March 17, 2004

Israeli Choreographer Presents Work-in-Progress at MASS MoCA

(North Adams, Mass.) After a week-long residency, ZviDance will present a showing of Zvi Gotheiner’s latest work-in-progress, Territories, a dance-theater performance exploring the connection between the land and the people who inhabit it. The performance will take place at MASS MoCA on Friday, April 16, at 7:30 P.M. The work will premiere in its final form at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival this August.

The dance is set against a musical soundscape consisting of a collage Middle Eastern songs combined with new music written by composer Scott Killian. “Gotheiner is one of those rare choreographers who is able to convey human dilemma and aspiration through movement and form,” according to The Village Voice, which went on to say, “Gotheiner’s what people in the field refer to informally as a ‘real choreographer’.”

“Coming from a place that has been ravaged by territorial conflicts from the beginning of time, I was always aware of the connection between a land and the identities of people as groups, and individuals,” according to Zvi Gotheiner. “Although, living today in a ‘global village’ that seems fluid, I feel that we still shape our realities according to archaic subconscious currents that take their power from the tribal sense of connection to the land. My work, Territories, will explore issues of that dilemma.”

Territories uses space and the division of space to further narrative action. The stage is divided to create borders and definitions of “places” from which the themes of power, aggression, possession, and group identity spring forth. Different groupings from duets and trios to large ensembles explore conflict, yearning, and the sense of belonging. Some of it takes shape as competitions, games, and rituals.

Born and raised in Israel, Zvi Gotheiner was already a solo violinist and concertmaster at age 15 when he turned his musical talents to dance. He formed his first performance group at 17. In 1978 he came to New York City on a dance scholarship and went on to dance with the Joyce Trisler and Bat-Sheva dance companies and the Feld Ballets/NY. After directing Tamar Ramle, and the Jerusalem Tamar Dance Companies in Israel and the Israeli Chamber Dance Company in New York, he founded Zvi Gotheiner & Dancers in 1989. Gotheiner has garnered numerous awards including a New York Foundation for the Arts choreography fellowship and The National Arts Club Weiselberg Award.

Backstage described one ZviDance performance as having “moments of infinite beauty.” A ten-member dance company, ZviDance has been critically acclaimed for performances at The Kitchen, The Joyce Theater, Joyce Soho, the Fiorello Festival, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, and Central Park’s SummerStage among others. Their international performances include The International Kulturufer Festival in Germany, The Posthof Theater Series in Linz, Austria and as part of the Theater X Series in Tokyo, Japan.

The residency and work-in-progress showing are funded in part by the Bari Lipp Initiative for Dance and the National Endowment for Arts.

Tickets to the work-in-progress showing of Zvi Gotheiner: Territories are $7. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located on Marshall Street in North Adams from 11 A.M. until 5 P.M. every day but Tuesday. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or online at www.massmoca.org at any time of day.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located off Marshall St. in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org