Boris Eifman Ballet returns to the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center with two works: Tender Is The Night(Up and Down), and Rodin. The neo-classical ballet company, one of the world’s largest, tours extensively, and Israel has been fortunate enough to host the company many times. Tender Is The Night will have its Israeli premiere, while Rodin returns to the TAPAC stage following its great popularity on the company’s previous performances here.
Tender Is The Night was originally inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s eponymous novel. Many of Eifman’s works have been inspired by literature, such as a Russian version of Hamlet, Anna Karenina, The Seagull, and Onegin. This most recent work continues Artistic Director and choreographer Boris Eifman’s interest in psychology and human relationships as explored and expressed in dance. Set to a score with selections from Gershwin, Shubert and Alban Berg, Eifman evokes the mood and spirit of the roaring twenties, and a romance torn apart by destructive personalities.
In Fitzgerald’s novel, successful doctor Dick Diver and his wife Nicole lead a glamorous lifestyle, undermined by Nicole’s mental illness and Dick’s alcoholism. Fitzgerald’s novel was based on his own tumultuous relationship with his wife Zelda, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and spent the latter years of her life in a psychiatric hospital. It is interesting to note that Zelda too drew on their private lives for material, and one may read her version of the marriage in her novel Save Me The Waltz.
The intricate relationships of art, love and psychology also form the framework for Rodin, which explores the turbulent relationship between August Rodin and Camille Claudell. The passionate affair between the two sculptors lasted for many years, yet soon following their breakup, Claudell did not fare well.
She destroyed many of her own sculptures, only about 90 statues, sketches and drawings survive. Ultimately, she spent her final years in a psychiatric facility. History has taken up her tale from a feminist perspective, her biography and relationship with Rodin have been the subject of several books and two films: Camille Claudell (1988), based on Reine Marie’s biography, directed by Bruno Nuytten, with Isabelle Adjani co-producing and starring; and Camille Claudel 1915, directed by Bruno Dumont and starring Juliette Binoche, which was shown in competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2013.
Performances:
Tender Is The Night(Up and Down) – Thursday, July 23rd at 20:00; Friday, July 24th at 13:00 and 21:00; Saturday, July 25th at 17:00.
Rodin – Sunday, July 26th at 20:00; Monday, July 27th at 20:00; Tuesday, July 28th at 20:00.
Tickets range from 189 NIS – 369 NIS, and may be ordered online, or call: 03-6927777, or 03-6927700.
