Indians, Israelis dance across time zones

Six artistes from both countries are bridging communication gaps through a contemporary dance performace using Skype  
Indians, Israelis dance across time zones

BENGALURU: It’s ironic that even with so much communication technology, conversations between people have ceased. The 14th Dalai Lama in the poem Paradox Of Our Age said, “We built more computers to hold more copies than ever, but have less real communication.”

To defy the boundaries and barriers of communication, dancers in Bengaluru and Bat Yam, Israel, will be performing a dance duet simultaneously over Skype. The performance, called the ‘End of the wall’, will be a synchronized contemporary dance done by six dancers in Israel and India. Over Skype, the performance will be projected on a wall in both cities, where audiences will be able to watch the other country’s dancers. In between, music from Noah’s Ark will be playing, and there will be dialogues also being played.

“Two stages in two different countries will become one,” says Atalya Baumer, choreographer of the performance. Atalya is from Israel and is currently a dance teacher in the city. “The idea behind the performance is to show similarities between people across the world. We may speak different languages and look different, but we all understand love, laughter and frustration,” she adds.

Practice has been going on since October. After three weeks of intense practice, a performance was done last year. However, shortly after, practise resumed for the July 13 performance.
Tamar Mayzlish, a dancer from Israel, returned home from Bengaluru after the performance last October, and that’s when she thought of the Skype call performance. “Out of the seven of us, five have met. It was interesting to see how communication can be built with technologies,” says Tamar, who will be dancing in Israel.

The challenges of working long distance are almost the same as the challenges you face when rehearsing in close proximity, believes Tamar, who says that fixing suitable timings and dates were the initial challenges. “Our performers in India are dancing till almost midnight” she says.
“The idea is not to demolish walls, but to create a window from which to peak from and communicate,” adds Tamar. Performers from both  countries will share their personal stories.

Atalya does share few concerns because there are possibilities of things going wrong.  “There are chances of a technological glitch or WiFi not working, but we are prepared,” she says.

An hour’s performance will be held at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore on July 13. There are two shows, one at 8.30pm and another one at 11pm. Since the time gap between two countries is 2-and-a-half hours, the event in Israel will be held at 6pm and 8.30pm, respectively at Kelim Centre, Bat Yam.

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