Tel Aviv Dance 2010 – A First Look

Want to keep up with the latest in dance? Tel Aviv Dance 2010, the international dance festival, will take place from October 4 – 30 at two major cultural centers in Tel Aviv: the Suzanne Dellal Centre and the Israeli Opera – Tel Aviv Performing Arts Centre (TAPAC). Launched four years ago at the joint initiative of Suzanne Dellal and the Israeli Opera with the Tel Aviv Municipality Department of Art and Culture, this year’s festival will bring 12 dance companies to Israel.
 
Yair Vardi and Hannah Munitz: “As each year in the festival, we try to keep the Israeli audience up to date and present contemporary dance from all over the world, including intriguing, far-away places. This year the festival will host premieres from dance companies from South Africa, South Korea, and China alongside those from the US, Canada, France and Israel.

Performances at Suzanne Dellal:

The Accrorap Company from France will present “Little Stories.Com,” created by Algerian choreographer Kader Attou. The company performs hip hop dance that combines Arabic-Andalusian music with French-Algerian hip-hop. The dance is an encounter point between the Algerian hip-hop dancers and the French dancers that reveals the distinctive aspects of French hip-hop, which is deeply influenced by the Mediterranean culture.

Korean choreographer Shin Chang Ho, one of most promising young choreographers in South Korea, will present the hip-hop inspired “No Comment,” performed by 10 male dancers. Originally created as a final project for his master’s degree, the work has been performed world wide to critical acclaim, including a performance at the Frankfurt International Book Fair.

There will be a focus on dance from South Africa this year – Dada Masilo’s first performance in Israel with “Carmen.” The 24 year old dancer/choreographer is known for her affinity for Classical Ballet, the astonishing speed, and perfect technique of her performance. Recipient of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Dance in 2008, her “Romeo and Juliet” has enjoyed great success since its premiere in the Arts Alive Festival that same year. “Carmen” is a work for 12 dancers, based on a libretto by Masilo. Masilo’s Carmen is a hypnotic, erotic figure who moves from passion to jealousy, desire to rage and violence. The music includes Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite-Ballet Suite for strings and percussion based on George Bizet’s Carmen, Maria Callas singing the Habanera, and two sections of Arvo Part’s Lamentate. 

Arriving from Belgium for a first performance in Israel will be Eastman – the dance company of Flemish- Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, whose work “Sutra” will be performed at the Israeli Opera.

There will be a special performance of dance classics by eight American dancers, stars of the New York City Ballet and American Dance Theatre. Signature works of international renown such as Balanchine’s “Apollo” set to music by Stravinsky, and the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, as well as choreographies of Twyla Tharp and Tom Gold.

Performances of Israeli companies will include: the Maria Kong Dancers Company premiere of “Miss Brazil,” – an evening which includes works created by Maria Kong and Idan Cohen, Barak Marshall’s “Rooster” – a co-production of the Suzanne Dellal Centre and the Israeli Opera that has been performed to critical acclaim world-wide, “Transform” a new work choreographed by Rami Be’er and performed by the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, and “Bill” the latest dance piece created by Sharon Eyal of the Batsheva Dance Company.

Performances at the Israeli Opera – TAPAC:
Performing in Israel for the first time will be Flemish-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s dance company with “Sutra.” The work was inspired by Buddhist Shaolin monks and created in collaboration with Turner prize-winning artist Antony Gormley. 17 monks perform in this intriguing work, accompanied by live music composed by Szymon Brzóska for piano, percussion and strings.
The Spanish dancer-choreographer Miguel Angel Berna, who first performed in Tel Aviv Dance 2007, returns with a new work: “Goya.”

The National Dance Company of Spain, under the direction of acclaimed choreographer Nacho Duato returns to Israel with a signature work of Duato’s: “Multiplicity, Forms of Silence and Emptiness” set to a collage of Johann Sebastian Bach.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet from Canada will perform “Carmina Burana,” choreographed by Mauricio Wainrot to music by Carl Orff.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, a festival favorite, returns with “Revelations,” and three additional works that have not been previously performed in Israel: “Unfold,” “Dancing Spirit,” and “Suite Otis.”

During their stay here, the visiting companies will also conduct workshops and master classes for Israeli students of dance. Tel Aviv Dance 2010 is made possible through the initiative and support of the Tel Aviv Municipality – Department of Art and Culture, the Suzanne Dellal Centre, the Israeli Opera – TAPAC, European Union Israel, The French Embassy, the French Institute in Tel Aviv, Isracard, and Brussels Air.