Dance Review: Fresco Dance Group

The Fresco Dance Group premiered Neshel by choreographer Yoram Karmi, whose previous work for that troop - "Bunker"- was quite impressive.

By ORA BRAFMAN
Fresco Dance Group Neshel Suzanne Dellal, Tel Aviv November 29 The Fresco Dance Group premiered Neshel by choreographer Yoram Karmi, whose previous work for that troop - "Bunker"- was quite impressive. Unfortunately, Neshel left a different impression and didn't meet expectations. After the death of his mother, Karmi felt that the clothes she left behind symbolized her life and brought back vivid memories. In this work, Karmi tried to investigate the relationship between his mothers clothing and the fabric of her life. From under five heaps of clothes, a group of ten dancers started to crawl out, shedding their burdens to start a new a journey of discovery. Soon the whole stage was covered with countless pieces of colorful garments that took over the stage and later, occupied the dance. Karmi, who used those props for the visual design of the stage, seems too preoccupied with finding challenging and ingenious ways to use the cloths, and as a result, many of his initial thematic intents - as declared in the program - get lost in the process. Half of the time the company's dancers were busy hanging them, rearranging them or wearing various articles and taking them off. Clothes were moved about, thrown around, lowered from the ceiling - but with or without them, the dance vocabulary was hardly affected. One trio that contained some comical ingredients actually accentuated the feeling that for the most part, the work lost its edge due to rather schmaltzy nostalgic sentiments in its dance style and musical choices. Yet, behind the seams of that work, one can spot glimpses of Karmi's inherent talent in the basic structures and isolated movements. Perhaps a smaller, but stronger group of dancers will be an advantage next time.