Roy Assaf | Gornisht – For the Whole Family
Suitable for ages 5 and up
Gornisht exists on a playing field where the rules bend between expecting to understand what is seen and heard, and removing that expectation altogether. It is a personal essay on the multitude of possibilities that exist in not knowing, in getting lost, in wandering without destination, and in encountering and interpreting the unfamiliar.
Roy Assaf is a mammal of the hominid family, belonging to the species Homo sapiens, although there are those who are convinced he possesses Neanderthal genes. He was born in 1982 in the rural community of Sde Moshe in a place that some call Israel, and some call Palestine. He broke his front tooth at the age of five while dancing on the slippery floor of his family home. At age six, he began giving tap concerts for his neighbor, who watched him dance on his concrete balcony from her window across the yard. From 1990 to 1996 he began creating and performing his own dances for monthly family gatherings in Jerusalem. At the age of 16 he met Regba Gilboa, an educator, dance lover, and believer in people who rooted in Roy the confidence that dance is where he belongs. Two years later Roy was drafted into the Israel Defence Forces, where with a vest, helmet and a rifle on his shoulder he danced through his 8-hour checkpoint shifts. In 2004, he met Emanuel Gat who introduced him to Schubert and for whom he wore his first dress.
In 2010, after three years in France, he came back to the place that some call Israel and some call Palestine. And after one year of idleness, he gathered the courage to make a dance… after which he created another one and another… and another… and continues to this day.
Choreography, stage and costume: Roy Assaf
Artistic Associate: Ariel Freedman
Dancers: Avshalom Latucha, Avidan Ben Giat, Ella Gill, Gary Reagan, Gilly Geva, Inbar Buchbinder, Romi Cohen, Naomi Ben David, Tal Adler Arieli, Tomer Giat
Light Design: Yair Vardi
Set: Studio Wid
Music Production & Editing: Reut Yehudai
Singing: Reut Yehudai & Osnat Harel
Music: Yamasuki/ Aisere I Love You, Kim Jung Mi/ Haenim, The Beach Boys/ Barbara Ann, Britney Spears/ …Baby One More Time, Madonna/ Express Yourself, The Doors/ Touch Me, Gnarls Barkley/ Crazy, Beyonce/ Crazy In Love, Nat King Cole/ L-O-V-E, Whitney Houston/ I Will Always Love You, The Tokens/ The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Queen/Don’t Stop Me Now, Jennifer Warnes, Bill Medley/ (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life, Joe Cocker/ You Are So Beautiful, Michael Jackson/ Dangerous, The Turtles/ Happy Together, Mina/ Ta-ra-ta-ta, Queen/ We Are the Champions, Salt-N-Pepa / Push It, R. Kelly / I Believe I Can Fly
Stage manager: Roni Argaman
Gornisht’s origins are in the work Nothing which was created for TanzMainz and premiered in November 2018. Deepest gratitude to TanzMainz dancers Eliana Stragapede, Daria Hlinkina, Jorge Soler Bastida, Benoît Couchot, Mattia de Salve, Cornelius Mickel, Nora Monsecour, Tijana Prendovic, Marija Slavec, Matti Tauru, Louis Thuriot, John Wannehag, and Madeline Harms, who were part of making Nothing.
Photo: Eli katz