Rami Be’er’s new creation, Ta’atua, is a multi-textural dance work that plays on two tracks; the contemporary dance and the dance-theater genre. The latter, enable the work to present quite a few enigmatic elements that lead the dancers through poetic philosophy pastures as Be’er choose to quote Hanoch Levin’s texts containing child-like innocent perceptions on life, along profound understanding of social complexity.
On the other channel the strong cast of 16 performers helped to maintain a matching measure of explosive energy and restraint, discipline and cutting loose force. They gave a vivid performance that was loaded with intriguing contradictions and detailed compositions, much like early American patchwork quilts.
One element remained a powerful dilemma; how to fit smoothly the presence of a character that is dressed in an oversize yellow jacket, red tie and socks like a comic cliché of a bygone image of a “salesman” holding an old suitcase. He could hardly keep up with other dancers nor did he actually act. He represented the outside, odd one out. He was constantly on stage, yet hardly promoted or affected major artistic moves.
At the ending scene a switch in the artistic process occurred. He turned towards the back screen, pulled it apart, revealed a strange set that seemed to be a ruined theater set with a small screen or picture of desolation, while a song played repeatedly “it’s wonderful here, wonderful here” alongside a loud siren.
Yet my favorite miniature encounter was a short duet, where a couple stood apart, their hands spread sideways like wings, and with no apparent trigger both leaned diagonally toward each other. This simple, precise change of positioned body created a play of parallel lines of their limbs, and turned to be a totally unexpected experience of geometric aesthetics giving birth to living sculpture in the making.