Crawling out of a miniature house, crushing abundant fallen leaves, one gets the impression of people residing on a different sphere.
By ORA BRAFMANGUY SHOMRONI and Yaniv Abraham’s ‘Second Home.’(photo credit: IAN ROBINSON)
The yearly dance framework ‘Curtain Up,’ which this year took place at the Suzanne Dellal center in Tel Aviv, has for the past 28 years provided a professional platform for independent choreographers.Artistic directors choreographer Itzik Galili and dancer/teacher Mate Moray applied the pluralistic approach this year, aiming to present the diversity of the current dance scene, from neo-classic to contemporary to performance art.The three-evening program contained 11 creations from a wide spectrum of Israel’s vibrant dance scene, featuring good dancers and a contagious trend of using verbal content alongside physical props.One of the more impressive and cohesive pieces was Second Home, a quartet choreographed by Guy Shomroni and Yaniv Abraham, and in which they and two others also performed.Crawling out of a miniature house, crushing abundant fallen leaves, one gets the impression of people residing on a different sphere. They achieved a distinctive lexicon and seem to live within different pace zone, while employing their own complex, multi-directional body use. The piece is fascinating and touching, and it was impossible to take one’s eyes off of dancer Rachel Osborn.Another work worth noticing was Osnat Kelner’s Expecting, danced by three females and a male. Kelner is one of a few that succeeded in creating a consistent, characteristic movement lexicon. Her performers dance with the entire body, from the eyes to the soles of their feet. On the verge of crumbling, they always find their center. Kelner created an atmosphere depicting present cultural moods, while injecting gestures often attributed to youngsters on video screens, which was cool, ridiculous and very entertaining.Taking a brave decision, ‘Curtain Up’ directors made room for two works by ballet dancers, though ballet is often excluded from such frameworks. Egor Menshikov in his Ashes to Ashes, with the help of good cast, created a very aesthetically pleasing contemporary ballet, while Amit Yardeni took things a bit further.His ObNob offered a nonchalant attitude, backed by three veteran dancers with strong presence, along with undercurrents of humor and anger.Straightforward humor is often a tool which makes a work accessible. Mira Rubinstein took this shortcut in her satirical piece, while some ignored it, such as Martin Harriague, who cooperated with American poet/comedian/singer Derrick C.Brown, ending up with a dry, righteous work in hand despite his captivating love dance with his fabulous partner Shani Cohen. We always have next year.
Related TagsTel Aviv Dance Festival
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