Swiria

By Orly Portal

60 Minutes

48 Hours

35₪

“20 years of dance and Russian discipline could not straighten my sagging shoulders”.

These words, spoken in her father’s tongue, Moroccan Darija, open the new piece created by choreographer Orly Portal, taking us on a magical journey between the old port city of Essaouira and the new world.

Dancers, the women circle, portray a unique interlocking of both tenderness and strength where each muscle is ever-present, masterfully producing melodic phrases, which naturally correlate with the music of Gnawa spiritual rituals as well as the beat of Gil Scott-Heron’s spoken-word poetry.

In the gap between one R’bina to the next, the song of the heart is released from the diaphragm to the extremities, and as if breaking the fourth wall there is a sense of a trance-formation all around.

A pause.

“Emptying my soul to dance in the space created, for now.”

Orly Portal, is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, movement and voice therapist, and researcher of Moroccan folklore. She has developed a unique dance language that focuses on the body’s natural movement and gestures that respect physical and mental structures. Her creative path highlights contemporary interpretation of ancient traditions and combines elements of contemporary modern dance, contact improvisation, Feldenkrais and belly dancing.

Choreography
Orly Portal
Dancers
Orly Portal, Ella Greenbaum, Keren Zohar, Roni Shachar, Ortal Atzbaha, Michal Inbar, Yael Halfon
Music
A compilation of Gnawa music, spoken-word poetry by Gil Scott-Heron, and contemporary Moroccan and electronic music, including
Alla by Nass Marrakech, La Ilah Il AIlah by Hamid El Kasri, On Coming from a Broken Home (1); Me and the Devil; I'm New Here; Ur Soul and Mine; Parents; Where Did The Night Go; I Was Guided; New York Is Killing Me; Running; The Crutch; I've Been Me (Interlude); On Coming from a Broken Home (2) by Gil Scott-Heron
Music Production & Arrangement
Nadav Barnea
Video Animation
Yoav Brill
Lighting Design
Nadav Barnea
Costume Design
Anna Krushcheva

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