from afar because I myself got to experience (or, well, try to experience) the speed, precision, and trust involved in this kind of partnering. I was also reminded that in the hands of the right choreographer (and ultimately in the bodies of the right dancers), movement can be wonderfully loaded with meaning. In the duet excerpts from Two Playful Pink, each tug, shove, jerk, drop, fall, and look is a challenge from one woman to the other, a chance to manipulate, dominate, taunt, display . . .

Yasmeen Godder and Iris Erez in Godder’s Two Playful Pink. Photo by Tamar Lamm.

Learning repertory also provides an extraordinary opportunity for me to recognize and question the assumptions I make as a spectator of choreography. As I realized this week, what you perceive when you are an audience member does not always get at the truth of the matter from the performer’s perspective.

What I often see in Israeli contemporary dance is power – but it’s not always a controlled power or a power composed of force. In my experience with Yasmeen’s choreography (and specifically thanks to the feedback Iris gave me), I understood that this power is at times a matter of energy unleashed by giving into momentum and gravity. Having trained primarily in ballet and older modern dance forms such as Cunningham technique and Graham, Taylor, and Limón-influenced styles, I find working in this released-influenced mode quite challenging – but also quite necessary for my growth as a dancer. You can bet I’ll be back in Yasmeen’s classes after she returns from her tour!

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More on Maholohet: A Hot Summer of Dance Continues

Deborah Friedes Galili — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:22:32 +0000

Video: Aviv Eveguy’s Dimona will show at Maholohet on August 4

Yes, I know, I already posted one article about Maholohet (SummerDance). But some people might need a reminder that there’s still one month left of nearly nightly performances at Suzanne Dellal, and perhaps those of you who are abroad would like to hear a bit more about this Israeli summer tradition.

Although I was lucky enough to see many of the festival’s offerings earlier this season, several of this summer’s works were new (or new to me), and so in July I found myself walking over to Suzanne Dellal a few times a week. One of the standouts so far was Yoram Karmi and Uri Morag’s Man, Woman, Reflections, with its brilliant use of swinging lamps, illuminating projections, and clever choreography involving innovative sets. The two-part Under by Matanicola and Yasmeen Godder also delivered a punch with its intense atmosphere and powerful performances. And just this week, Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak’s Rushes caught my eye with images that were simple, striking, and sustained for just the right amount of time.

Even if you’ve missed these concerts, there’s still plenty to come! Read on to see what else will heat up the stage this summer – all of the works I’ve mentioned below will be performed during August.

The article below was first published as “Some Summer Spice” in the Jerusalem Post on July 12, 2009.

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Some Summer Spice

Even the numbers of the Suzanne Dellal Center’s SummerDance Festival are impressive: eight weeks of concerts, 76 performances, 11 premieres and one group of special guests from abroad. But what’s behind the statistics – an exceptionally diverse assortment of dance – is even more extraordinary.

SummerDance 2009 (Maholohet, a play on the phrase “hot dance” in Hebrew) has showcased the wealth of Israeli concert dance since its inception 13 years ago. What started as a three-week festival gradually expanded, and now, with the Suzanne Dellal Center celebrating its 20th anniversary, SummerDance is having its hottest season yet.

In contrast to many shorter and more narrowly focused dance festivals, SummerDance is jam-packed with an unparalleled array of performances displaying the breadth and depth of Israel’s dance scene. Besides well-established troupes such as the Batsheva Dance Company and Inbal Pinto Dance Company, many independent choreographers will be included on the program. Older artists with a distinguished history of performing and creating, such as Rina Schenfeld and Alice Dor-Cohen, will be featured alongside relative newcomers, like the team of Artour Astman and Ilana Bellahsen. Large ensembles, smaller groups, and solos all find their place on the festival’s stage.

But most striking is the range of dance genres which will heat up SummerDance. All shades of contemporary dance, from more classically influenced styles to cutting-edge experimental work, will be represented.

Video: Elina Pechersky’s Burgandy and Turquoise will be at Maholohet on August 13

Israeli choreographers also put their own flavor on many dance forms from around the world. Bangoura offers energizing African dance, Anjali blends classical schools of Indian dance, Elina Pechersky puts her own twist on Middle Eastern dance, and several artists will spice up the festival with their take on Spanish flamenco dance.

This year’s SummerDance is particularly notable for its large number of premieres. In their first choreographing effort together, virtuoso dancers Astman and Bellahsen journey through a vibrant imaginary world in ArtLana.

Meanwhile, Idan Cohen transforms a world that is well-known to many dance-goers: Swan Lake. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s famed score seems to reverberate through three dancers’ bodies in Cohen’s riveting contemporary choreography.

After intensive periods of creation, several seasoned dance makers are also revealing their latest works. Sally-Anne Friedland’s A Private Collection captures the eye not only with her dynamic movement vocabulary, but also with video and photographs that provide an inside look into her process. Dor-Cohen’s Talk to Me speaks of communication and partnership through the powerful performances of Talia Paz and Amnon Damti. And set to music by Laurie Anderson, Rina Schenfeld’s Angels is filled with visions of both earthly and heavenly beings.

Other highlights of SummerDance include premieres by the Acre Dance Center, Kolben Dance, Elina Pechersky, Ronit Ziv, Niv Sheinfeld and Matanicola vs. Yasmeen Godder. In addition to this tempting spread of homegrown talent, dancers from the renowned Paris Opera Ballet will light up the stage in a mixed bill. With a program so richly varied, SummerDance2009 promises something hot for everyone.

