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Episode 1

Breaking the Wall

Israeliness and canon in Ohad Naharin's ׳Kyr׳ (wall in Hebrew) (1990)Batsheva Dance Company
עברית

In the first episode of Creatures of Dance, we go back to 1990 and to Ohad Naharin’s groundbreaking creation Kyr (‘Wall’), made for the Batsheva Dance Company. Through interviews with collaborators, dance scholars, musicians, educators, and cultural figures, we explore how this work transformed perceptions of the dancing body, reshaped the language of local dance, and influenced the making of Israel’s cultural dance canon. The episode traces historical, political, and artistic contexts—from the legacy of Israeli folk dance and the choreography of Echad Mi Yodea, ("Who Knows One?") which became an embodied canonical symbol of Israeli identity, to political interpretations of Israel’s Jubilee Bells event and moments of protest around freedom of expression.

Breaking the Wallplay episod
00:00 / 01:04

With

Dina Aldor Executive Director, Batsheva Dance Company

Naomi Bloch Fortis co-artistic director and Executive Director at Batsheva Dance Company until 2009 and Art Manager at the Jerusalem Season of Culture/MEKUDESHET

Avi Belleli musician & producer. Member of the rock band Nikmat Hatraktor (Traktor Revenge)

Tomer Heymann director and producer of documentary film, director of "Mr. Gaga" (2015)

Avner Hofstein Investigative reporter at the online newspaper The Times of Israel and a lecturer in Media and Communication studies

Prof. Edna Lomsky-Feder sociologist at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the School of Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Talia Paz a Batsheva dancer (1987-1990) participated in Kyr (1990). Artistic Director of the School of the Arts of Dance at Seminar HaKibbutzim College in Tel Aviv

Yair Vardi founder and CEO of the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv (1987- 2019)

​​

Translation from Hebrew

Michal Shalev

 

Music

“Echad Mi Yodea” Nikmat Hatraktor (Traktor Revenge) and Ohad Naharin from 'Kyr' (1990)

Instrumental excerpt from 'Kyr' (1990) courtesy of Bathsheva Dance Company

“Echad Mi Yodea” a traditional tune from the Passover Haggadah, the Malka family here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_FSfJ0xXIM

“Osher”, lyrics by Avraham Broshi music by Sam Simli performed by Fredi Dora from the album “Artzenu H’aketantonet - Songs of the 50s”.

'Hataklit'

 

Links

http://archive.batsheva.co.il/ ⏤ Batsheva Dance Company Archive

Program of Kyr (1990)courtesy of Batsheva Dance Company and the Israeli Dance Archive at Beit Ariela, Tel Aviv

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Creatures of Dance:

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A Podcast on contemporary Dance in Israel - Dr. Yael (yali) Nativ and Iris Lana

Episode 1

Breaking the Wall

Israeliness and canon in Ohad Naharin's ׳Kyr׳ (wall in Hebrew) (1990)
Batsheva Dance Company
Screenshot 2025-03-11 at 9.58_edited.png

In the first episode of Creatures of Dance, we go back to 1990 and to Ohad Naharin’s groundbreaking creation Kyr (‘Wall’), made for the Batsheva Dance Company. Through interviews with collaborators, dance scholars, musicians, educators, and cultural figures, we explore how this work transformed perceptions of the dancing body, reshaped the language of local dance, and influenced the making of Israel’s cultural dance canon. The episode traces historical, political, and artistic contexts—from the legacy of Israeli folk dance and the choreography of Echad Mi Yodea, ("Who Knows One?") which became an embodied canonical symbol of Israeli identity, to political interpretations of Israel’s Jubilee Bells event and moments of protest around freedom of expression.

Breaking the Wallplay episod

With

Dina Aldor Executive Director, Batsheva Dance Company

Naomi Bloch Fortis co-artistic director and Executive Director at Batsheva Dance Company until 2009 and Art Manager at the Jerusalem Season of Culture/MEKUDESHET

Avi Belleli musician & producer. Member of the rock band Nikmat Hatraktor (Traktor Revenge)

Tomer Heymann director and producer of documentary film, director of "Mr. Gaga" (2015)

Avner Hofstein Investigative reporter at the online newspaper The Times of Israel and a lecturer in Media and Communication studies

Prof. Edna Lomsky-Feder sociologist at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the School of Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Talia Paz a Batsheva dancer (1987-1990) participated in Kyr (1990). Artistic Director of the School of the Arts of Dance at Seminar HaKibbutzim College in Tel Aviv

Yair Vardi founder and CEO of the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv (1987- 2019)

​​

Translation from Hebrew

Michal Shalev

 

Music

“Echad Mi Yodea” Nikmat Hatraktor (Traktor Revenge) and Ohad Naharin from 'Kyr' (1990)

Instrumental excerpt from 'Kyr' (1990) courtesy of Bathsheva Dance Company

“Echad Mi Yodea” a traditional tune from the Passover Haggadah, the Malka family here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_FSfJ0xXIM

“Osher”, lyrics by Avraham Broshi music by Sam Simli performed by Fredi Dora from the album “Artzenu H’aketantonet - Songs of the 50s”.

'Hataklit'

 

Links

http://archive.batsheva.co.il/ ⏤ Batsheva Dance Company Archive

Program of Kyr (1990)
courtesy of Batsheva Dance Company and
the Israeli Dance Archive at Beit Ariela, Tel Aviv

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