The work

Shape On Us

Shape On Us is a composition for nine people with tremendous and beautiful physical diversity. The artistic process is based on a common understanding by the group of dancers – to tell the truth. This is translated through moments of stability and instability, risk-taking, tension and extreme relations, reality and imagination, support, loneliness, vulnerability and love – in a space that evolves from separate bodies and their personal stories to the creation of one body, a connected human tissue that is soft and comforting. The project creates an inverted world, one that is adapted and structured in the first place for all of us. A world that opens the curtains and invites the viewer to a curious and unapologetic look at the body, the movement, and the space between us.

 

This video is an excerpt of a full evening-length work.

THE ARTIST

The Vertigo Dance Association was founded in Jerusalem in 1992 by the couple Noa Wertheim and Adi Sha’al. The Vertigo Dance Company under the artistic direction of Noa Wertheim is an exceptional contemporary dance company that promotes the creation of art with a social, environmental and community statement, stemming from a commitment to in-depth research of human nature and our relationship with the environment. Vertigo celebrates 20 years since the establishment of the unique Power of Balance integrated dance project led by Hai Cohen and Tali Wertheim – dancers, creators and dance teachers. The performances, the workshops, the annual program and the teacher training of the Power of Balance are for dancers and participants with and without physical disabilities and are based on contact improvisation.

Sharon Fridman has been working with his company in Madrid, Spain since 2006. In Israel, he danced with the Ido Tadmor Dance Company, the Kibbutz Contemporary  Dance Company and the Vertigo Dance Company. Throughout his career he and his company have won various awards, including the Max Award for Best Dance Performance for 2015 and the Max Award for Best Choreography for 2019. Many international companies hold Sharon Fridman’s creations in their repertoire.

Credits

Choreography
Sharon Fridman
Artistic Consultant
Noa Wertheim
Creative Performers
Meitali Aharoni, Amir Ishar, Inbal Aloni, Shira Ben Uriel, Noam Ben Israel, Itamar Beck, Shmuel Dvir Cohen, Grisha Lev, Tomer Navot
CEO and Co-Artistic Director
Adi Sha’al
Power of Balance Co-Managers
Tali Wertheim and Hai Cohen
Original Music
Noam Helfer
Costume Design
Inbal Ben Zaken – Mizo
Light & Stage Design
Sharon Fridman / Dani Fishof – Magenta
Production Manager
Tamar Mayzlish
Rehearsal Manager
Rina Wertheim-Koren
Stage Manager
Sandra Brown
Technical Director
Dani Fishof – Magenta
Sound
Orgad Marciano
Lighting
Adam Rotblit
Stage
Ayam Dromi
Power of Balance Producer
Michal Goldfield-Sadot
Graphic Design
Dorit Talpaz
Video & Broadcasting
Chief Producer
Rotem Ben Hamo
Television Director
Mark Zhalkovsky
Technical Manager
Dan Tapuach Jaffe
Director
Eli Aviv
Video Editor
Dorit Talpaz
Assistant Director
Shai Baruch
Videographers
Aner Kamai, Yair Sabag, Alex Weisserman, Yona Kaplan
Technical Crew
Ronny Wittenberg, Uri Raveh, Matti Silver
Photos
Eldad Rafael, Yoel Levy

Support

The work was supported by a residency at Beit Ha'am Gderot, and financially supported by The Israel Festival, The Jerusalem Foundation and the Mifal Hapais Council for the Culture and Arts.