Maholohet: SummerDance2009 at Suzanne Dellal Center

Deborah Friedes Galili — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 07:22:41 +0000

Video: Yoram Karmi and Uri Morag’s Man, Woman, Reflections will be performed during SummerDance

It seems like every country has its share of summer dance festivals, and Israel is no exception. The country’s main concert dance festival, SummerDance (Maholohet in Hebrew) is already underway at the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv. My preview of the festival, “Damn Hot,” was first published in the Jerusalem Post.

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Damn Hot

The Suzanne Dellal Center is turning up the heat with its Maholohet (Hot Dance) summer dance festival. This year’s program boasts a full summer of sizzling performances, showcasing the best of Israeli dance. From July 1 until August 29, hundreds of dancers will take the stage in 76 concerts.

Part of Maholohet‘s appeal is the appearance of so many preeminent companies. The Batsheva, Inbal Pinto and Vertigo Dance Companies are each presenting multiple programs of critically acclaimed works. Many popular smaller groups and up-and-coming independent choreographers are also heating up the program with their creative fires.

Raising the temperature further this summer are 11 hot-off-the-press premieres by choreographers as diverse as Yasmeen Godder, Alice Dor-Cohen, Ronit Ziv, Idan Cohen and Elina Pechersky. Another much anticipated highlight is a special guest program with dancers from the famed Paris Opera Ballet.

But with its decided focus on Israeli artists, Maholohet often reveals fresh trends in the country’s dance scene. This year, video is at the top of the list. Among the premieres are Rina Schenfeld’s Angels, Sally-Anne Friedland’s A Private Collection, and Amir Kolben’s Gates of Jerusalem – all of which are illuminated by video art. Video also lights up Arkadi Zaides’s Solo Siento, Ofra Idel’s Harmony Sucks 4, Tania Vinokur’s Cinco – Flamenco Fusion, Yoram Karmi and Uri Morag’s Man, Woman, Reflections, and Tamar Borer and Tamara Erde’s Isaora Hun.

Another revelation is the wide range of dance styles performed in this small country. Besides contemporary dance – which itself is varied – Maholohet includes African dance, Middle Eastern dance, Indian dance and quite a bit of Spanish flamenco. Regardless of style, each program is filled with imaginative artistic vision and talented, energetic performers. It’s a good thing that the theater has air conditioning, for Maholohet‘s program is as hot as Tel Aviv’s steamy summers.

Video: A preview of Tamar Borer and Tamara Erde’s Isaora Hun, which will be performed in Studio Suzi

Home Port Festival Lures Audiences to Jaffa Port

Deborah Friedes Galili — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 06:58:17 +0000

Choreographer Aviv Eveguy performing a solo at Home Port’s opening night. Photo by Aharela Golran.

The night before my flight to Boston, I trekked down to Jaffa one more time for a performance of Shlomit Fundaminsky and Itay Yatuv’s Metaktek (Ticking) at the Home Port Festival. As I descended to the port, a car pulled up and a couple asked for directions to hangar #2. I answered them and smiled – hangar #2 is, well, home to Home Port.

Located next to a swarm of bobbing fishing boats, this enormous hangar is not your typical destination for a dance performance. Yet the members of the Choreographers Society have lured a mix of devoted dance fans and less seasoned audience members to the Jaffa Port over the last several weeks. Though some performances were more sparsely attended, the opening marathon of solos on March 12 actually sold out! Those who were turned away at the door – and those who simply couldn’t make it that night – have a second chance to witness this extraordinary program when the festival closes on April 6.

With concerts nearly every evening and so many choreographers participating, Home Port was a fantastic opportunity for me to expand my familiarity with the Israeli dance scene. The festival introduced me to Neta Shizef’s flamenco work and to Anat Katz’s contemporary choreography. I finally got to see dances I had missed over the last season, like Aviv Eveguy’s Dimona, Yossi Berg & Oded Graf’s Heroes, Nadine Bommer’s Manimation, and the Tel Aviv Dance Company’s Tokyo Oranges. And I happily re-viewed several works, including Hillel Kogan’s Everything, Yoram Karmi’s La Famiglia, and Noa Shadur’s Hunting Rabbits in the North.

While I saw a lot of performances at the Home Port festival, I have not written about them here on Dance In Israel. This is partially due to a time crunch (spending my nights in Jaffa made preparing for my month-long trip to the U.S. and finishing Hebrew homework a challenge!).

Yet this is more a matter of my outlook and my aims. I attended Home Port – as I attend all performances – not as a critic but as a dance scholar. The concert hall (or, in this case, the hangar) is one of my laboratories; it is a site where I conduct my research. By viewing much of the programming at Home Port, I broadened and deepened my knowledge of Israel’s concert dance scene. My observations there will no doubt enable me to have more informed conversations with choreographers and enrich my writing about their work.

As the Home Port festival ends, I’m pleased to give you a bit more information about how it started. I did a telephone interview with Sigalit Gelfand, the highly dedicated head of the Choreographers Society, shortly before opening night. The write-up below was initially published in the Jerusalem Post on March 25, 2009 as “Steps in the Right Direction.”

* * *

Asked about her excitement level before the opening of the Home Port festival, Sigalit Gelfand, the head of the Choreographers Society, laughs giddily. “I’m feeling like my child is becoming a bar mitzva,” she giggles.

