Yasmeen Godder’s I’m Mean I Am. Photo by Tamar Lamm.

Suzanne Dellal’s next show boasts quite an impressive roster of choreographers and performers.  It’s not every day that you find these names on the same bill: Ohad Naharin, Sharon Eyal, Rami Be’er, Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak, Ido Tadmor, Yasmeen Godder, Nir Ben Gal & Liat Dror, Emanuel Gat, Noa Wertheim, Rina Schenfeld, Renana Raz, Sahar Azimi, Arkadi Zaides, Idan Cohen, Tamar Borer, Talia Paz, Michael Gatman, Michael Miler, Sally-Anne Friedland, Dana Ruttenberg, Amit Goldenberg & Ya’ara Dolev, Saar Harari, Iris Erez, Silvia Duran, Elina Pechersky, Doron Raz, Luc Jacobs, Ron Amit & Mor Shani, Shani Garfinkel, and Mami Shimizaki.

But while audiences are used to watching these choreographers’ creations onstage, this show transports their dances to a new territory: the walls.  The show is Photodance, an exhibit of photography celebrating the many productions presented during the Suzanne Dellal Center’s twenty-year history.

Luc Jacobs’ Oole Boole.  Photo by Ascaf.

For Photodance, curator Hadas Maor has assembled an array of striking photographs capturing moments in performance, in rehearsal, and in staged photo shoots.  Contributing photographers include Gadi Dagon, Michal Hayman, Li Yanor, Vardi Cahana, Tamar Lamm, Eyal Landsman, Pnina Even-Tal, Emmanuel Ogdan, Ascaf, Amit Berlovich, Kfir Bolotin, Ran Biran, Adi Mazan, Itay Marom, Avi Nathan, Daniel Chechik, and Ron Kedmi.

Silvia Duran.  Photo by Deddy Lifshitz.

As part of Suzanne Dellal’s 20th anniversary celebrations, Photodance fittingly displays the variety and wealth of Israeli dance which has been nurtured at the center.  Contemporary dance – the hallmark of Israel’s growing dance scene – is highlighted, but other forms including flamenco and Middle Eastern dance are also represented in the photographs.  Large, established companies like the Batsheva Dance Company and the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company are showcased alongside budding independent choreographers such as Michael Miler, Iris Erez, and Dana Ruttenberg.  And notably, some of the dances featured in Photodance were created for the Suzanne Dellal Center’s beloved festivals, including Curtain Up and Shades of Dance.

Ron Amit and Mor Shani’s Lu Carmela. Photo by Kfir Bolotin.

Choreography by Sahar Azimi.  Photo by Eyal Landesman.

Choreography by Amit Goldenberg and Ya’ara Dolev.  Photo by Adi Mazan.

Information about the Exhibit

Photodance opens to the public on Thursday, September 3rd at 6:00 p.m. and will remain open for several hours each day through September 7th.  For the exhibit’s exact hours, please check the Events calendar.  On September 8th, Simon de Pury of the Phillips de Pury & Company auction house will conduct an auction of the photographs; all proceeds will support Israeli dance.

Renana Raz in Amit Goldenberg and Ya’ara Dolev’s Dede Dance Company.  Photo by Adi Mazan.

Addendum (September 3rd)

This morning I attended a preview of the exhibit which was open for journalists, and happily, I was able to bring along my parents and cousins who are visiting Israel.  As we walked through the two dance studios which have been artfully transformed into gallery spaces, I had the pleasure of seeing Photodance through two distinctly different lenses: my own and that of my family.

For me, having spent so much time researching the development of Israeli contemporary dance, it was incredible to see a collection of photographs which documented several landmark works and captured the central players in the field.  While looking at photographs from the late 1980s and early 1990s, I marveled at the younger images of choreographers whom I have interviewed – such as Liat Dror and Nir Ben Gal – and I caught glimpses of how their aesthetic has transformed.

For my family, who is new to the scene, the exhibit was like a magical kaleidescope revealing the many colors of Israeli concert dance in one quick turn of the studios.  It was fascinating to see which photographs caught their eye, and it was fun to see them make connections between very different photographs of the same artists.

This retrospective represents just a small slice of all the activity at Suzanne Dellal over the last 20 years.  It’s incredible to think how the field of dance has blossomed since the opening of the center – and I can’t help but wonder what will come in the next 20 years.

Related Articles on Dance In Israel

• Tel Aviv’s 100th + Suzanne Dellal’s 20th = The Big Stage
• Remembering Big Performances at Suzanne Dellal’s Big Stage

Related Links

• Suzanne Dellal Center