Vertigo, the prestigious Israeli modern dance company, will return to the stage after an extended coronavirus break with the new show Birth of the Phoenix, which is set to begin in – or rather, outside of – Susan Dallal Center in Tel Aviv. The show is intended to herald the return of the performance center after its bout of inactivity due to the coronavirus pandemic. “The Birth of the Phoenix carries in its wings the compassion and healing of the open wound left behind by the coronavirus pandemic and calls for the reunification of the ancient connection between man and the environment,” said choreographer and artistic director Noa Wertheim. The performance takes place with the audience sitting within a geodesic dome of bamboo, allowing for a flow between the internal and the external, reality and the stage-world. The audience encounters the dancers in a space that allows for close contact without hierarchies. Dancers perform on peat, allowing it to stain their body and clothing. The lighting and music overlap with the surrounding natural noises and are influenced by the ceremonial, ritualistic sounds of the world. The performance intends to touch dynamically on the dialogue between man and nature, which changes in every environment. It listens to the heartbeat, location, time and seasons, much like the phoenix. The intention is, as coronavirus closures are lifted, to expand the limitations of dance to form a connection between people, all the while emphasizing values of equality, dignity towards humans and towards the environment. The show takes place on June 30 and July 1, beginning with a “meeting in motion” with Wertheim, then a show for the entire family at 7:30 p.m., followed by an evening show at 9:30.
