Fairy dust

Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollack’snew work is another opportunity to get immersed in their magical world.

By ORI J. LENKINSKI
Dust (photo credit: Courtesy)
Dust
(photo credit: Courtesy)
There are few choreographers whose aesthetic fingerprints are as distinguishable as Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollack’s. For more than two decades, these two artists have invited audiences to step into various magical worlds of their creation. Their body of work, which includes pieces such as Oyster, Shaker, Trout and Hydra, is an ode to a peculiar and thrilling type of visual precision. There is nothing aggressive about their style. Instead, the two seem to sprinkle a type of fairy dust on the crowd the moment the curtain is raised, allowing the viewers to fly away with them.
This afternoon and tonight at the Suzanne Dellal Center, the Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollack Dance Company will reveal their newest work, fittingly entitled Dust. The piece was just recently finished and has been presented a few times in Tel Aviv. In the coming months, Pinto and Pollack will show Dust around the country and abroad, along with other pieces from their current repertoire such as Goldfish and Oyster.
There is a Korean saying that “One can build a mountain by collecting dust.” The meaning, as Pinto and Pollack describe in the program notes, is that hard work leads to success. However, the very mountain built out of dust can just as easily be destroyed by wind or water. This fragility is the essence of the piece and is seen in all elements on stage, from the movement to the lighting to the costumes. Once again, Pinto and Pollack have managed to etch out a new reality with Dust, one that includes pain, sadness, hope and beauty.
For the creative process, Pinto and Pollack called on Japanese dancers Mayumu Minakawa and Mirai Moriyama to work with their cast of dancers.
The two performers blend in seamlessly with the rest of the delightful troupe.
As in all of Pinto and Pollack’s previous works, the magic of Dust is the product of a harmonious meeting among many elements.
The intricate set by Roi Vaspi Yanai and Shlomi Eiger evokes a distantfeeling yet familiar classroom using tables, shaky chairs and stacks of writing paper. The piece opens with an animated sequence by Shimrit Elkanati and Roni Fahima that hints at a tragic narrative and haunts the remainder of the piece. It is difficult to watch the piece without conjuring up images of the tsunami that assailed Japan in 2011.
Costumes by Pinto with the help of former company dancer Rosalind Noctor turn the dancers into small children stuck in a never-ending lesson. And, most importantly, the movement brings life and poetry to all of these tangible bits and pieces.
In the coming months, Pinto and Pollack will take their talents to the museum with a new production.
Moving off the stage and into the gallery will afford the company a new backdrop for its already rich aesthetic line.
Dust will be performed at the Suzanne Dellal Center on January 31 at 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. For more information, visit