“Dance troupe Vertigo, musician Itamar Doari collaborate on piece”. By Jessica Steinberg 

‘Premiere 24’ evokes the current difficult reality in Israel, bringing audiences into the modern dance experience

 

The Vertigo dance troupe and musician Itamar Douari collaborated on a new piece, 'Premiere 24,' premiering in June 2024. (Courtesy)

The Vertigo dance troupe and musician Itamar Douari collaborated on a new piece, ‘Premiere 24,’ premiering in June 2024. (Courtesy)

Dance troupe Vertigo and musician Itamar Doari have collaborated on “Premiere 24,” a new performance piece that brings the audience in as a partner in the creative process.

The one-off show, with choreographies from Vertigo founders Noa Wertheim and Rina Wertheim-Koren, includes familiar patterns and structured dance from the troupe as well as free and improvised creation, with the aim of understanding where inspiration springs from, including music and the movements of the body.

The aim is to offer moments of compassion, hope and connection in the current Israeli reality of uncertainty and chaos, said the creators.

“By watching the show, the audience becomes a partner in the creative process of the piece,” said Wertheim, Wertheim-Koren and Doari in a statement.

During the performance, the audience sits in a circle, experiencing the dance and music as part of the show.

The piece was formed from a desire to follow the movement of the heart as it contracts and expands, explained the creators, as well as the movement of the eyes as they close and open wide again. During parts of the piece, the dancers will react to what they’re seeing and hearing in the audience and music.

“When everything is noisy outside, the movement of the dancers shoots for an anchor to hold on to between pain and prayer, and between rising and falling,” they said.

The piece will be performed seven times at the end of June and beginning of July, primarily in Vertigo Village in Netiv Halamed-Heh and with a one-time performance in Zichron Yaakov.