Jenny Birger

The greatness of a personal work, in my eyes, lies in its ability to touch even those who are far from its direct contexts. Podium does this wisely, and invited me to examine my relationship with rules, with the constant search for the firm hand and for excellence that are paired together in my imagination.Read more

First Things by Michael Getman, performed with virtuosity by Ariel Gelbart, is a fascinating, deep, and multi-layered work. Fragments of textual and musical information meet a distilled choreography, and together they ask the most fundamental question: what is the human experience?Read more

There is so much magic in simple things, especially when simplicity is born from long and demanding labor. Such is the work of Kazuyo Shionoiri and Dror Liberman Keep it up: simple and profound, shifting from moment to moment and from performance to performance, and above all, touching and lingering.Read more

My eyes delight in the soft rawness of a piece shown in its home, without the wrapping of a large, sophisticated production. The scarcity of means allows other qualities to surface and to touch the audience in a more intimate and direct way. “Exposed in the Studio” is a wonderful example of an evening featuring two very different works that speak to one another and connect beautifully: “Assembly Instructions” by Nir Vidan, and “The Silence of the Sirens” by Tamar Sofia Kisch.
It’s an intriguing, rich evening that operates on all senses and reveals a broad range of contemporary dance creation through two solos, choreographed and performed by the artists themselves.Read more

The worlds oscillate between the tangible and the abstract, as Ayala employs a variety of materials and textures. Naya’s persona shifts as well, both through the costumes and accessories she adopts in each world, and through her movement choices, which range from the one end of classical flamenco to the other end of contemporary dance.Read more

Waiting Places by Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber is unarguably beautiful. Its beauty shines like a dew drop rolling from a rosebud, or the reflection of soft sunrise’s rays glimmering on the sea. Highly skilled and expressive dancers perform exquisite choreography, screened in black and white. The women’s long hair and dresses move along their athletic bodies, the men’s heels mark the fast tempo of the passing of time. The craftsmanship of everyone involved: the dancers, the choreographers, the camera and editing, and of course the music, is impressive and inspiring. I’m still left waiting, though, for something else. Something that perhaps was never intended to be part of this particular piece, yet without it the work feels incomplete. Read more

This is a very different story than the ones we know, but perhaps it’s the only one that dares to get close to the truth. A story that places primordial emotion center stage, and the yearning to draw near to it, where even failure becomes a kind of success. I leave the performance moved by a work of art that continues, with devotion and faith, to try to return to the beginning of things. Read more

It’s hot and humid, stifling in every sense, and it feels that especially now Yasmeen Godder and Dikla’s audacious creation brings us back to that primal connection of dance, singing and playing music..Read more

Tali Zavilevich’s ‘Mindset’ parses out for the audience a vast swath, allowing us a peek into the hidden stories inside each step. The overall experience of this show was of a fascinating evening full of sensations, which accompanied me on my walk home.Read more

רצה הגורל והתוכניות שלי לאותו ערב חמישי בתחילת מאי התבטלו, וגם הערב עצמו שינה את פניו בגלל פציעה של אחד הרקדנים. וכך, במקום לראות יצירת מחול קבוצתית של סתיו סטרוז בוטרוס, ההזמנה הייתה לצפות בסולו שלה בשם “ספיה” ודואט מוזיקה גאורגית מסורתית בשם “מנדזילי”. ידעתי מעט מאד על שני חלקי המופע, והפעם זה היה מדויקRead more