Gelfand has reason to be excited. From March 12 until April 4, the 54 choreographers who comprise the Choreographers Society will have presented 33 performances at Jaffa’s port. Like a bar mitzva, this event is a major milestone in the life of the organization: It is the first time the Choreographers Society is presenting an independent festival in a space that, at least for now, it can call its own.

As the entire field of Israeli concert dance has blossomed during the past two decades, independent choreographers have swelled the ranks of the Choreographers Society and the need for more performance venues has grown. During the past year, Gelfand began to think outside of the traditional theaters which have presented dance. “I started to try to locate a place where we could establish our home port, our place where we could create and perform without any limits,” Gelfand explained.

On one of her expeditions, Gelfand visited a hangar in the Jaffa port that had previously hosted special events. Although the place was not currently available as a long-term home base, she pondered a shorter stay at the site. The management of the port was open to cooperation, and Gelfand brought a few dancers to the hangar to start brainstorming. Choreographers Yasmeen Godder, Arkadi Zaides, Itai Wizer and Nimrod Freed formed a special artistic committee to work with Gelfand on the project. Now the Home Port festival is coming to fruition.

The four-week stretch of the festival allows the Choreographers Society to settle into its temporary digs and marks a promising start toward acquiring a long-term artistic home. Gelfand remarks with satisfaction, “We are not guests in another house, in another theater. It’s ours. The possibility to have our place in the future is the most exciting thing we can think about right now. And the uniqueness of this event, to perform in this very special place, it’s also very exciting.”

THE STRUCTURE of the festival is indeed unique. After its opening two weeks ago that featured a special marathon of 36 solos, the Home Port festival is offering programming almost every evening except on Sunday. Some concerts feature a full-length work or a few dances by one artist, while others combine shorter works by different choreographers. On many evenings there are two events back to back, enabling viewers to sample more delights from Israel’s dance scene. During the daytime on Saturdays, the festival offers family-friendly performances.

Meanwhile, an announcement in the middle of the festival heralded a new development in the Choreographers Society’s quest for space. After years of searching for a suitable site, association members Robbie Edelman and Ofra Idel secured a hall in Jerusalem which will be used by independent choreographers. With this new home for rehearsals, workshops and showings of works-in-progress, the artists of the Choreographers Society are one step closer to their ultimate dream.

Reflecting the makeup of the Choreographers Society, the Home Port schedule showcases the spectrum of concert dance in Israel. Some choreographers draw from the Spanish tradition of flamenco, while others transport belly dance to the stage. Many participating artists come from a contemporary dance background, but they, too, display a rich diversity of approaches and styles. Collaboration, improvisation, abstract dances, and colorful characters all find a place onstage in the hangar.

Besides an enticing menu of dance shows, the Home Port festival boasts another lure to bring visitors to the Jaffa port: live music. In cooperation with the music venue Levontin 7, most programs include a musical performance. A bar and cafe inside the building further contribute to the festive atmosphere.

While the hangar may not be a permanent home for independent choreographers, this month it will be one of the best places for dance and music lovers to hang out.

* * *

Behind the Scenes at Gvanim: Shades of Dance Festival

Deborah Friedes Galili — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:18:05 +0000

Michael Miler’s The Speed of Light will be performed in program 1 of Shades of Dance. Photograph by Eyal Landesman.

Last Saturday night was chilly and wet, but despite the discouraging weather conditions, I bundled up and trekked down to the Suzanne Dellal Center. Choreographer Micheal Miler of Haifa’s Sigma Ensemble had invited me to a rehearsal for the Shades of Dance festival (called Gvanim in Hebrew). Shades of Dance is mounted biennially, and since last year was an off year, I had effectively been waiting to attend the festival for over a year and a half. A little rain wasn’t about to stop me from this special sneak peak.

Since its inception in 1984, Shades of Dance has showcased artists who are relatively fresh to the field of choreography. It has helped launch the careers of some of Israel’s best-known choreographers including Yasmeen Godder, Inbal Pinto, Emanuel Gat, Ronit Ziv, Barak Marshall, Renana Raz, Shlomi Bitton, Anat Danieli, Itzhik Galili, Sally-Anne Friedland, Yossi Yungman, Tamar Borer, Liat Dror and Nir Ben-Gal of Adama, Noa Wertheim and Adi Sha’al of Vertigo Dance Company, and Yoram Karmi of Fresco Dance Group.

Perhaps this is why my anticipation of this festival feels different: I can’t help but wonder what new choreographic voices will be revealed this year. A mind-boggling 80 dances were submitted to the festival’s selection committee, composed of artistic director Hanoch Ben Dror with Ya’ara Dolev, Sally-Anne Friedland, Renana Raz, and Niv Sheinfeld. I’m looking forward to seeing what sets the 10 chosen works apart from their competition when the 15th Shades of Dance festival opens this week.

Left to right: Shaked Dagan’s We are going back is in program 3; Anat Va’adiya’s Ashetish is in program 1. Photographs by Eyal Landesman.

If the rehearsal I saw was any indication, this year’s festival has a batch of promising choreographers with very diverse aesthetics. Michael Miler’s The Speed of Light is one of the most abstract works I have seen since moving to Israel, and it is thoroughly absorbing. Clad in dark skinny jeans and colorful athletic jackets, Miler and seven other talented dancers maneuver skillfully through a sophisticated movement vocabulary. As they swiftly skate across the floor and slide to the ground, they appear to be constantly gauging the changing formations of their fellow performers.

The relationship between dancers Adam Ben Zvi and Idan Porges in Shaked Dagan’s We are going back is equally engaging. At times the well-matched men create a stop-frame effect with their cleverly-timed partnering; at other times they move hypnotically in slow motion.

