Mana
choreography: Noa Wertheim
choreographer’s assistant: Rina Wertheim-Koren
original music: Ran Bagno
lighting design: Dan Fishof - Magenta
costume design: Sasson Kedem
stage design: Zohar Shoef
set painting: Moran Gross
stage design realization: Dani Goldenberg - Vertigo Eco Art Village
dancers, creators: Etai Peri, Micah Amos, Eden Ben-Shimol, Ilan Golubovich, Ruth Ben David, Noa Israely, Tommaso Zuchegna, Alma Karvat Shemesh, Eshed Weissman
duration: 55’
premiere: Suzanne Dellal Center, Tel Aviv, 2019 and 2023
“What is repaired first, vessel or light”
Is the sun’s desire to fulfill the absence of the moon’s light, or rather is it her lack of light that gives rise to a vessel of innovation?” (based on Zohar). “Mana” is a vessel of light; Wertheim seeks to examine the space present in the breath, between inside and outside, between the desire to fly and the desire to return home. And to connect to earth. “Mana” aims to convey its light and contribute to healing. Wertheim brings to the stage a unique spiral movement that gains energetic momentum…
Noa Wertheim, the artistic director and choreographer of the Vertigo Dance Company, was born in the United States in 1965 and grew up in Israel where she first studied dance in Netanya. After three years of military service in the developing town of Yeruham, Wertheim completed her dance studies at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in 1990 and, in 1992, together with Adi Shaal, founded the Vertigo Dance Company in Jerusalem and later created the Vertigo Eco Art Village in the Ella Valley where they live with their three sons. Under the artistic direction of Wertheim, who is an Honorary Fellow of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, the internationally acclaimed Vertigo Dance Company has begun its third decade with an impressive repertoire of original works, whose distinct dance language inspires audience and complete community.
The Vertigo was founded in 1992 by Noa Wertheim and Adi Shaal, it marks an inspiring creativity incorporating Art, Humanity and Nature. The company has established a distinct presence in the contemporary dance scene in Israel and around the globe. Vertigo Dance Company is one of the four largest and leading dance companies in Israel, and is endlessly invited to perform within the most prestigious International festivals and well known theaters around the Globe. The Company has become a worldwide Ambassador for Israeli Art. Through Noa Wertheim's unique artistic creative expression and movement, Vertigo is committed to expanding the boundaries of dance to raise social and environmental awareness. The company was successfully presented at the Belgrade Dance Festival, with the work “One, One and One” by Noa Wertheim.
“Mana” is adorned with a strong, current context, as poetic as it is, delivered without the need to say more than what is understood by all. Perhaps this is evidence that in good art there is a kernel of truth that withstands the changes of time and sometimes even prophesies them and contains them, while above all stands a tangible solitude that empowers the beauty of things. Solitude that demands attention sharpens things. It brings to mind the same poetic yet immediate command of Oscar Wilde: “we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars”.
© Hamevakeret
To perceive light, one needs to emerge from darkness. That is part of the message sent by Vertigo Dance Company, from stage. Yet in “Mana,” an evening-length piece, the Israeli ensemble is laying out much more. The title is Aramaic for “vessel of light.” The shadowy work is an explosive study of contradictions, exploring the contrasts of not only light and dark, but also yin and yang, ancient and modern, violence and peace. And Vertigo dances it with a fierce commitment… This contemporary dance ensemble is one of the great ones to spring from Israel. Like many from that country, the dancers thrive on a raw, frightening honesty impossible to turn away from. And in “Mana,” choreographed by Noa Wertheim, this group of 10 is daring, dashing and marvelous.
© Daily Gazette Newspaper
