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Despite weeks of turbulence and uncertainty across Israel, the Suzanne Dellal Centre will launch its flagship event, the Tel Aviv Dance Festival, on schedule next month.
The festival, which features twenty performances including seven world premieres, aims to offer audiences a vibrant and timely exploration of movement, identity, and artistic resilience.
“Everything is moving all the time,” said Anat Fischer-Leventon, CEO of the Suzanne Dellal Centre, during a press conference last week. Her words reflect not only the spirit of dance but also the country’s current emotional and social landscape.
“These are creations that were born here, on this land and in this time,” she added. “They are proof that we are living here, not just surviving.”
The festival will open with Passion is a Lonely Hunter, a premiere by celebrated choreographer Michael Getman. Developed under the Centre’s residency program, the piece features a quartet of dancers examining emotional residues left by the past.
Choreographers Yossi Berg and Oded Graf will return with Mid-War Dance Moves, a work that reflects on instability and fantasy through a blend of movement and escapist imagery.
In contrast, Adi Boutrous turns inward with Camera Obscura, his first solo piece inspired by Winslow Homer’s painting The Veteran in a Wheat Field. Boutrous will also present Fall, an outdoor ensemble performance.
Jerusalem’s Elad Shechter contributes Golden 8 Gate, a choreographic love letter to his city using donated movement phrases from fellow Jerusalem-based artists. Sharon Valevski’s speech-less, also developed during a residency at the Centre, combines recorded political speeches with choreography to reimagine power and voice.
Veteran choreographer Noa Zuk will debut Destinies, created with dancers across four generations, including her daughter. The piece examines the body as a vessel of time and memory.
Hani Sirkis, former Batsheva dancer turned drag performer, introduces Take Off—a piece performed by her drag persona Barbie Cute. Through gradual undressing, Sirkis peels back costume layers to reveal shifting identities and explore what emerges in vulnerability.
International acts will also feature. British performer Julyen Hamilton brings his acclaimed solo KOAN – For Our Times, a meditation on solitude and reflection.
American choreographer Charly Santagado will perform in 123 MIX, a showcase for emerging talents developed through the Centre’s 123 Program. The evening will also feature pieces by Avshalom Latucha, Naomi Katz, Tamir Golan, and Hila Nachshonov.
Artistic director Naomi Perlov emphasized that this year’s performances are not just artistic outputs, but documents of lived experience. “We’re capturing what’s happening through bodies in motion. That’s what makes this year so unique.”
As the country grapples with social and political challenges, the Tel Aviv Dance Festival stands firm as a beacon of artistic expression, inviting audiences to witness stories of resistance, transformation, and the enduring power of dance.