With the new secular year just in, many of us have stopped to take a look back at our past accomplishments. For choreographer Noa Wertheim, 2011 is both a year of creation and a year of retrospection. Her troupe, Vertigo Dance Company, which she runs with her life partner Adi Sha\u2019al, is currently performing several of Wertheim\u2019s choreographies around the country.<\/p>\n
And at the same time, they are busy in the studio, developing new ideas.<\/p>\n
This month, Wertheim has revived Vertigo and the Diamonds. The piece was premiered six years ago and is a collaboration of Sha\u2019al, Wertheim, composer Ran Bagno and the rock group The Diamonds. In the coming season, the company will perform Vertigo and The Diamonds nationwide.<\/p>\n
In the past half decade, all parties involved have undergone major changes. The musicians playing with The Diamonds have left and been replaced, much like the dancers of Vertigo. Nevertheless, the show remains true to its original form, explained Wertheim in a recent interview with The Jerusalem Post.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most extreme element of Vertigo\u2019s evolution since the creative process for this piece is their relocation to Kibbutz Nativ Halamed Hey. Moving toward a more ecological lifestyle, Sha\u2019al and Wertheim transferred a large part of the company\u2019s activities from their Jerusalem studio to their large, open workspace some 30 minutes south of the city. There, the dancers use ecological toilets, drink rainwater and rehearse within four mud walls.<\/p>\n
Although their surroundings seem to have gotten softer in some ways, Wertheim\u2019s work has taken a turn for the morose. Both of Wertheim\u2019s most recent pieces, White Noise and Mana, have had an intensity and seriousness that is new to her. Trading the vibrant red costumes of Birth of the Phoenix for black robes designed by Rakefet Levy for Mana, the atmosphere on stage has gone dark.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past few years I have made heavier and heavier pieces,\u201d said Wertheim. \u201cTo go back to The Diamonds was a celebration for me and for the dancers. Every time they start dancing, there is this joy emanating from their bodies.\u201d Vertigo and The Diamonds is a theatrical work that touches on relationships, jealousy and the need for attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe piece touches on all the senses and, most of all, it is fun. I think that is hard to achieve in modern dance, fun,\u201d Wertheim went on. \u201cIt\u2019s also great fun to perform with live musicians. For the dancers, working with live musicians is one of the most inspiring things.\u201d<\/p>\n