THE 2009 INTERNATIONAL TEL AVIV DANCE FESTIVAL

13 October 2009

THE 2009 INTERNATIONAL TEL AVIV DANCE FESTIVAL
16 OCTOBER – 13 NOVEMBER 2009

The 2009 International Tel Aviv Dance Festival will take place for the third consecutive year in the city from 16 October – 13 November 2009. The city of Tel Aviv, now at the end of the centennial year celebrations, is renowned for its rich cultural scene, especially in the world of dance. The festival will showcase over 200 dancers in 34 different productions ranging from ethnic and modern to classic and flamenco. The 16 participating dance companies come from Israel, USA, Spain, Holland, China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Australia.

Within the framework of The Chinese Experience, a month long tribute to Chinese culture in Israel on the occasion of 60 years of the Chinese Republic and Tel Aviv’s centennial, several Far Eastern dance companies will perform: the 100 strong China Disabled People’s Performing Arts Troupe (17-18 October), the Beijing Modern Dance Company (22-23 October in Tel Aviv; 24 Oct in Haifa) and Shang Chi-Sun from Taiwan in a dance duet (24-25 Oct).

Ohad Naharin, the internationally-acclaimed Artistic Director of the Tel-Aviv based Batsheva Dance Company, will stage two productions: Hora, with eleven dancers always on stage (27 Oct) and Mamootot, one of Batsheva;s most unique and ground-breaking pieces first created in 2003 (31 Oct and 1-4 Nov). Following the success of his premier Monger at last year’s Tel Aviv Dance, choreographer Barak Marshall will premier his dance-theater piece for 12 dancers entitled Rooster at the Suzanne Dellal Center on 12-13 November.

The Ballet Nacional de Espana will perform La Leyanda/Aires de Villa Y Corte – a homage to Spain’s rich dance and musical heritage – on 3-7 November. Japan, Israel and Spain come together on stage in a joint production on 7 November premiere. The Hubbard Street Dance Chicago company, one of the most original forces in American contemporary dance, will perform a production with 22 dancers (28,29,31 Oct).

The full production list appears on the websites: http://www.suzannedellal.org.il/ and http://www.israel-opera.co.il/

The festival, a joint initiative of the Suzanne Dellal Center, the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center and the Tel Aviv Municipality, also includes dance workshops and master classes under the direction of visiting artistes and dancers and with the participation of dancers from dance schools around the country. The performances will be concentrated in two cultural venues in Tel Aviv-Jaffa: the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv's Neve Tzedek neighborhood and the Opera House – Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center, and two venues in Haifa: Rappaport House and the Krieger Center.