Nimrod Freed’s Subtext. Photo by Gadi Dagon.
Dance In Israel: What is your relationship to Curtain Up?
Nimrod Freed: I was produced in Haramat Masach [Curtain Up] about four times. At a certain moment I felt that I had to move on, and now it’s a very good way to come for a visit.
DII: On this visit, what drew you to invite both Anat and Dafi to join you in Curtain 1?
NF: I’ve known Anat and Dafi for many years.
Anat Grigorio’s Daydream. Photo by Gadi Dagon.
NF: I met Anat as a dancer; she came to dance in my Tami Dance Company. I need to work with very creative people, and from that very moment, I saw her creativity. As a matter of fact, while she was a dancer in my company, I was already producing her as a young creator.
Dafi Altebab’s Under the Rug. Photo by Gadi Dagon.
NF: I met Dafi when I did the project “On the Edge” in Beit Tami, so I produced her work. And I think both Anat and Dafi are very authentic and passionate and creative in an unusual way.
DII: Do you see any links between the work that you made for this program and the works that Dafi and Anat made?
NF: There is a common ground which happened by chance. I didn’t strive for that . . . it happened. The three of us are dealing with the hidden sides of life.
Dafi Altebab’s Under the Rug. Photo by Gadi Dagon.
NF: Dafi is trying to reveal, to open up stuff that she pushed under the carpet.
Anat Grigorio’s Daydream. Photo by Gadi Dagon.
NF: Anat is dealing with this moment of waking up. You know, in the morning, when we open up the eyes, trying to wake up; those moments that we don’t know exactly where we are . . . For her, you know, it’s a very intriguing time; many things are happening in this time, and she’s trying to dance it and understand it. I guess she’s meeting her unconsciousness in those moments.
Nimrod Freed’s Subtext. Photo by Gadi Dagon.
NF: And I’m dealing with subtext.
Nimrod Freed’s Subtext. Photo by Gadi Dagon.
DII: Can you tell me a little bit more about your piece, Subtext?
NF: I am interested more in what is under the words, what is under our life. I’m more interested in energy, in what people don’t say. And I’m trying to dance it . . . Whenever we talk subtext, right away there is a new subtext. And then we reveal it, we discover it, and right away there is a new layer, a new subtext. When we dance, we find ourselves not dancing, not moving, and still there is a new subtext . . . For me it becomes more and more interesting, the world which is beneath, under, [rather] than the politically correct world. And I wish we could talk subtext. Maybe it wouldn’t be very polite, but it looks closer to truth.
* * *
For listings of Curtain Up performances, please visit the Dance In Israel Calendars page.
Related Articles on Dance In Israel
- Israeli Dance: What’s Happening in November
- What is Israeli Dance? Two Festivals Hold Some Clues
- Curtain Up 2009: Celebrating 20 Years of Israeli Premieres
- Curtain Up 2: Vertigo Dance Company and Noa Wertheim Host Elad Shechter
- Curtain Up 3: Yasmeen Godder Hosts Iris Erez
- Curtain Up 4: Tel Aviv Dance Company and Yaara Dolev Host Michael Miler
- Curtain Up 5: Noa Dar Hosts Maya Brinner and Irad Mazliah
- Curtain Up 6: Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor Host Noa Shadur