***Update*** Due to the current situation, the performances have been cancelled and Ballet de Lorraine will not perform in Israel. Ticket purchasers may exchange their tickets for one of two performances in the 2014 – 2015 season, or receive a refund. Please contact The New Israeli Opera for all ticket related information at 03-6927777.
A triumviate of modern classics will reign at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center (TAPAC) as CCN Ballet de Lorraine, under the artistic direction of Petter Jacobsson, will perform works by American choreographers Merce Cunningham, Twyla Tharp and William Forsythe. The ballet company hailing from Nancy, France, returns to Israel for the second time, with four performances from July 16 – 19, 2014.
If you are not familiar with these choreographers, this is an excellent opportunity to get better acquainted, and it is well worth the while. The works not only stand on their own merit, but also provide a perspective on the different threads weaving through the texture of contemporary dance.
Taking a historical look at the evening’s program:
Merce Cunningham (1919 – 2009) was a strong influence on the American avant garde as well as the world of modern dance. His spirit of exploration and innovation, and his collaborations with artists in different disciplines – John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg and Bruce Nauman among others – has left its imprint not only in his rich legacy of dance, but on future generations of choreographers. A strong proponent of the abstract, he viewed movement and music as distinct elements within a piece, neither one illustrative of the other, he also introduced elements of chance within a work, with movements decided on the toss of a coin. In this program, Ballet de Lorraine will perform Sounddance, a work which takes its title from a word coined by James Joyce in Finnegan’s Wake: “”In the buginning is the woid, in the muddle is the sounddance and thereinofter you’re in the unbewised again.” The score is by David Tudor.
Twyla Tharp (b. 1941) dances between the artistic and the popular, creating connections between ballet, contemporary dance and everyday gestures. What may sound natural to today’s audiences, accustomed to seeing contemporary dance, is not to be taken for granted. Tharp is credited with choreographing the first cross-over ballet in 1973. Deuce Coupe, commissioned by the Joffrey Ballet, was set to music by the Beach Boys, incorporating classical ballet with modern dance, jazz, and proletarian movement, and featuring graffiti artists painting live onstage. On the program at TAPAC will be In The Upper Room (1986). Tharp invited Philip Glass to create the music for this energetic piece that seems to explode with movement, using elements of boxing, tap dance, yoga, ballet and running! Film fans may recognize Tharp’s vivid style from her choreographies for Milos Forman’s Hair (1978) and Amadeus (1984).
Innovator William Forsythe (b. 1949) has been concerned with the principles of organization in dance, and his work extends to installations, film and web. Following his many years as Director of Ballet Frankfurt (1984 – 2004), Forsythe opened the Forsythe Company based in Dresden. His installations have been shown at the Louvre Museum, Venice Biennale and the Renaissance Society in Chicago, as well as other locations. The work to be performed at TAPAC is The Vile Parody of Address (1988).
Performances: Wednesday, July 16th at 20:00; Thursday, July 17th at 20:00; Friday, July 18th at 13:00; and Saturday, July 19th at 21:00. Tickets may be purchased via the Israeli Opera/TAPAC website, or call: 03-6927777.
