The lack of language makes parenting small children a guessing game and an exercise in acknowledging physical cues. It’s a lot of trial and error, a lot of looking, listening, feeling, intuiting.
When, at a year and some, that channel of communication starts to open, it is exhilarating for all involved.Read more
In the same week, I attended performances of 2019 by Batsheva Dance Company and Shira Eviatar and Hadar Ahuvia’s Possessing. As an audience member, my reflections on these shows were influenced by the juxtaposition of the two in my mind. After all, audiences always bring the past experiences into the theater, superimposing what they haveRead more
On some molecular level, crossing the threshold into parenthood stripped away a few layers of my outer skin. I spent my twenties gearing myself up to face the world, pummeling through the subway system in New York City, bartending into the wee hours. I was an armadillo. Becoming a mom was like going through security at the airport. Metaphorically, I arrived with a hoodie and boots and came out the other side in socked feet and a tank top. Bare minimum.Read more
It stands to reason that, when observing artistic works, in this case dance works, we should consider the financial stakes at hand in their creation. Whereas one artist can create something that will provide food and rent for tens of families, another will make a work that will put them in debt. Is the financial gain a factor in the work that is made?
Are artists creating small-scale work with little to no financial gain to be had actually freer to say what they want than the big dogs?Read more
Technicity is when a person can so fully embody their technique that they move through it, beyond it. Technicity is a catch 22 of sorts. In order to let go of technique, you need to first have it and that takes time and hard work. Then, once you have it, it’s very hard to let go of those hard-won abilities. But, the dancers I most admire are those who can do just that, leave technique behind and move forward, literally and figuratively.Read more
In a repeat viewing of the legendary Carnations by Pina Bausch (my first was in Caesarea many years ago, 1991?), I observe as one views a postcard sent from relatives in a distant country. It’s beautiful there but chilly. The essential element is missing, the thing that always characterized Pina Bausch’s works. The essential, for me, is the moment in which the action on stage floods out into the audience, threatens, keeps me up at night and makes me identify with the characters/dancers and to worry about their physical emotional well-being.Read more
It is important to me that my kids see me as strong, capable, independent and brave. I relish in their admiration of my abilities; be it pancake making, assembling Ikea furniture or going on stage. But when I think of the values that I can pass on to my children from the life I have and continue to live, the things I have learned for myself, not the ones that were taught to me, I think of resilience. I think of how important it is to be able to endure defeat. Rejoicing in success is natural, easy, but picking yourself up from rejection takes work, it takes optimism and strength and stubbornness. It is necessary in our professional and personal lives.Read more
זֶה הֲכִי לוֹקָאלִי הַדֶּרֶךְ הַזֹּאת לסוזן דָלָל.
לֹא-קַל-לִי בִּכְלָל.
וּבֶטַח גַּם לָהֶם לֹא.
וְגַם לְאִירִיס שֶׁכְּבָר מְחַכֶּה עַל הַבָּמָה,
וּתְסַפֵּר לָנוּ בַּגּוּפָה עַל הַמְּקוֹמִיּוֹת.
If you were to write a letter to something or someone dance related, who would it be to? A performer who changed the way you saw life? A piece that rocked you to your core? A choreographer that inspired you to throw caution to the wind and pursue a career on stage?
Creative Writing invites you to take a moment to gush, dwell, fantasize and swoon over a particular something that tickled you pink. Sit down, write them a love letter. We want to publish it! Let’s get lovey.Read more
When I look at my two children huddled together over a book, squished together under a blanket or climbing one over the other to reach a toy, I think of that physical intimacy. I remember the same kind of informal yet deeply familiar contact throughout my childhood with my sister.
The little one places her hand on the big one’s leg without even noticing she’s doing it. The touch is so natural to them both, it goes completely unnoted. That physical connection is one of the most comforting and delightful parts of childhood and, as such, of life.Read more
