By ORA BRAFMANLarisa 311(photo credit: Lilach Livneh)
The current edition of Shades of Dance, headed by Idit Herman – artistic director of the performance company Klipa – has ended and the undecided jury chose to split the NIS 25,000 prize between Yoni Sutchi and Lee Meir.15 aspiring, mostly young choreographers did their best over the course of five separate and long programs, a tedious race both for the participants and dedicated spectators.
No surprise that most pieces were highly theatrical due to Herman’s artistic inclination, but only a few managed to convey true originality and artistic clarity.Three works stood out, each in its unique, clever way; 42 Inch by Sharon Weiswasser, Translation in the Text by Lee Meir and Larisa by Lilach Livneh, not necessarily named in qualitative order.42 inch, a duet perfectly executed by Sharon and Orian Yohanan, was perhaps the most surprising, clearly mature and cohesive dance, accompanied by simple, modest animation that was very effective. Sharon created a tight little gem of a closelyknit alternate universe, relying greatly on shifting center of gravity, procuring images of fowl gaits before takeoff. Stylistically, it could’ve been made 35 years ago, yet it was perceived as a timeless piece.Lee Meir’s piece was an upto- date, mesmerizing performance work. It was a vehicle for a funny, touching and real smart performance in a sleek urban way, without having to move an inch.The one who moved a lot was the lead character in Larisa.Livneh offered the most layered and loaded piece, with the most enigmatic undercurrents of any in the competition. She dealt candidly and boldly with several existential issues; self-identity, memory and death, preservation of emotional residues, even gender issues, using fragmented structure and video, which helped to detail the multi-faceted situations.
if(catID != 151){
var cont = `Take Israel home with the new Jerusalem Post Store
