The explosion of world dance in Tel Aviv

25. International Exposure - Tel Aviv - Israel

On 4-7 December 2019, Dziennik Teatralny was hosted at the 25th International Exposure in Tel Aviv, an artistic event whose main goal is to present and promote the most interesting Israeli dance productions. In our country, the equivalent is the Polish Dance Platform, organized every two years in various cultural centers since 2008. 

The Israeli party took place at the Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance and Theater, which is home to the legendary Batsheva Dance Company and Inbal Dance Theater. In this extremely conveniently designed complex there are several stages and quasiscene spaces that can be adapted to the needs of full-cast performances and more intimate site-specific projects. At this point, it is worth justifying why the Israeli event is of a special nature, and many professionals, curators, critics, journalists, artists and external observers associated with the international dance community are trying to obtain limited accreditations. Well, thanks to Ohad Naharin (known to a wider audience from Tomer Heymann's 2015 movie "Mr. Gaga")who is currently the artistic director of the Batsheva Dance Company and other great choreographers, who are successfully presenting themselves on the stages of dance groups around the world, such as Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, Vertigo Dance Company, Fresco Dance Company,

Israel has become the world capital of modern dance. In my opinion, one can safely speak of the Israeli style of dance present in the works of contemporary choreographers, or a trend that is currently fashionable and developed in other centers. Without going deeper into the historiographic threads specifying the genesis of contemporary Israeli dance, it is worth mentioning that it is characterized by exceptional performance precision of dancers, extremely efficiently conducted collective scenes, rhythmization, pulse, a sense of collective strength and organic, animalistic movement qualities that strongly affect the viewer, about as evidenced by the international popularity of the above-mentioned bands. One cannot ignore the courageous critical thought that was clearly communicated in the presented performances, but more about it later in the report.

For the sake of clarity, I will use the chronological order below. Due to the reliability of the reviewer, I must also mention here that due to the number of performances presented and their wide spectrum of artistic influences, the report is synthetic, relating to the general nature of the event and does not constitute an in-depth review of the dance works presented there.

On the first day of the International Exposure, on Wednesday, December 4, seven works were presented on the stages of the Suzanne Dellal Center:
Guy Gutman & Tami Lebovitz - OSLO
Batsheva - the Young Ensemble - George & Zalman chor. Ohad Naharin
Batsheva - the Young Ensemble - Black Milk chor. Ohad Naharin
Batsheva - the Young Ensemble - The Look chor. Sharon Eyal
Shaden Abu Elasal - On The Way
Mor Shani - Loveism / the problem of our being together
Or Marin i Oran Nahum Dance Theater Group - Like a sex machine

On the opening day, the audience's attention was certainly drawn to three great presentations by Batshev - the Young Ensemble. The first two 15-minute etudes choreographed by Ohad Naharin were built on the foundation of minimalism and economical means of expression. In George & Zalman, the dancers, through repeated repetitions, built a sparing but attractive drama of movement, while in Black Milk the dancers (only men) danced in full, wide expression at the same time playing props, such as a metal bucket and the mud in it, with which they got dirty which could suggest a reference to the concept of original sin. The third presentation of this group, choreographed by Sharon Eyal The Look, was already a full-length performance (35 minutes), in which the dancers presented their extraordinary artistry, drawing the attention of the international audience.
The keynote based on Mahatma Gandhi's quote: "No one else knows me enough to hurt me more than I can do myself." color, minimalist music, lights and the apparent simplicity of the trance dance gave an effect that is very clear, thrilling and will stay in the memory of the recipient for a long time. On that day, two intimate works, duets more in the aesthetic convention of conceptual dance / choreography of the new trend, were presented. Loveism / the problem of our being together explored the subject of the relationship between a man and a woman. The performers remained in dynamic physical contact all the time. They were naked for most of the performance.which evoked associations with the symbolic exposure of man in the face of universal problems concerning interpersonal relationships.
On the other hand, the sentence "make love, not war" can be summed up by the next duo Like a sex machine choreographed by Or Marin, which referred to the cultural paradox and pastiche combined love / sex with war. It is worth emphasizing that the dancers with great freedom, grace and harmony they danced the director's idea, which was not obvious and required special creative work on building the stage characters.