The other two pieces I saw at Saturday’s rehearsal were worlds apart from each other in their tone. While choreographer/dancer Anat Va’adiya established an unsettling mood for her solo, Dafi Altebab used text and motions from a flight safety presentation to humorous effect in her trio’s quirky scenario.

Dafi Altebab’s new work is in program 3. Photo by Eyal Landesman.

While I wish I could have stayed for the remainder of the rehearsal, I left early to attend another performance at the Home Port festival. I suppose that after waiting a year and half to attend Shades of Dance, another few days is bearable! The festival opens on Wednesday, March 18 with with excerpts of old and recent works by former Shades of Dance participants Nir Ben Gal & Liat Dror, Noa Wertheim & Adi Sha’al, Ronit Ziv, and Barak Marshall. Then three programs shown back-to-back on Thursday night and Friday afternoon will present the new works from this year’s harvest.

Here are a few more sneak peaks of what will be onstage in the three programs of Shades of Dance 2009:

Anat Meirav’s is in program 2. Photographs by Eyal Landesman.

From left: Galit Hazor’s Blind Spot is in program 3; Tami and Ron Yitzhaki’s work is in program 2. Photograph by Eyal Landesman.

Shir Medvetsky’s solo is in program 3. Photograph by Eyal Landesman.

From left: Ron Amit and Mor Shani’s Lu Carmela; Or Marin’s vanishing point. Photographs by Eyal Landesman.

Home Port Festival: History in the Making for the Choreographers Association

Deborah Friedes Galili — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:27:46 +0000

Choreographers celebrating before the opening of the Home Port festival. Photo by Dorit Talpaz.

This may sound a bit extravagant, but I don’t think I am exaggerating. Last night I witnessed dance history – and I hope that the opening night of the Home Port Festival (and the festival itself) will go down in the books not as an isolated moment in time but as the recognized beginning of a new stage, figuratively and literally, for Israel’s independent choreographers.

The excitement was palpable when I arrived at the festival last night, and the energy only grew as more people streamed into the enormous hangar. While Oy Division played a rousing klezmer set, I mingled with choreographers, dancers, administrators, government officials, dance writers, and dance fans. Everyone seemed to recognize that this collective celebration of individual creation was a momentous occasion. The dream for a permanent home for the Amuta‘s artists, though still not fully realized, no longer seemed like an impossibility; indeed, the possibilities of what the dance scene would gain in the next weeks at Home Port emboldened the choreographers to dream anew.

After the enthusiastic crowd overflowed the risers, a one-of-a-kind dance marathon commenced. 39 choreographers from the Amuta presented a total of 33 solos and 3 duets, and 38 of the choreographers themselves delivered electrifying performances.

My intention was simply to watch and enjoy, but as each piece sparked snippets of ideas, I started scribbling furiously. What follows is my ode to the Amuta, a series of one-line impressions from each selection. Please read on . . .

* * *

Group 1

Talia Paz‘s superbly articulate body

Sahar Azimi‘s commanding and sometimes comedic presence

Idan Cohen tearing across the stage to Tchaikovsky

Tamar Borer‘s fingers walking like a spider’s legs

strength and passion merging in Neta Shizef‘s body and beats

Dafi Altebab, super smooth and subtle in her Superman shirt

Aviv Eveguy as Superman, soaring through the air with tour jetés and a cape

Yasmeen Godder, emanating fierceness and thoroughly transfixing

Nimrod Freed, totally transformed with wig, mask, and finely-tuned motions

* * *

Group 2

Ran Ben Dror‘s liquid legs and hypnotic undulations in Mimi Ratz Wiesenberg‘s work

Anat Katz‘s intriguing angles and invigorating energy

Robby Edelman meandering mysteriously through the space

Ya’ara Dolev and Amit Goldenberg‘s marvelously measured, jointed movement

Noa Dar‘s swaying hips and supremely expressive face

Dina Telem‘s clever costuming and childlike exuberance

Ronit Ziv‘s pitch-perfect speech and fabulously full-bodied dance

Tomer Sharabi getting down with a loose-limbed groove

Renana Raz showing national spirit with extraordinary verve

Arkadi Zaides‘s body propelled through space as if possessed

* * *

Group 3

each body part a surprise in Anat Shamgar‘s solo

Shlomit Fundaminsky‘s characteristic quirkiness mixed with a dash of cool

Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor offering a lens into their collaborative choreographic process

Ofra Idel riding guitar riffs with sultry swirls of movement

Dana Ruttenberg‘s legs transcending their flesh and bone

Sally-Anne Friedland, queenly in her lettuce headdress

Sigal Ziv‘s mesmerizing isolations and layered rhythms

Abigail Rubin, blindfolded but still bold

Nadar Rosano‘s quiet power while beating his breast and collecting himself

* * *

Group 4

Ilanit Tadmor‘s body singing with the live vocalist

Alice Dor-Cohen, speaking with both her voice and her body

Odelia Kuperberg sneaking surreptitious glances and springing from the floor

Gilat Amotz keeping the beat in the most amazing ways

Maya Levy curving into the deepest of contractions

Michal Herman‘s sinuous long limbs and prolonged arch

Sharona Florsheim‘s subdued stances to the sounds of a mellow saxophone

Yossi Berg and Oded Graf slow dancing bare-chested before becoming fast-moving sculptures

* * *

Kol hakavod and mazal tov to all of the choreographers and to Sigalit Gelfand, head of the Amuta.

