Talking ‘bout my generation

This year’s Intimadance Festival focuses on a certain point in time.

By ORI J. LENKINSKI
‘ODE to SVM’ - Daphna Horenczyk and Guy Bernard Reichman (photo credit: GADI DAGON)
‘ODE to SVM’ - Daphna Horenczyk and Guy Bernard Reichman
(photo credit: GADI DAGON)
To understand the work of any artist, it is important to take into consideration the context within which they created their works. Period, location and contemporaries all have to ability to define and deeply influence one’s thoughts. Thus each generation of artists has been shaped by certain events in the world around them.
This year, the artistic directors of Tmuna Theater’s Intimadance Festival, Rotem Tashach, Nava Zuckerman and Yair Vardi, placed generations in the center of the program. Unlike other local dance festivals, the Intimadance Festival always begins with a topic or theme. In previous years, the theme was a work of literature, colors or a single word. For the goal is to present dance makers from the 1990s alongside the current charge of local choreographers to juxtapose the differences and perhaps similarities between them.
At the outset of the creative process, the Tmuna team asked each artist to reflect on the era in which they are making dances.
Over the course of the following months, one of the artistic directors met with each artist or team to view the process and ask questions.
Nine pieces will be presented as part of the Intimadance Festival, which will take place over four days next weekend. The creations have been divided into five programs or “generations.”
Program 1 will consist of three pieces: Me’anyen Li TaPeh by Bar Altaras; Over-all by Sigal Dahan; and Runway by Niv Shenfeld and Oren Laor.
Program 2 is dedicated solely to Roy Assaf’s Girls. The piece premiered in the 2013 Curtain Up Festival at the Suzanne Dellal Center. Featuring five female dancers, Girls was recently extended to a full hour-length piece.
Program 3 includes From Now by Shani Granot and Nevo Romano; Material by Anat Danieli; and Ode to SVM by Daphna Horenczyk and Guy Bernard Reichman.
Program 4 belongs to Saar Magal’s Up Your Ass, Virginia!, a new work for five dancers including Magal.
Program 5 is called Dance, the Best Ambassador for Israel? and is the work of Shir Hacham and Ido Feder.
The Intimadance Festival is a great place to catch the newest, off-the-beatentrack dance pieces being made in Tel Aviv. For many local choreographers and dance lovers, Intimadance offers the clearest picture of the latest trends and issues afoot in the local community. Many of the pieces created for Intimadance have gone on to be seen on stages around the country and to tour internationally. In spite of limited funds, the event has succeeded in growing not only in the number of performances presented each year but also in prestige.
The festival is supported by the Tel Aviv Municipality, together with The Ministry of Culture and Sport.
The Intimadance Festival will take place from August 7 to 10. For more information, visit www.tmu-na.org.il