On Thursday, December 5, the audience was presented with eleven performances:
Avshalom Pollak Dance Theater - Antu chor. Avshalom Pollak, Andrea Martini
Noa Dar Dance Group - Noa Noa chor. Noa Dar
Miriam Engel - Angela Dance Co. YOUTH (AWake)
Two Worlds - Jill & Amnon Damti Two Worlds
Courtain Up 1: Talia Beck - ESTERS, Sharon Vazanna - Body in Dance - Good Children, Dana Marcus - Pink Smoke, Guy Shomroni and Yaniv Abraham - It Will End in Tears
Sharon Zuckerman Weiser Adam & id
Kaiser Antonino Dance Ensemble - L'etat des choses
Fresco Dance Company - Genderosity chor. Yoram Karmi

On that day, apart from the main presentations, there were also four proposals as part of the "Courtain Up" series, which is dedicated to young artists debuting on the Israeli dance scene. It is an initiative especially worth noting and developing in the context of such organizations As part of the program, beginning choreographers receive mentoring and production support, which allows them to develop their artistic activity, present themselves to an international audience and at the same time function on the global dance market. Company choreographed by Yoram Karmi. The main idea of ​​the performance was the concept of gender and its cultural connotations.The performance in an extremely intelligent and interesting way touched upon issues that are already rather exploited and present, also in the world of popular culture. Anyway, pop-culture references played a significant role here. Pink and blue helium-filled balloons, as the leading stage props and at the same time integral parts of the costumes, referred to the dichotomous division into the stereotypically female and male. The performance delighted in many respects and proved that gender stereotyping is still worth talking about. Perfectly danced choreography, dynamically conducted dramatic line, perfectly selected soundtrack, original costumes and props and a moving ending made this project one of my favorite presentations of the entire event.also in the world of popular culture. Anyway, pop-culture references played a significant role here. Pink and blue helium-filled balloons, as the leading stage props and at the same time integral parts of the costumes, referred to the dichotomous division into the stereotypically female and male. The performance delighted in many respects and proved that gender stereotyping is still worth talking about. Perfectly danced choreography, dynamically led dramatic line, perfectly selected soundtrack, original costumes and props and a moving ending made this project one of my favorite presentations of the entire event.also in the world of popular culture. Anyway, pop-culture references played a significant role here. Pink and blue helium-filled balloons, as the leading stage props and at the same time integral parts of the costumes, referred to the dichotomous division into the stereotypically female and male. The performance delighted in many respects and proved that it is worth talking about gender stereotyping. Perfectly danced choreography, dynamically led dramatic line, perfectly selected soundtrack, original costumes and props and a moving ending made this project one of my favorite presentations of the entire event.as leading stage props and at the same time integral parts of costumes, they referred to the dichotomous division into what is stereotypically female and male. The performance delighted in many respects and proved that it is worth talking about gender stereotyping. Perfectly danced choreography, dynamically conducted dramatic line, perfectly selected soundtrack, original costumes and props and a moving ending made this project one of my favorite presentations of the entire event.as leading stage props and at the same time integral parts of costumes, they referred to the dichotomous division into what is stereotypically female and male. The performance delighted in many respects and proved that it is worth talking about gender stereotyping. Perfectly danced choreography, dynamically conducted dramatic line, perfectly selected soundtrack, original costumes and props and a moving ending made this project one of my favorite presentations of the entire event.original costumes and props as well as a moving ending made this project one of my favorite presentations of the whole event.original costumes and props as well as a moving ending made this project one of my favorite presentations of the whole event.

Friday, December 6th, is another portion of eleven excellent performances:
Ofir Yudilevitch - Concrete
Arkadi Zaides - TALOS
Ronit Ziv - Hahaha.dot.com
Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company - A Good Citizen chor. Rami Be'er
Yasmeen Godder Company - Practicing Empathy # 1 chor. Yasmeen Godder
Hillel Kogan - what Now
Sally Anne Friedland Dance Company - Like a Ladybird
Courtain Up 2: Ravid Abarbanel Dance & Projects - UPROOTED, Rebeca Laufer and Mattheus van Rossum - Cede, Roni Chadash - ME and all of that body, Olivia Court Mesa - I carry, you hold

The third day featured the performance of the world-famous Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company in Rami Be'er's A Good Citizen. It was a story about an individual's identity. Being part of the community and the role of citizens we all play. The performance contained references to political themes referring to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The collective hero has been stripped of individual characteristics here. Only collective action mattered. The drama of the movement was very dynamic, and the performance qualities of the dancers did not raise any objections. At the same time, the individual narrative plots were not easy to read. The performance gave the impression of a virtuoso work, but also "dancing" in contrast to the aforementioned Genderosity, in which emerging themes helped to keep the audience focused.It is also worth noting the performative project Practicing Empathy # 1 by Yasmeen Godder Company. The action was a show of laboratory work, which evoked associations with the concept of the poor theater of Jerzy Grotowski. The dancers practiced empathy in a non-obvious way with the use of organic movement, voice and mutual physical contact, as in the title. The performance can be read as a socially engaged work and as a critical appeal of the artists, calling for peace and the cessation of armed conflicts.The dancers practiced empathy in a non-obvious way with the use of organic movement, voice and mutual physical contact, as in the title. The performance can be read as a socially engaged work and a critical appeal of the artists, calling for peace and the cessation of armed conflicts.The dancers practiced empathy in a non-obvious way with the use of organic movement, voice and mutual physical contact, as in the title. The performance can be read as a socially engaged work and as a critical appeal of the artists, calling for peace and the cessation of armed conflicts.

