The legendary Neve Tzedek institution is coming back to life with a packed April program inviting Tel Aviv audiences back into its theaters. From exposed intimacy in the studio and works reflecting a tense reality to an origami performance for children, here is what awaits on Yechieli Street this month.
The Suzanne Dellal Centre has announced its return to full activity with a refreshed April repertoire and a clear aim: to pull audiences away from their screens and back into theater seats. The new program offers an engaging mix of contemporary dance, intimate performances in the center’s studios and a high-quality cultural option for children.
Here is a look at some of the month’s standout performances:
Rachel Erdos’s Test of Intimacy Choreographer Rachel Erdos will open the month with an unusual dance encounter titled “Q&A – Intimacy in 36 Questions” (18.4 | 20:00 | Ora Studio). The work draws inspiration from psychologist Arthur Aron’s well-known study exploring how a series of personal questions can create closeness between complete strangers. On stage, four dancers reveal personal layers through movement and speech, moving along the boundary between a dance performance and a live human encounter about vulnerability and openness.
A Charged Reality and Thick Smoke The following day, Lior Tavori Dance Company will present “CRUST” (19.4 | 20:30 | Dellal Hall). Tavori, one of the leading voices of his generation in Israel and an artist who also works successfully in Europe and Asia, presents a direct, physical work reflecting a complex contemporary reality. The piece moves between closeness and disconnection, using powerful imagery to examine the boundaries of territory, control and desire.
A Saturday of Dance for Children and Adults On April 25, the center will offer a double program for the whole family:
- Morning (11:00, Zehava and Jacques Studio): the children’s show “Amit and Itai Travel Far Away” by Rachel Erdos, for ages 5-11. Created with performers and artists Ori Lenkinski and Tomer Giat, the work builds a rich world of journeys and adventures combining movement, song, origami games and a musical collage of Israeli classics.
- Evening (19:30, Ora Studio): creator Yehuda Dromi will present “Experiments Are Recorded in the Body,” an evening of works comprising a solo, duet and trio. The pieces explore the body as material and ask questions about identity and image, focusing on a charged encounter between two men that tests the boundaries of power, closeness and surrender.
A Journey Through Time: A Quarter-Century Later Acclaimed choreographer Noa Dar will close the month by returning to her 2000 work “Strange” in the updated version “Strange at 26” (30.4 | 20:30 | Ora Studio). In an intriguing move, Dar revisits material created 25 years earlier, with original dancer Michal Mualem returning to perform it. The work addresses the audience’s viewing experience in real time and offers a moving reflection on the effect of passing time and the role of the dancer, who brings movement to life and creates the dance itself.
For the full performance schedule, further information and tickets, visit the Suzanne Dellal Centre website.