Home Port Festival: 54 Choreographers in 33 Concerts at the Jaffa Port

Deborah Friedes Galili — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:48:38 +0000

The choreographers of the Amuta in Jaffa for the Home Port Festival. Photo by Dorit Talpaz.

The first hint that something big was happening in Israel’s concert dance scene was an e-mail from Yossi Berg and Oded Graf about their upcoming performance schedule. One listing mysteriously said that the duo was presenting Heroes at the Jaffa port for a choreographers festival. Choreographers festival? In Jaffa? Many dance festivals here are annual ones, and I didn’t remember anything like that from last year.

Next I started to see some Facebook events popping up, with choreographers including Hillel Kogan, Noa Dar, Shlomit Fundaminsky, and Niv Sheinfeld & Oren Laor inviting friends to attend performances at the port during March. My curiosity grew as the number of choreographers involved increased.

Finally, Yasmeen Godder pulled me over before class one day and told me I should look into a very exciting, unprecedented event: the Home Port festival. As I talked more with her and followed a few leads, I found out that this was, indeed, something big.

The Home Port festival was initiated by the Amuta (which translates as the Choreographers Association or the Choreographers Society), an umbrella organization for fifty-four independent choreographers who draw from styles as varied as contemporary dance, flamenco, and belly dance. Working outside of the country’s larger companies, these established choreographers are responsible for much of Israel’s flourishing concert dance scene – and all of them will present their creations in thirty-three different concerts over the next four weeks in a hangar at Jaffa’s port.

The Home Port festival kicks off on Thursday, March 12 with what promises to be one of the most unique performances since I’ve arrived in Israel. The organization’s choreographers have assembled a special marathon of forty-four solos to celebrate the opening of their festival, and the evening will also include a reception and two lively musical performances.

In fact, nearly every concert in this series will also feature a musical act. The association invited Levontin 7, a well-known music venue, to participate in the festival, and many of the bands or artists that perform at the club will also appear down in Jaffa.

I’ll be attending many of the performances at the Home Port festival, and I look forward to writing more about the events here on Dance In Israel. If you’re in Israel during the next month, I hope you will have a chance to check out the festival yourself!

Schedule of Home Port Festival in Jaffa

Most of the information online about the Home Port Festival is in Hebrew, so I have roughly translated the choreographers’ names and some titles of works along with the performance times below. Please note that I have only included the choreographers and not the rotating roster of (wonderful, diverse, talented) musicians who will perform at the concerts.

Thursday 3/12 @ 7:00 pm – Opening Night Celebration – Marathon of 44 Solos
Friday 3/13 @ 9:30 pm – Oded Graf & Yossi Berg’s Heroes; Noa Shadur’s Hunting Rabbits in the North
Saturday 3/14 @ 9:00 pm – Aviv Eveguy’s Animus and Dimona
Tuesday 3/17 @ 9:00 pm – Yasmeen Godder’s Singular Sensation
Thursday 3/19 @ 8:00 pm – works by Ilanit Tadmor, Abigail Rubin, and Noa Rosenthal
Thursday 3/19 @ 9:15 pm – works by Mimi Ratz Wiesenberg, Silvia Duran, and Tomer Sharabi
Friday 3/20 @ 9:30 pm – Noa Dar’s The Sweetest Embrace and Arnica
Saturday 3/21 @ 11:00 am – family-friendly performance by choreographer Dina Telem
Saturday 3/21 @ 8:00 pm – Tel Aviv Dance Company in Tokyo Oranges
Saturday 3/21 @ 9:15 pm – works by Yoram Karmi/Fresco Dance Company, Neta Shizef, and Tami & Ronen Yitzhaki
(Cancelled due to rain) Monday 3/23 @ 8:00 pm – Idan Cohen’s Joy Ride, My Sweet Fur, and The Year of the Fish
(Cancelled due to rain) Monday 3/23 @ 9:15 pm – Nadine Bommer’s Manimation
Tuesday 3/24 @ 8:00 pm – Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor’s Post-Martha
Tuesday 3/24 @ 9:15 pm – works by Sharona Florsheim and Nadar Rosano
Wednesday 3/25 @ 8:00 pm – Arkadi Zaides’s Meeting Brian Wash
Wednesday 3/25 @ 9:15 pm – works by Hillel Kogan, Talia Paz, and Anat Shamgar
Thursday 3/26 @ 7:30 pm – work by Smadar Emor
Thursday 3/26 @ 9:15 pm – works by Michal Herman, Anat Katz, and Oren Nachum & Or Narin
Friday 3/27 @ 12:00 pm – work by Sally-Ann Friedland & Galit Lis
Friday 3/27 @ 9:30 pm – Nimrod Freed’s Flies in Peepdance
Saturday 3/28 @ 10:30 am – family-friendly performance by choreographer Nima Yacoby (Voyage Box)
Saturday 3/28 @ 12:30 pm – family-friendly performance by choreographer Nima Yacoby (Cinderella’s Dance)
Saturday 3/28 @ 8:00 pm – Elina Pechersky
Saturday 3/28 @ 9:15 pm – Ronit Ziv’s La Femme 1, La Femme 2
**NEW DATE** Sunday 3/29 @ 8:00 pm – Idan Cohen’s Joy Ride, My Sweet Fur, and The Year of the Fish
**NEW DATE** Sunday 3/29 @ 9:15 pm – Nadine Bommer’s Manimation
Monday 3/30 @ 9:00 pm – Shlomit Fundaminsky & Itay Yatuv’s TICKING/Improformance
Tuesday 3/31 @ 9:00 pm – work by Ofra Idel & Robby Edelman
Wednesday 4/1 @ 8:00 pm – Renana Raz’s Motel
Wednesday 4/1 @ 9:15 pm – works by Maya Levy, Odelia Kuperberg, and Sally-Ann Friedland
Thursday 4/2 @ 8:00 pm – Rikudnetto Dance Group’s Conversations
Friday 4/3 @ 9:30 pm – Alice Dor-Cohen’s A Little After the Middle
Saturday 4/4 @ 11:00 am – family-friendly performance by choreographer Anat Danieli (The Four Seasons)
Saturday 4/4 @ 8:00 pm – works by Ilanit Tadmor, Gilat Amotz, and Dafi Altebab
Saturday 4/4 @ 9:15 pm – works by Maya Stern, Dana Ruttenberg, and Tamar Borer & Tamara Arda

