{"id":1976,"date":"2009-10-26T11:40:03","date_gmt":"2009-10-26T18:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=1976"},"modified":"2009-10-26T11:58:12","modified_gmt":"2009-10-26T18:58:12","slug":"vertigo-dance-company-to-perform-mana-at-ga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=1976","title":{"rendered":"Vertigo Dance Company to Perform “Mana” at GA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vova and Alon stand on a diagonal, gazing at one another. Two men in long black garments, arms outstretched, palms up, open. The space between them charged, alive with questions: what do they desire, what do they offer one another \u2013 is it a challenge, a benediction or a curse? Spinning, robes flaring out, moving \u2013 together and apart, the whole body is engaged in this moment, this dance. Vova takes hold of Alon\u2019s hand. Is it a form of restraint, embrace, or perhaps both at once? Whatever the mysteries of the relationship in this dance, they are open to experience one another \u2013 that is the essence of Noa Wertheim\u2019s strength as a choreographer and the defining quality of Vertigo, the dance company she created with her partner Adi Sha\u2019al in 1992.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This first encounter with Wertheim\u2019s new work \u201cMana\u201d \u2013 soon to be performed at the opening plenary of the General Assembly of The Jewish Federations of North America (GA) on November 9, took place in a studio at the Suzanne Dellal Center, where the Vertigo Dance Company will open the \u201cCurtain Up\u201d Festival on November 24.<\/p>\n

Introducing \u201cMana\u201d, Sha\u2019al began by asking the dancers to introduce themselves to the audience, reflecting the vision of the company as composed of individuals who are talented dancers, and partners in creative work, rather than dancing bodies. Guided by a philosophy of life that permeates every aspect of their work, Wertheim and Sha\u2019al imbue every encounter with creativity, openness and respect. Dance becomes a meeting place between individuals, the most intimate of conversations, to be entered boldly. In the studio or onstage, Wertheim\u2019s choreography engages dancers and audience in an intensely visual, physical, and emotional dialogue that is deeply spiritual as well.<\/p>\n

This first view of \u201cMana\u201d reveals a deeper involvement with physical and conceptual themes that distinguish Wertheim\u2019s earlier works. Relationships \u2013 spatial, emotional and conceptual, are a recurring motif in her work. Energy generated by the relationship between opposing elements surges through Wertheim\u2019s choreography. In \u201cWhite Noise\u201d an involvement with the forces of gravity and connection to the ground finds its expression in dancers leaping, falling and thrown into the air. Birth and death are at the heart of \u201cBirth of the Phoenix\u201d a work performed literally on the earth, on a raised platform of red dirt that is open to the sky. \u201cVertigo,<\/a>\u201d the duet that started it all in 1992, contains the elements of Wertheim\u2019s choreographic style: playful, energetic, physically demanding and emotionally intense, deriving its force from an encounter between two opposites, in this case \u2013 a woman and a man.<\/p>\n

\"Rina<\/a>
Rina Wertheim-Koren and Gil Kerer in Wertheim's "Mana"\/Photo: Gadi Dagon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The energy and creative force generated by the Vertigo Dance Company, along with the spirit of generosity and openness to dialogue complements the theme of this year\u2019s GA: \u201cRemember When You Thought Anything Was Possible? It Still Is.\u201d It has recently been announced that President Barack Obama will address the 2009 General Assembly in Washington, D.C, on November 9. This will be the first Jewish communal organization event Obama has addressed since taking office. \u201cWe are honored to be hosting President Obama at the GA,\u201d said Dede Feinberg of Washington, who with her husband Kenneth is serving as the GA\u2019s North America co-chair, in partnership with International Co-Chair Leonid Nevzlin of Israel. \u201cThe voice of President Obama will surely expand our thinking and stretch our perspectives,\u201d said Joe Kanfer, Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Jewish Federations of North America.<\/p>\n

Vertigo is scheduled to perform following President Obama\u2019s address. Looking forward to the performance at the GA, Vertigo General Manager and Co-Artistic Director Adi Sha\u2019al said, \u201cWe are very excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Midnight East will be looking forward to the Israeli premiere of \u201cMana.\u201d
\nPerformances:<\/p>\n

Suzanne Dellal Theatre, 5 Yehieli Street, Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv
\n26.11 & 6.12 at 21:00, 10.12 at 22:30
\nTickets: 03-5105656, www.suzannedellal.org.il<\/a><\/p>\n

Jerusalem Theatre, 20 Marcus Street, Jerusalem
\n11.12 at 13:00
\nTickets: 02-5605757, www.jerusalem-theatre.co.il<\/a><\/p>\n

Top image: Vova Zak and Alon Karniel in Wertheim’s “Mana”\/Photo: Gadi Dagon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vova and Alon stand on a diagonal, gazing at one another. Two men in long black garments, arms outstretched, palms up, open. The space between them charged, alive with questions: what do they desire, what do they offer one another \u2013 is it a challenge, a benediction or a curse? Spinning, robes flaring out, moving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}