Ofir Nahari: No(se)onenowhere

I love traditional clowning. I’ve mentioned in the past how much I lament that American culture has offhandedly rejected the art-form, with people who have never seen a real pantomime comedy performance declaring their disdain for it. Given that Atlanta happens to be in the United States, we don’t get terribly much clowning outside of circuses passing through, so I get pretty excited when I have the chance to see a clown in the classical tradition of clowning and pantomime perform. I regretted not being able to see Ofir Nahari’s No(se)onenowhere when it last ran at 7 Stages and, so, when I found out that they’d be bringing it back as part of the Exposed Festival, I took some time off to make sure that I’d be able to make it. Like many of you, I was feeling awful for most of the day and, I must say, going to this was the best medicine I could possibly have taken.
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Vertigo Dance Company: Vertigo 20

I only occasionally stay for artist talk-backs after any kind of performance. I particularly prefer to avoid them for dance. However, I ended up staying to hear Noa Wertheim, Vertigo Dance Company’s founder, artistic director, and the choreographer of this evening’s work, talk after the show at the Rialto Center for the Arts. I did so mainly because I was curious as to what the name of the piece was and if it meant anything. I didn’t know the name of the piece because the Rialto didn’t give us any program notes. There were a few mentions of her other works in the program but nothing about this one. This would be surprising if this weren’t the Rialto, a venue that doesn’t respond to email from subscribers and couldn’t start a show on time if they tried.
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Yossi Berg & Oded Graf Dance Theatre: Come Jump with Me

I apologize to everyone between Emory and my place in Virginia Highland: I should not have driven home right away after the performance that I attended tonight at the Schwartz Center Dance Studio that was part of the Exposed festival of dance and theater from Israel. I was stifling sobs by the end of “Come Jump With Me” by Yossi Berg & Oded Graf Dance Theatre, I was so moved by this duo’s work, performed by Yossi Berg and Olivia Court Mesa, about the social and emotional pains of life in Israel. I broke out in tears again on the brief drive home and am shaken to the point that all I can do is sit down and write about my experience. My apologies to my future self for not being able to go into more detail about the piece, but hopefully I’ll have enough to remember what touched me most.
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