Letter from Tel Aviv, a cultural delight

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

While arts festivals are in full swing throughout Europe, culture also amps up during the sweltering summer months in Israel. The size of New Jersey, this hot-button country of 7 million-plus is in full
celebratory mode, mounting opera in the park (from La Scala, no less) and an all-Hebrew production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ and reveling in the 100-year anniversary of Tel Aviv.

Strolling Tel Aviv’s tree-lined Avenue Rothschild, taking in the numerous Bauhaus buildings -- about 4,000 dot the city -- I make my way past bustling cafes and a surprising outdoor sushi bar to the
architecturally superb Suzanne Dellal Center, currently celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Located in the heart of Neve Tzedek, a historic district with a mix of artists and intellectuals and where real estate, alas, is king, the Ottoman complex houses the world-famous Batsheva Dance Company. Directed by cutting-edge choreographer Ohad Naharin, 57, an Israel native, who recently sent his second company to Rwanda to open a children’s school, the troupe unveiled his latest piece, “Hora.”

Having nothing whatsoever to do with the traditional folk dance (and no, the hora is not a staple at weddings here), the 50-minute work is a mash-up of irony and imagery: A theremin-like “Afternoon of a Faun” accompanies Nijinsky-esque arm gestures, 11 dancers execute alarmingly precise unisons, and hard-core technique yields balancing poses to die for.

The piece was part of the 13th annual Maholohet (‘Hot Dance”) festival, six weeks featuring 76 performances, including 11 Israeli premieres. Naharin’s opus, and his troupe, seem to embody the Tel Aviv spirit, one of gritty, risk-taking resilience. This is something, I figure, that deserves to be feted with a glass of Israeli wine.

Heading for the rocking, revitalized port, I realize this is the perfect transition to the Sabbath. The religious ritual begins Friday about 3 p.m., when shops close and public transportation nearly grinds to a halt (and the nonobservant can easily snag a parking place to catch the opening of “Brüno”), and continues until sundown Saturday.

All the better, then, to walk the streets, breathing in the fragrant foliage of this enigmatic Mediterranean city. Shalom!

-- Victoria Looseleaf in Tel Aviv

Related: Review: Batsheva Dance Company at Royce Hall