Curtain Up 2011: A Festival of Dance Premieres
In Her Own Words by Rachel Erdos. Photo by Yaniv Cohen.
Founded in 1989, Curtain Up (Haramat Masach in Hebrew) has become a centerpiece of Israel’s contemporary dance calendar. In many ways, the core of this yearly platform has remained the same over the decades: up-and-coming choreographers who operate outside of the country’s major companies receive financial and artistic support to present new works on a series of mixed bills in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Yet in its most recent editions, Curtain Up has added another layer: cultivating artistic directors who are themselves choreographers. Last year, four alumni of the festival – Tamar Borer, Sahar Azimi, Ronit Ziv, and Renana Raz – were each charged with curating an evening. This year, Borer, Azimi, and Ziv are returning as artistic directors, applying the lessons they learned in 2010 to Curtain Up 2011, which runs from November 3-12.
Curtain Up’s three programs will each be performed twice at the Suzanne Dellal Centre and once at the Jerusalem Theatre. In cooperation with the Choreographers Association and Tarbut L’Yisrael, the works created for Curtain Up will also be performed in Israel’s northern and southern regions, enabling these younger choreographers to gain further exposure.
So just what is on the bill for Curtain Up this year? Here is a video preview of the three programs:
Curtain 1
Artistic Director: Tamar Borer
Choreographers: Iris Erez, Maya Brinner, Maya Weinberg
Performances at the Suzanne Dellal Centre: November 3 and 12 at 21:00
Performances at the Jerusalem Theatre: November 10 at 20:30
Video: Shuttered by Iris Erez
Video: Forest by Maya Brinner
Video: Some Fish (swim up the river to die) by Maya Weinberg
Curtain 2
Artistic Director: Sahar Azimi
Choreographers: Doron Raz, Roy Assaf, Gili Navot, Noa Zuk
Performances at the Suzanne Dellal Centre: November 4 at 22:00 and November 10 at 21:00
Performances at the Jerusalem Theatre: November 8 at 20:30
Video: Valentia by Doron Raz
Video: 6 Years Later by Roy Assaf
Video: Subject to Change by Gili Navot
Video: Speaker by Noa Zuk
Curtain 3
Artistic Director: Ronit Ziv
Choreographers: Hillel Kogan, Rachel Erdos, Osnat Kelner
Performances at the Suzanne Dellal Centre: November 5 at 21:00 and November 11 at 22:00
Performances at the Jerusalem Theatre: November 9 at 20:30
Video: Obscene Gesture by Hillel Kogan
Video: In Her Own Words by Rachel Erdos
Video: The sad little, unappreciative, Pisces, Jesus man by Osnat Kelner
More Information
Tickets for Curtain Up performances are 60 NIS. For tickets to Curtain Up at Suzanne Dellal, call 03-5105656. For tickets to Curtain Up at the Jerusalem Theatre, call 02-5605755.
Related Articles on Dance In Israel
- Curtain Up 2010: Video Preview
- Curtain Up 2009: Celebrating 20 Years of Israeli Premieres
- Israel’s Curtain Up Festival: “Another Op’ning, Another Show” for Contemporary Dance (Curtain Up 2008)
4 comments