The lexicon of ‘Neverland’

Kamea premieres Tamir Ginz’s latest piece.

By ORI J. LENKINSKI
Kamea Dance Company's ‘Neverland’ (photo credit: KFIR BOLUTIN)
Kamea Dance Company's ‘Neverland’
(photo credit: KFIR BOLUTIN)
Some choreographers spend years finely honing their movement language. For these artists, every new creation is a chance to zoom in on the minute details of the body, purifying their esthetic as their body of work grows. For Tamir Ginz, founder and artistic director of the Beershebabased Kamea Dance Company, repertoire is less about consistency and more about taking chances. Ginz is less invested in moving on a linear path and more concerned with finding a new vocabulary with each creative process.
“Kamea is challenged constantly because our emphasis is always on developing new movement,” says Ginz.
He will unveil his newest work, Neverland, next week at the Suzanne Dellal Center and next month at the Beersheba Performing Arts Center.
The choreographer found time to discuss this new work between technical rehearsals.
During their first days in the studio working on Neverland, Ginz asked the dancers to imagine a post-apocalyptic state.
“I’m looking to develop a new movement lexicon with each piece. In the beginning of the process, I never tell the dancers what it is we are dealing with; I don’t share my inspiration. For Neverland, we worked with imagery, being left on the ground where there’s nothing around,” he explains.
The piece, says Ginz, is a response to the recent events in and outside of Israel.
“It started with a concern that I have towards all the events that happen in our region, with things that are getting out of order; even the growth of the Islamic movement and the destruction happening around us. I feel really frustrated with the way that humanity is getting more violent and less self-aware of relations around the world and global hazards.
I thought of making a kind of piece situated in the future. Maybe it’s the day after, in one of the territories that has gone through destruction, to situate a group of people to rise anew. What will happen when there is no governing body or political order? Maybe women will take charge? Maybe people will use the situation to be promiscuous and make a new humanity,” he says.
From the place of the observer, Ginz found himself hurled into the experiential. The strife of conquered bodies became that of his own and his dancers.
“I took imagery from pictures of populations that were conquered. But the more the piece developed, the more it became a piece about the human spirit. It deals with the hidden ambitions and the needs and urges a person has towards social situations and how that corresponds with society if there’s no order or governing mechanism. In that respect, it brought interesting dramatic situations from life into the studio. The process, for me, was very moving,” he says.
The movement language that emerged from this investigation, while new, connects to previous works by Ginz.
“We were searching for a primal mode with our bodies. In that respect, it has a link to the voice of Kamea that started Bamidbar Dvarim in that we are looking in the movement for something free and released from predispositions of manners and behavior,” he says.
The music for Neverland was composed by Avi Belleli of Nikmat Hatraktor.
Following the premiere of Neverland, Kamea will host an international choreographer whose name Ginz is not yet ready to disclose.
He assures that the artist is of great renown and will bring a new flavor to the Kamea repertoire.
“I will make a new work, which will share the evening with the outside choreographer’s piece. Then, next April, Kamea will do a major co-production in Germany,” he says.
Also in store for next year is the jump from 12 to 14 company members, a step that translates into increased funding. Following staged rehearsals in Tel Aviv, Ginz was bound for Amsterdam. For several years, Kamea has held auditions in Israel as well as abroad, seeking out technically proficient dancers who are ready to make the leap into life in the Negev. For the current audition, Ginz received more than 2,000 responses from dancers who will vie for one of two available contracts for the coming season. This feedback strengthens Ginz’s resolve to break ties with the Tel Aviv dance scene and strike out into the desert.
“I’m really happy that I have no interaction with the other companies in Israel. It allows me a window to develop a unique voice and allows the company to have a family feeling,” he says. “The dancers meet in the evening, they teach the community in Beersheba in the afternoon, feeding the dance studios all over the southern region. We are engaging the community around us. We don’t need the approval of the dance community, but I’m sure we have it. The approval we look for is from the audience.”
Kamea Dance Company will perform ‘Neverland’ at the Suzanne Dellal Center on March 22 at 9 p.m. (www.suzannedellal.org.il) and on April 3 at the Beersheba Performing Arts Center (www.mishkan7.co.il).