Avant-garde dance in the capital

The 7th annual Machol Shalem Dance Festival challenges audience with cutting-edge, thought-provoking dance performances.

By LOREN MINSKY/ ITRAVELJERUSALEM.COM TEAM
Machol Shalem Dance Festival 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Machol Shalem Dance Festival 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Machol Shalem Dance Festival began on Monday night at Gerard Behar Center in Jerusalem with an autobiographical performance “One Dixon Road” by maverick British artist, Nigel Charnock, founder member of legendary dance company DV8. Charnock shocked, entertained, captivated and engaged the audience during his hour-long performance, which included dance, song, narration and comedy. The remaining events take place at Machol Shalem’s home base, Karnaf Hall, in the old Musrara neighborhood.
The Machol Shalem Center was founded in 2002 by partners Ruby Edelman and Ofra Idel who wanted a place for independent dancers in Jerusalem to continue creating. The center, which includes a studio and a performance hall with 100 seats, has infused life into the independent dance scene in Jerusalem. The festival began as a one-day event and through the years has expanded to become one of Israel’s most adventurous dance festivals. The work at Machol Shalem integrates movement, abstract theater, performance, film and other media.
Machol Shalem House’s international collaborations have included a co-production with the Tanzhaus, Zurich; the production of the work “LessMess” in 2009; artist exchanges with the Zawirowania Dance Festival Warsaw in 2010 and a co-production with the Schlachthaus Theater in 2011.This year’s festival features a talent competition, four debut shows with artistic direction by Shlomo Plasner, four pieces by the Choreographer’s Association and eight new performances by Israeli choreographers. Highlights include a piece "Offline" by the talented Nadar Rosano as well as a piece Broken right broken right by Michal Mualem and Giannalberto De Filippis.
Supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Jerusalem Foundation, the festival offers  something unique in Jerusalem – a platform for dancers to express, explore and expose sensitive spots in the socio-political fabric of contemporary society in Jerusalem, in Israel, and in the global village.
The Machol Shalem Dance Festival takes place December 5 – 9 and overlaps with the city’s Hamshoushalayim celebrations.
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