What’s all the buzz about Israeli dance? Anyone wondering would do well to take a closer look at Curtain Up. The annual contemporary dance showcase for independent choreographers held a preview of this year’s line-up at the Suzanne Dellal Centre yesterday, October 30, 2012, with a presentation of short (2 – 4 minute) selections from all the new pieces. The resulting collage was colorful, diverse, exciting, thought-provoking, graceful, rough, strange, funny, beautifully performed and most of all – full of promise.
Now in its 23rd year, Curtain Up has nurtured a generation of choreographers, providing them with a supportive annual platform for presenting their work on in the context of a major production, with performances at Suzanne Dellal (Nov 14 – 24 ), and the Jerusalem Theatre (Nov 26 – 29). In recent years there has been a focus on an emerging cohort of artistic directors, experimenting with combinations of three or four co-directors. The artistic directors for Curtain Up 2012 are choreographers Yoram Karmi (Curtains 1 & 2) and Ronit Ziv (Curtains 3 & 4) – each directing and mentoring two programs of dance.
Choreographers to be featured in Curtain Up include:
Curtain One: Maya Brinner – Pirurim; Dana Ruttenberg – Armed
Nov 14 & 22 at 21:00 Tel Aviv; Nov 27 at 20:30 Jerusalem
Curtain Two: Dafi Altebeb – VeAf Al Pi Chen; Idan Yoav – The Unfortunates; Eldad Ben Sasson – Strange Attractor
Nov 15 & 21 at 21:00 Tel Aviv; Nov 28 at 20:30 Jerusalem
Curtain Three: Sharon Vazana – Haseuda; Gili Navot – It May Contain Nuts; Roy Assaf – HaGiva
Nov 16 at 22:00 & Nov 24 at 21:00 Tel Aviv; Nov 29 at 20:30 Jerusalem
Curtain Four: Shlomit Fundaminsky – Fly, Fly, Lie; Shlomi Frige – Joker; Noa Shadur – We do not torture people
Nov 17 at 21:00 & Nov 23 at 22:00 Tel Aviv; No 26 at 20:30 Jerusalem
I found my first look at Curtain Up very intriguing, it reminded me why dance attracts and excites me. What to see? I would try to see as much as possible. There are no guarantees, any new work of art is risky business, for the creators, performers and audience – that’s what makes it so exciting!
Curtain Up
Suzanne Dellal – November 14 – 24; 5 Yehieli Street, Tel Aviv. Tickets are 60 NIS and may be ordered online www.suzannedellal.org.il, or call: 03-5105656.
Jerusalem Theatre – November 26 – 29; 20 Marcus Street, Jerusalem. Tickets are 60 NIS and may be ordered online www.jerusalem-theatre.co.il, or call: 02-5605755.
A project of the Department of Dance in the Ministry of Culture and Sport, headed by Nilly Cohen, Deputy Director of the Culture Authority, Curtain Up is produced by the Israel Festival whose director is Yossi Tal Gan, with Miri Manirev producing the festival.
