Israeli acrobat dreams of changing face of live music

Yuval Oz, an Israeli performance artist, sets out to create a new form of live concert combining music, circus and dance.

By YADIN KATZ/NO CAMELS
performance art (photo credit: Yuval Oz)
performance art
(photo credit: Yuval Oz)
Yadin Katz writes for No Camels.
In the spring of 2007, Yuval Oz, an Israeli performance artist, musician and acrobat, went to a famous rap band’s live concert in Paris, France. He had been to many small  concerts before and had performed in several, but this was the first major international show he attended, and he couldn’t wait.
“To tell the truth, I was very disappointed,” said 30-year-old Oz. “It was a great show, but something was missing. Throughout the show I was imagining things that would have made the show so much more entertaining, that would have brought it to life – something new.”
And something new was what Oz set out to do. He met with New York choreographer and aerialist Angela Buccinni on her visit to Israel and the two joined forces to create a new form of live concert combining music, circus and dance. The circus artists incorporate the music into their performances by playing on the beat of the songs.
The idea was that music should not only be listened to, but also seen and felt. ”The goal is to give the audience a real and more complete way to enjoy a live concert,” Oz told NoCamels. “When you watch a music video,  for example, you can more easily connect to the music because of the visual aspect, the story behind the songs.”
Oz and Buccinni are now working on their first show and are creating what they call a visual “collage,” using songs from Oz’s first album “Standing in Line.” The project, still without a name, includes many songs written especially for the show and each song will have its own story-line. “We are creating, in essence, a live video clip, where the songs are reflected through the show,” Oz explained. “We are all used to seeing songs that support the show, but we wanted to turn it the other way around. It is something that is just not done today.”
Oz and Buccinni are now looking for more musicians and circus artists to complete their ensemble. “Half of the album is already completed,” Buccinni explained. “But the second half of the album will be completed once we have our new artists, based on their skills and how the character’s stories connect.”
To fund his project, Oz is turning to everyone who is willing to give, even a few cents. He created an interactive page on the Kickstarter website, a funding platform for creative projects. Oz is asking for $15,000 and so far, $2,689 has been donated. Oz will only receive the money, however, if at least $15,000 has been pledged by September 1.
Oz and Buccinni are confident their idea will take. According to them, when people are going to a concert, they want to experience a general sensual feeling, not only to listen to music. “A concert is supposed to let you experience the stories behind the music.”
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