Going silver

The Karmiel Dance Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary with some major guest performances.

By ORI J. LENKINSKI
Ballet Metz (photo credit: Courtesy)
Ballet Metz
(photo credit: Courtesy)
A 25th anniversary is cause for celebration. Half of the journey toward the formidable 50-year jubilee, a silver anniversary represents an important milestone for couples, institutions and initiatives. This year, the annual Karmiel Dance Festival will celebrate two and a half decades of drawing dance lovers to the north of Israel. The festival will take place next week, from Tuesday to Thursday.
This year’s program includes the usual mass dances and jazz competition, as well as several important guest performances.
Singer Achinoam Nini has prepared a special production, Ray of Light, in honor of the festival, featuring a group of talented young dancers.
The Remangar Flamenco Company will premiere a new work entitled Time of the Butterfly. In addition, recently having burst onto the Tel Aviv scene, the Irish Dance Company of Israel will show choreographer Yair Werdyger’s The Magic of Ireland.
The Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, who are used to the green environs of the region, are gearing up to premiere an unusual evening. Though the company has a long history of performing works by international artists, in recent years the lion’s share of their works have been by artistic director Rami Be’er.
In 2010, KCDC invited Amsterdambased choreographers Itzik Galili and Krisztina de Chatel to set an evening entitled “Black/White” on their dancers. Now they will reveal Times 3, a triple bill with works by choreographers Idan Sharabi, Oz Molay and Nir Even Shoam.
The international guests include CIA Brasileira de Ballet of Brazil, Guangdong Modern Dance Company of China, Ballet Metz of France and Pittsburg Dance Theater of America.
CIA Brasileira de Ballet is an unusual company in the Brazilian cultural landscape. Though dance is a prevalent form of expression in Brazil, prior to the founding of this troupe in 1967, there was no professional ballet company in the country. The ensemble is the brainchild of Jorge Texeira and is dedicated to fostering talent in young, underprivileged dancers.
While in Israel, CBB will perform three works: Don Quixote, Raymonda and The Brazilian Suite.
The Guangdong Modern Dance Company is a slightly younger ensemble. Now celebrating its 20th season, GMDC is under the artistic directorship of Pun Sui-fai. For its Israeli engagement, the company has prepared a mixed program entitled “Between Body and Soul.”
The evening consists of three works: Voice After and Mountain and Water by Liu Qu and Touched by Xing Liang. All three pieces display the fluid, gentle movement vocabulary for which the company has become known internationally.
Ballet Metz will present “Scheherazade,” an evening in three parts. All three works are by ballet master Patrick Salliot. Daphnis et Chloe is the story of a tragic love triangle. Scheherazade is the tale of a young girl who gets ensnared in a dramatic fantasy and is an excerpt from One Thousand and One Nights.
Finally, La Faunesse is danced to music by Claude Debussy and is also a journey through the fantasies of a passionate woman.
This festival will mark the Pittsburgh Dance Theater’s first visit to Israel. The company has gained momentum in recent years, drawing new choreographers to contribute to its diverse repertoire of classical dance. The three-part program includes works by legendary ballet master George Balanchine, American ballet star Dwight Rhoden and modern dance icon Mark Morris.
Each work has an individual style that showcases the technical and performative capabilities of PBT’s cast.
And, as is tradition, Israel’s best and brightest folk dancers will be present throughout the festival to perform and teach dances both old and new.
Karmiel will host dozens of food and drink stands to fuel the incoming dancers and audience members throughout the activities.
The Karmiel Festival will take place from August 7-9. For more information about the festival, visit www.karmielfestival.co.il.


Related Tags
ballet