Making it work

As artistic and life partners Amit Goldenberg and Yaara Dolev can attest, it takes two to tangle - and untangle.

By ORI J. LENKINSKI
Dancers (photo credit: Courtesy)
Dancers
(photo credit: Courtesy)
There are many sayings about two: It takes two to tango. The power of two. Two heads are better than one. It seems that there is a somewhat general consensus in our society that where one person falls short, two people succeed. In the past few years, the dance community has internalized this sentiment. More and more choreographic couples are present each year. Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollack are a classic example of a creative communion.
Yosi Berg and Oded Graf also share living and work space, as do Tami and Ronen Yizhaki, and Maya Levi and Hanan Anando Mars.
However, sharing it all can be tricky as artistic and life partners Amit Goldenberg and Yaara Dolev know all too well. This week, they unveil their new and improved company De De Dance with a new work by Dolev, In the Meadow.
It started as a classic boy-meets-girl story. The two met years ago at Batsheva Dance Company. Goldenberg was in the main company, Dolev in the ensemble.
They got married, had two children and formed a company, not in that order. The first incarnation of their troupe was called De De Dance, where Goldenberg and Dolev enjoyed an even-steven split of duties, both administrative and creative. Then, two years ago, they had an opportunity to become the house company of the Bikurei Ha’itim Center. They changed their name to Tel Aviv Dance Company (a shift that many found bold, if not slightly arrogant) and opened a professional training program for post-high school dancers.
It seemed the winds of luck were wafting in their direction. But at the end of the school year, they fell out with the directors of the center. Tel Aviv Dance Company moved their cast of dancers and their school to Studio B on Ibn Gvirol Street in Tel Aviv.
After a very productive year in 2009, during which they were invited to be artistic directors for the Curtain Up festival, they came to a personal crisis. They agreed to reevaluate their dynamics in and out of the studio.
With the help of two organic psychologists, Goldenberg and Dolev delved into their depths in an extended, documented search for a better way of collaborating.
As many working couples can testify, the key to success in a productive relationship is a clear division of labor. Until recently, Dolev and Goldenberg spent most of their time in the studio with their dancers, giving feedback and throwing out ideas simultaneously.
One of the main changes in the infrastructure of the connection is that Goldenberg has taken a major step aside. Whereas last year he was a main performer for the company, this year he has left the stage completely. In addition, Dolev has taken on a much larger role with the artistic direction of the dancers.
It would seem that this adjustment, at least in the eyes of the happy couple, has ironed out many previous kinks.
In making In the Meadow, Dolev looked back on the much-needed pause she and Goldenberg had taken from their busy urban lives. In the piece, the dancers spend much of their time on the floor, drawing energy from the “earth” below them.
Once they rise, they move together without musical cues but by feeling one another’s presence on stage.
The piece is a reflection of the moments when we allow ourselves to stop, take stock of ourselves and, if we’re lucky, have the sensitivity to change what has gone awry.
In the Meadow will run at The Lab Theater (02-629-2000) in Jerusalem on November 29 and at the Please Touch Center (052-677-9503) at the Jaffa Port on December 1.