Visit the Dance In Israel Events page for listings of each concert along with a Google map of the location at the Jaffa port (Nemal Yafo 2, Tel Aviv-Yafo). To get to the hangar, descend from HaMigdalor Street to the port. There is parking in the area, and several buses have stops on Yefet Street, relatively near the site. You’re advised to wear layers since the hangar can be a bit chilly. Want a little something to drink? The hangar is outfitted with a bar and cafe. Enjoy!

Dance In Israel Articles about Members of the Amuta

Many members of the Amuta are mentioned in my articles about the Curtain Up and International Exposure festivals. I will also be publishing more articles about members of this organization in the future, so please keep following the website!

Dancing Through the Intifada: Yasmeen Godder’s “Strawberry Cream and Gunpowder”

Deborah Friedes Galili — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:29:58 +0000

Yasmeen Godder’s Stawberry Cream and Gunpowder. Photo by Tamar Lamm.

The cameras in this region frequently capture pictures of destruction and death, of terror and torture, of bombing scenes and blood, of gore and grief.

Working in a different medium, the choreographers in Israel do not often turn their gaze in this direction. But in 2004, Yasmeen Godder focused her artistic lens squarely on the conflict in her country – and specifically on the tragic images flooding the media – in Strawberry Cream and Gunpowder. Transforming real photographs into surreal scenes, Godder and her Bloody Bench Players exposed the complexities of the situation to the audience and cast its horrors in sharp relief.

I watched Strawberry Cream and Gunpowder on DVD in autumn 2007, and after collecting myself – it’s not an easy work to watch – I spent much of the night writing about this haunting dance. The result, “Dancing Through the Intifada,” first appeared on my own blog on November 13, 2007.

* * *

I just returned home from watching a DVD of Yasmeen Godder’s haunting Strawberry Cream and Gunpowder (2004), and it’s impossible for me to think of anything else at the moment. Created a few years into the second intifada, Strawberry Cream and Gunpowder is the first work I have seen which tackles the situation directly, with imagery drawn from media reports of the violence.

If my mind was fresher, perhaps I could write a rich, fuller description of the dance’s action, for indeed there is much that is worthy of comment: prolonged stillnesses which force the viewer to register the horror of these televised, photographed images; the way bodies skilled in release technique, with their loose and reactive limbs, all too believably portray bodies responding to the force of gunshots and physical manipulation; how a context of terror transforms typically normal and even joyous positions and actions; the dressing of the space, with unfixed patches of grass scattered across the stage and an automated gate on stage right; the combination of an original score with the dancers’ piercing emotional cries and occasional bursts of singing; the progression of energy and time, with all hell breaking loose at the end; the curtain call, with two dancers still fully in character during and after the audience applause, finishing moments later as if to emphasize that this is not a fictional scenario limited to the stage time or to the theater’s interior.

Right now, however, my mind is caught up with more philosophical musings and questions.

Yasmeen Godder’s Stawberry Cream and Gunpowder. Photo by Tamar Lamm.

Looking through my historical lens, Godder’s raw, powerful treatment of the intifada makes her heir to American choreographers Anna Sokolow and Danny Grossman. Indeed, as I watched this DVD, images from Sokolow’s Dreams – which dealt with the Holocaust – and Grossman’s anti-war Endangered Species flashed through my mind. Godder’s project, though, is distinguished from that of her predecessors in that she and her dancers were living through this horror as they created and performed Strawberry Cream and Gunpowder.

I started to wonder: how has the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (and mandatory military service) marked these dancers’ bodies (and the creative mind)? What is it like to be in process with a work like this while the trauma is continuing in your environment? What is it like to view a work like this when the trauma is continuing around you?

Strawberry Cream and Gunpowder is also distinct from the aforementioned works by Sokolow and Grossman in its depiction of the ambiguity between right and wrong, innocence and guilt in the current conflict. Whereas the figures in Grossman’s Endangered Species are clearly victims (the innocent father, mother, and child) or perpetrators (the general and the monkey/soldiers – though arguably the troops can also be seen as somewhat victimized by their tyrannical leader), the dancers in Strawberry Cream and Gunpowder alternate back and forth between these two roles. One moment they are prone on the floor or despairingly hunched over the corpse of a beloved, and the next they are aggressively wielding guns or triumphantly dragging limp bodies through the space. Real life in the Middle East is not always black or white, and Godder’s theatrical frame chillingly reveals the gray area.

Snapshots from International Exposure 2008

Deborah Friedes Galili — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:51:04 +0000

Hydra by Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak closed International Exposure. Photo by Seto Hidemi.

