What you see in a dance studio is very different from what you see onstage, even during a run of a full performance. Performing without lighting, sets or costumes, the dancers are usually dressed in a motley assortment of sweatpants and ragged T shirts, their bodies often decorated with taped up injuries. The choreographer may ask them to stop and repeat a movement, the dancers may ‘go through the motions’ in certain segments, not dancing full out, but just marking the spacing. Having seen many studio rehearsals, when I arrived at the studio of the Kolben Dance Company to see a run of Amir Kolben’s new work “Min-hara”, which will premiere at the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv on Monday, January 4, I thought I knew what to expect.
Just before giving the dancers the signal to begin, Amir Kolben turned to me and explained that I will see starts and stops, dancers marking steps, and that he may intervene in what takes place on the floor. I nodded, saying that naturally, I understood that this is a rehearsal. Kolben smiled and gently corrected me, saying, “No, this is the performance, this is what will be onstage.”
Min-hara is a kinetic meditation on Kolben’s creative process, which takes the form of a multi-level dialogue between his inner voice, the interaction with the dancers in the studio and the implicit conversation with the viewer. The title of the work has many associations in Hebrew. It refers to the word “minhara” which means “tunnel” (it might be relevant to mention that the Hebrew slang for soul-searching is “lachpor” which means “to dig”), the word “min” which means “sex” in Hebrew, and “hara” which means “pregnant” – opening up worlds of images and ideas.
Any new creation represents a birth, in the case of Min-hara, this premiere represents a different sort of birth as well, for the company is currently composed of an all new cast of dancers. Kolben has been working with the dancers over the past few months, creating the work in tandem with creating a new incarnation of the company itself. In this context, presenting such a self-reflective piece, that has a somewhat open structure with room for improvisation, is a bold move. Watching the dancers in the studio the depth of the connection between them is palpable, as they take movement from one another, eyes and bodies in constant dialogue. Translating the intimacy of the studio and creative process itself to the stage is a challenge. The Kolben Dance Company looks ready.
Min-hara
January 3 at 20:30 Preview performance Or Yehuda 03-7353555
January 4 &5 at 21:00 Suzanne Dellal Centre, Tel Aviv 03-5105656
January 7 at 21:00 Jerusalem Theatre, 02- 5605755