On the last day of International Exposure, on Saturday, December 7, 13 performances were presented to the audience:
Vertigo Dance Company - Leela chor. Noa Wertheim
Noa Shadur - MOVEMENT ARCHIVES: WORKING CONCEPTS
Yossi Berg and Oded Graf Dance Theater - When Love Walked In chor. Yossi Berg and Oded Graf
catamon Dance Group in Jerusalem - Premier chor. Elad Schechter
Sharon Hilleli Assa / Ayman Safiah - BREAD
Courtain Up 3: Lior Tavori Dance Group - Haramot, Shahar Binyamini - Francesco, Dor Mamalia & Dariusz Nowak | Human Fields - Place to be
Andrea Constanzo Martini - The King's Camera
L4-L5 Productions / Dana Ruttenberg - 60,000 Gra (h) m
Dafi Dance Company - Soon We'll Make Lots Of Love chor. Dafi Altabeb
Annabelle Dvir - 7 INCH OF SLAM - THE FULL BODY SOUNDSCAPE
Batsheva Dance Company - 2-0-1-9 chor. Ohad Naharin

At the end, the richest repertoire of performances was proposed, thanks to which the last day turned out to be a feast of artistic experiences. Not only the main shows, but also the presentations within the framework of "Courtain Up 3" attracted attention. The excellently built, dynamic and rebellious, aesthetically pleasing Haramot camp performed by Lior Tavori Dance Group, who on stage did not give way to more experienced bands and the project Human Fields co-created by Dora Mamali and Dariusz Nowak from Poland. The duo Soon We'll Make Lots Of Love choreographed by Dafi Altabeb was also memorable. The performance was an extremely interesting and intimate study of the friendship of two young men. text layer,which was created on the basis of biographical experiences creating the dancers' project. This made it possible to perceive the show as a verbatim theater and place it among the most interesting performances presented at the 25th International Exposure. One of the best productions presented to the public was undoubtedly the Leela Vertigo Dance Company choreographed by Noa Wertheim. It was a daringly directed, well-danced and unusual in artistic expression project, which certainly impresses a wide audience, not only experienced viewers. Above all, it was Ohad Naharin's latest work 2-0-1-9 performed by the Batsheva Dance Company that received the biggest standing ovation. The artist once again proved that in the world of contemporary dance he has not yet said the last word.This unusual and therefore remarkably composed performance delighted from beginning to end with its excellent dramaturgy and innovative stage solutions. The story told by extremely charismatic dancers took the audience on a hypnotic journey and kept them focused from beginning to end. The way in which Naharin created the stage reality, tension and the specific and very special "presence" of the dancers could evoke associations with the performative trend in art, which was proposed by Marina Abramovic in her famous action "The Artist is Present". It goes without saying that the latest presentation of the 25th International Exposure was intended to be an outstanding and sophisticated summary of this special event.The story told by extremely charismatic dancers took the audience on a hypnotic journey and kept them focused from beginning to end. The way in which Naharin created the stage reality, tension and the specific and very special "presence" of the dancers could evoke associations with the performative trend in art, which was proposed by Marina Abramovic in her famous action "The Artist is Present". It goes without saying that the latest presentation of the 25th International Exposure was intended to be an outstanding and sophisticated summary of this special event.The story told by extremely charismatic dancers took the audience on a hypnotic journey and kept them focused from beginning to end. The way in which Naharin created the stage reality, tension and the specific and very special "presence" of the dancers could evoke associations with the performative trend in art, which was proposed by Marina Abramovic in her famous action "The Artist is Present". It goes without saying that the latest presentation of the 25th International Exposure was intended to be an outstanding and sophisticated summary of this special event.The dancers could evoke associations with the performative trend in art, which was proposed by Marina Abramovic in her famous activity "The Artist is Present."The dancers could evoke associations with the performative trend in art, which was proposed by Marina Abramovic in her famous activity "The Artist is Present."

Participation in the event and the reception of so many brilliantly realized performances confirm the thesis put forward at the beginning of the text, which tells about the original style of dance created by Israeli choreographers, which is now permeating other centers. Israeli artists set the world bar high and I suspect that they will not give up this field of creation for a long time.

Marek Debłużny
The Theater Journal
8 January 2020