Most visitors to this year’s International Exposure were festival directors, arts presenters, diplomats, or critics. I, however, came as a researcher. With this festival – as with my other research activities – I sought to discover, to interpret, to understand. I searched for old connections and new pathways.

Featuring over 40 works, International Exposure was exactly the right place to look for the threads which tie together this country’s concert dance scene. The festival is a like a yearbook for Israeli dance. The offerings by each choreographer serve as the album’s individual portraits. Mixed bills drawn from some of the country’s other festivals (Curtain Up; Machol Acher/Other Dance Project) hint at the structure of the dance community, just as club pictures reveal a school’s cliques and groups. And with the 20+ concerts clustered together in a mere six days, it’s possible to see the trends which characterized much this year’s artistic output. (( It should be noted, though, that some choreographers were missing from this year’s International Exposure. Some well-established artists including Nimrod Freed, Anat Danieli, and Adama’s Nir Ben-Gal and Liat Dror did not present work at the festival. Meanwhile, younger independent choreographers are far greater in number than those represented onstage. ))

Indeed, International Exposure brought the dance scene into focus for me, clarifying and sharpening some observations I had started to form since my research began in 2007. Israel is a small country, the size where everyone in the dance community knows each other, and this shows – not only during the mingling at receptions. For instance, it’s worth noting just how many collaborations there are within the dance scene. Several pairs presented work: Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak, Yossi Berg & Oded Graf, Ya’ara Dolev & Amit Goldenberg, Renana Raz & Ofer Amram, and Niv Sheinfeld & Oren Laor (with the participation of choreographer Ronit Ziv, who performed). (( Ronit Ziv wasn’t the only choreographer who performed in another artist’s work. Ya’ara Dolev danced in Michael Getman’s duet, while Getman in turn appeared in the work Dolev co-choreographed. Lazaro Godoy popped up in dances by Sahar Azimi, Maya Levi, and Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak. Although neither Nadar Rosano nor Iris Erez showed work this year, both choreographers danced in the festival (Rosano in Ronit Ziv’s choreography and Erez in Arkadi Zaides’s offering). ))

The fact that most choreographers are clustered in Tel Aviv probably facilitates this partnership, and it may also foster the cross-pollination of ideas in the work itself. At International Exposure, pure, abstract dance was trumped by theatricality and props (ranging from squeezy toys to green slime, with numerous pairs of shoes and other items in between). There was very little movement for movement’s sake, something I have noticed throughout my time here.

As for the movement itself, many of the dances were influenced by release technique. Assertive fast-paced partnering also dominated, especially in the trios and quartets which filled the four Curtain Up programs. The prevalence of contact improvisation in Israel also seems to have made its mark on how partnering is built.

Yet even as many of the works bore a similar aesthetic imprint, there were glimpses of what lies beyond the borders of contemporary dance in Israel. Elina Pechersky put belly dance on the concert stage, Tamar Borer mined the Japanese butoh tradition, and the Israel Ballet brought another flavor to the festival.

International Exposure may be over, but my research continues! I’m looking forward to talking with many of the choreographers I met at the festival in the months to come – and as my understanding of Israel’s concert dance scene develops, I’ll share more snapshots with you.

Snapshots from International Exposure 2008:

Top row: Barak Marshall’s Monger (photo by Gadi Dagon); Yossi Berg and Oded Graf’s Bloody Disco (photo by Gadi Dagon)
Middle row: Yasmeen Godder’s Singular Sensation (photo by Tamar Lamm); Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor’s Post-Martha (photo by Ascaf)
Bottom row: Noa Wertheim’s White Noise (photo by Gadi Dagon); Noa Dar’s Tetris (photo by Tamar Lamm)

Useful Links

International Exposure 2008: Day 2

Deborah Friedes Galili — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 06:50:51 +0000

(Video: Ov by Renana Raz and Ofer Amram)

The opening night of International Exposure whetted my appetite for a festival full of Israeli contemporary dance, and now I’m ready for the first whole day of programming. And it will indeed be a whole day – events are running from 11:00 a.m. until about 10:oo p.m.!

I saw Yasmeen Godder’s Singular Sensation when it premiered in June, and I’m eager to view this intense work again when it starts our morning. Next on the program is dance scholar Gaby Aldor, who will present a lecture on dance in Israel. I often found myself reading her articles as I began my research on the subject, so I’m quite excited to hear her speak.

Today will also feature two mixed bills from the annual Curtain Up Festival, which is one of the main platforms for premieres in Israel. In this year’s Curtain Up 3, we’ll see two collaborations: Bloody Disco by Yossi Berg & Oded Graf, and Reversi by Odelya Kuperberg & Sahar Azimi. Tonight we’ll also view Curtain Up 2, with It Rains Inside (Rachel Erdos), Post-Martha (Niv Sheinfeld & Oren Laor with the participation of Ronit Ziv), and La femme 1, La femme 2 (Ronit Ziv).

In between the two selections from the Curtain Up Festival, we’ll be treated to a showing of Ov by Renana Raz & Ofer Amram. Inspired by S. Ansky’s play The Dybbuk, Ov premiered at the Israel Festival in June. I attended its first performance in Jerusalem and am looking forward to seeing it here in Tel Aviv at the Inbal Hall!

See below for more video and links.

