Vertigo Dance Company (IL)

17 October, 7:00 p.m.

Slovak National Theatre Drama Hall

VERTIGO DANCE ASSOCIATION

The Vertigo Dance Association established in Jerusalem 30 years ago by Noa Wertheim and Adi Sha’al operates two complementary centers – in Jerusalem and at the Vertigo Eco-Art Village in the rural Ella Valley. Led by artistic director, Noa Wertheim, the Vertigo Dance Company presents an outstanding contemporary dance approach promoting artistic creation with a strong sense of social, environmental, and community awareness that reflects an ongoing commitment to further exploring human nature and our link to the environment. This vision has developed over the years to form a way of life and a distinct dance language learned in Israel and around the world.

NOA WERTHEIM

Artistic director & co-founder of the Vertigo Dance Company

Noa Wertheim, the artistic director and choreographer of the Vertigo Dance Company, was born in the United States in 1965 and grew up in Israel where she first studied dance in Netanya. After three years of military service in the developing town of Yeruham, Wertheim completed her dance studies at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in 1990 and, in 1992, together with Adi Shaal, founded the Vertigo Dance Company, which is based in Jerusalem and in the Vertigo Eco Art Village in the Ella Valley where she lives with Shaal and their three sons.

Under the artistic direction of Wertheim, who is an Honorary Fellow of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, the internationally acclaimed Vertigo Dance Company has begun its third decade with an impressive repertoire of original works choreographed by Wertheim, whose distinct dance language inspires dance students and artists by encouraging interpersonal communication and community involvement.

Beyond her contribution to cultural life in Israel, Wertheim’s unique approach promotes social change by creating an artistic connection with the community and the environment, and this has been evident in the Vertigo Dance Education School, founded in Jerusalem in 1997, in the Vertigo Eco Art Village, founded in Kibbutz Netiv Halamed-Heh in 2007, and in The Power of Balance, a dance program for inclusion of the disabled.

PARDES

Choreographer: Noa Wertheim

‏Original Music: Itamar Doari

Assistant choreographer: Rina Wertheim-Koren

‏Lighting Design: Dani Fishof – Magenta

Stage Design: Zohar Shoef

Styling: Rosie Canaan

Performed by: Etai Peri, Sian Olles, Daniel Costa, Eden Ben Shimol,

Yarden Oz, Ruth Ben David, Ilan Golubovich / Theo Samsworth, Micah Amos

Company manager: Sandra Brown

Pardes was born at home. It is a work of art in which the body connects to its inner spiritual layers – to the insides of each human being/dancer, while being interwoven with a common tapestry.

Pardes The Hebrew word for “orchard” – originates from ancient Persian and means a garden of trees. The word has also penetrated to other languages – “Paradise”.

In Jewish mysticism, Pardes represents the first initials of four Hebrew words which refer to interpretative approaches of religious texts: Pshat (literal meaning); Remez (hinted meaning); Drash (interpretive meaning) and Sod (secret meaning).

The music for Pardes was created by international percussion artist Itamar Doari. The soundtrack was interwoven into the process of creating the choreography, was created and recorded in real time in the studio – and granted us a golden opportunity to work with one of the most important and prominent percussion artists in Israel and in the world.

www.vertigo.il