Gearing up for the 24th annual Curtain Up Festival, which will take place in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
By ORI J. LENKINSKIThe Festival will take place in Tel Aviv from November 13-24(photo credit: Gadi Dagon)
As many foreigners have told me, judging by the number of Israelis they meet abroad, they would think that the country was the size of the United States. It seems that Israelis turn up just about everywhere, bringing with them the boisterous attitude they are famous for.This is very true in the international dance community.Israeli dancers and choreographers are regulars in the programs of festivals from Brazil to Japan and down to Australia. Many of these engagements are taken on by major dance companies; however, independent artists are also responsible for a fair share of the performances that take place abroad every year.If you are curious about the dance pieces that will travel overseas in the coming months, the annual Curtain Up Festival is the place to see them. Now in its 24th year, Curtain Up is the most important platform for emerging choreographers. Virtually every major name on the local dance scene has had his/her turn in this event.For the second consecutive year, the Ministry of Culture and Sports has named Ronit Ziv and Yoram Karmi as the artistic directors of the festival. Last year, Ziv and Karmi each produced two evenings, offering 11 young artists a chance to realize their vision for a new piece. This year, due to restructuring in the festival’s budget, only eight artists won a place in the program. Ziv and Karmi each chose four choreographers, whom they mentored throughout the past several months.The festival will consist of three evenings, or “curtains.” Each curtain will be presented twice at the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv and once at the Jerusalem Theater.Curtain One is a joint venture of Ziv and Karmi’s. Unlike most Curtain Up programs, which consist of three pieces, Curtain One will have only two. Each director chose one artist to participate in the evening. Girls by Roy Assaf was selected by Ziv, while Hevel by Rachel Erdos was chosen by Karmi.Assaf and Erdos are both veterans of Curtain Up. Girls is danced by five women and includes text, singing and movement. In her artistic process, Erdos researched the seven deadly sins as presented in Christian texts. Hevel brings six male dancers to the stage.Curtain Two will be an evening of threes. There are three choreographers presenting three trios. For Curtain Two, Karmi chose Nadar Rosano, Michael Getman and Idan Sharabi. Rosano will dance Asphalt alongside Adi Weinberg and Yochai Ginton.Throughout their process, Rosano and his dancers attempted to push the boundaries of their limitations, thus changing them from weaknesses to strengths. Sharabi’s Nishbar is an energetic trio for three men. Sharabi will take the stage with Dor Mamalia and Ilan Kav in this playful and strikingly physical work. Getman’s work In Their View is a sparse, abstract work for dancers Noa Mamrud, Edu Turull and Rotem Yehuda.Curtain Three consists of works by Gil Carlos Harush, Odelya Kuperberg and Efrat Rubin.Harush’s Deady is a theatrical piece that will be performed by Gefen Liberman, Eyal Vizner and Ella Fuksbrauner. In the piece, a family deals with the longing for a missing father figure. Efrat Rubin’s Karov also deals with the idea of a family.Dancers Adi Weinberg, Alon Karniel and the twins Michal and Noa Gimelshtein move in and out of group portraits. In their search to find balance, they push one another to express hidden emotion. Kuperberg’s Aquarium is a trio for Jin Plotkin, Shani Garfinkel and Tamar Sonn.Kuperberg pushed her dancers to explore the notion of virtuoso movement through repetition.Kicks and jumps bring the three women to an extreme state of exhaustion, which leads them to discover new movement qualities in themselves.The Curtain Up Festival will take place from November 14 through 27. For more information, visit www.suzannedellal.org.il.
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