On their toes

Renowned dancer Talia Paz hosts an evening of what she considers to be the best Israeli dance creations of 2010.

By ORI J. LENKINSKI
dancer talia paz 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
dancer talia paz 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Talia Paz is more legend than dancer. One look at Paz and you know she is a ballerina. For years, she has been an icon of grace and technical perfection in the international dance world. She has been performing for more than 20 years and has enjoyed an exciting and remarkable career. Both abroad and at home, her flawless physical capabilities matched with her drive to perform have made her an institution.
She began her career in Israel with the Batsheva Dance Company and went on to conquer Europe. She was quickly noticed and hired by the Scapino Ballet of the Netherlands. From there she went on to spend twelve years in the Cullberg Ballet in Sweden. Paz then returned to Israel with a host of contacts from Europe. She had given up dancing for a major company but was not nearly finished performing. Paz continued to work with some of the choreographers who had caught her eye during her time abroad, like Stijn Celis and Carolyn Carlson. The result is something that very few dancers have: a personal repertory.
For the past several years, Paz has presented a series of refined evenings in which she invites choreographers or dancers that she admires to share the stage with her. On Saturday, Paz once again beckons audience members to see what she considers to be the best Israeli creations of 2010. The singular event will be hosted at the Inbal Theater in the Suzanne Dellal Center and consists of five pieces, solos and duets.
Paz will perform two of her famous solos, Love by Sharon Eyal and Magnolia by Belgian choreographer Stijn Celis. The three other pieces Paz has chosen are by choreographers Yasmeen Godder, Michael Getman and Chen-Wei Lee with Christopher Peterson.
Eran Shanny will perform Solo For Eran, which is an excerpt from Yasmeen Godder’s work Love Fire. The piece premiered during the 2010 Curtain Up Festival at the Suzanne Dellal Center. The work, which was seventy-five minutes long and included visual art by sculptor and performer Yochai Matos, was scored by well-known classical music. Shanny’s solo will be danced to Yohann Strauss’s waltz,
“On the Beautiful Blue Danube.”
Michael Getman’s new duet,With Four Hands, is a premier and will be performedby Getman and Idan Yoav. For this work, Getman has enlisted violinistMoshe Aharonov of the Meitar Ensemble. Aharonov will perform works byKarlheinz Stockhausen and Bach alongside the dancers on stage.
Finally,Paz has invited two dancers from the Ensemble Batsheva to perform aduet of their own creation. Chen-Wei Lee and Christopher Peterson firstperformed Elephants last month at the BatshevaEnsemble’s evening Chimera. Each year the Ensemble gives their dancersa forum to create new works. Among the stand-out performances this yearwas Elephants. The piece is performed to music bybands Sigur Ros and Cold.
This evening is a great opportunity to see small, intimate pieces in a small and intimate theater.
Talia Paz’s evening will be at Inbal Theater on June 19 at 21:00. For tickets call (03) 510-5656.