(Video: Post-Martha, by Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor with the participation of Ronit Ziv)

Links to Companies and Choreographers

Surveying Dance Technique in Israel: A Report from the Studios

Deborah Friedes Galili — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:39:29 +0000

(A studio at Adama in Mizpe Ramon)

Right now I am spending my time in Hebrew ulpan rather than the dance studio, but last year I happily spent my first few months traipsing from studio to studio. I was fortunate enough to return regularly to several teachers while funded by my Fulbright grant, including some of those mentioned in “Surveying Dance Training in Israel: A Report from the Studios.” Over the course of the year, my impressions of technique styles and influences developed not only through my continued attendance but through conversations with my teachers. You will get to hear from some of these artists themselves in my podcasts and in write-ups of interviews, but for now, you can read my first impressions as a newcomer to Israeli studios.

I first wrote this post on November 6, 2007 for my own blog.

* * *

Besides attending concerts and meeting dance scholars, I am busy investigating technique classes in Tel Aviv. I am attempting to do my initial survey in a relatively methodical manner, working my way slowly from studio to studio and taking classes labeled modern (מודרני – “moderni”), contemporary (עכשווי – “achshavi”), or release (רליס – “release”) before plunging into the world of Gaga, a technique developed by Ohad Naharin, or indulging myself with a ballet class.

I suppose this is as good a time as any to quickly summarize my own physical background as a dancer, since it certainly colors my perception of the classes I am taking here. I trained in ballet for 12 years and had small tastes of Graham, Taylor, and Limón-flavored modern dance before abandoning my pointe shoes completely in college. My modern dance education continued with those mainstream flavorings, and I also studied a lot of Cunningham technique in graduate school. In the last few years, however, I have branched out and taken more release or release-influenced classes, primarily with Bebe Miller and Michael Estanich at The Ohio State University. Thus I am familiar with a range of styles, but I am still figuring out the boundaries of release and finding our how my body operates within this framework.

Back to Israel:

In early October (2007), I took classes from Gilat Amotz (גילת עמוץ), Shimrit Kobalio (שמרית קובליו), and Shlomit Fundaminsky (שלומית פונדמינסקי) at The Group in Jaffa (הקבוצה ביפו, HaKvutza B’Yafo). Next I took a class from Coralie Ladam (קוראלי לאדם) and another from Inbal Aloni (ענבל אלוני) at Noa Dar’s studio (סטודיו קבוצת מחול נוע דר), which is just 10 minutes away from my flat in central Tel Aviv; Shlomit Fundaminsky also teaches there. On Sunday I took a release class with Yasmeen Godder (יסמין גודר) at her studio in Jaffa, and yesterday I went to the studios at Suzanne Dellal for a class with Niv Sheinfeld (ניב שינפלד). The one exception to my modern-contemporary-release rule was a technique/improvisation class given by Ilanit Tadmor (אילנית תדמור) at Studio Play, in which we joined together in some particular stretches and exercises but primarily explored specific concepts through guided improvisation.

With the exception of Coralie Ladam, who moved here from France two years ago, all of the teachers I have studied with are Israeli. Several of them are choreographers (at least Godder, Sheinfeld, Amotz, Fundaminsky), and many of the teachers perform either with their own groups or with other companies. While some of their classes – especially Yasmeen Godder’s – were tailored to advanced dancers, others were geared specifically towards an adult population (Niv Sheinfeld’s) or a broader, mixed-level group. Despite these differences, I was able to observe many similarities among the classes.

Whether or not the classes were explicitly labeled as or described with the term “release,” all of them seemed heavily influenced by release work (I couldn’t resist that phrasing . . . ). With the exception of one or two classes that began with guided improvisation, most began with floorwork incorporating Bartenieff Fundamentals exercises (working in the X, warming up the head-tail connection, femoral flexion, knee drops building into gentle leg swings, etc.) and yoga (downward dog, warrior poses, etc.). (Editor’s note: I perceived many exercises as Bartenieff-related because of my own experience in the Fundamentals, which I studied in graduate school. However, none of my teachers have talked specifically about Bartenieff as a direct influence.)

Next the classes progressed to some standing exercises: pliés; perhaps some rolling down the spine and swings; footwork; etc. A few classes included brief traveling exercises across the floor, several featured a walk or two around the room so we could sense our bodies in the space, and all culminated in phrasework. Shared principles included an emphasis on connectivity among body parts, a focus on ease of movement, and a general privileging of energy flow and momentum over particular shaped positions. Upon learning that I was not fluent in Hebrew, all of the teachers gave at least part of their instructions in English, and at times they verbally referenced very familiar concepts such as head-tail or sits-bones-to-heel connections. Some also encouraged us to assess how our bodies felt after specific exercises.

As I take more classes with each of these teachers, I am sure I will pick up on the nuances of their individual teaching and movement styles. So far, Niv Sheinfeld’s appeared to the most differentiated from the bunch, with fewer, less overt yoga and Bartenieff references (though perhaps some references to qi gong); at times, shapes were quite important, but this positional specificity was within the context of his quirky phrasework which, like his full choreography, was imbued with clear intention. I plan to talk to each of these teachers about their influences, styles, and preferred labels, and I hope that these conversations in English will allow me to move beyond language barriers and class population differences to more fully understand their approaches.

There are still a few studios I have yet to visit, such as Studio Naim, Bikurei Haitim, and Studio B, and there are a couple of teachers I have not met at the venues I have frequented thus far, so my quest continues . . .

* * *

Interested in taking dance classes in Israel? Check out our resource page, Studying Dance in Israel, for more information.

*This post was made possible thanks to a Fulbright student grant funded by the U.S.-Israel Educational Foundation and hosted by the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

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