Vertigo Dance Company is celebrating 25 years with a new show “One. One & One”

Vertigo’s new show “One. One & One”, a creation of Noa Wertheim, the choreographer and art manager of the company, tells a story of the individual and society. The show deals with the individual’s heart wishes, the personal will versus social unity, listening to the inner voice and the echo reflecting from different directions. It is an exploration of the human realm and spiritually. Noa Wertheim tells us that she was inspired by the fifth chapter of the Yoma Tractate, “One, one and one, one and two, one and three, one and four, one and five, one and six, one and seven”. That sentence spiked in her head.

Watching the show, as it develops, the dancers cover the stage with soil. The smell of the soil adds another dimension to the sights and sounds of the show, making it a sensory experience. The interaction between the one, the two, a group and society is thought provoking and stimulates the imagination. The music for the show, created by Avi Balali, is powerful and pleasant at the same time, complementing the journey of the senses.

I watched the show rehearsal at the studio at Vertigo Ecological Village, the company’s base, in Nativ HaLamed-Hehi. The village is the home of Vertigo’s dance school in the last decade, and hosts workshops and International master classes. The use of soil in the show directly relates to the venue’s connection to the environment. Vertigo’s Ecological Village was established by Noa Wertheim and Adi Shaal 10 years ago as a venue that connects art, society and environment “Art, human, nature”. Vertigo’s studio is located in a big hangar that used to be a henhouse. Constructed of mud, the village recycles everything – collects rain-water, recycles grey water, etc. It is entirely accessible and disabled dancers are welcomed. Chef Orit Kedem serves groups there excellent vegetarian meals made of local produce.

As part of the 25^th anniversary celebration, Vertigo will soon publish a book “Vertigo – Choreography of People and Dreams” (Hebrew), an art book documenting the 25 years of work of art and community. In addition to the human story, it provides insights to Vertigo’s world conception as well as the processes of artistic creation. The book written by Oriya Kadary, Had Keren publishers, tells the history and development of the Vertigo Dance Company, the people behind it and their philosophy.