Adi Boutrous
Fall

Fall by Adi Boutrous dictates the timing and atmosphere in which the performance takes place: When daylight gradually turns into darkness and the day turns into night. Thirteen dancers embody a series of living images inspired by iconic images, most notably the Odessa Steps, as immortalized in Sergei Eisenstein’s film – Battleship Potemkin. Boutros distances testimony to another time and place, to a film from 1925 based on events in 1905, and to the cinematic staircase scene that has left a mark on collective cultural memory as an unforgettable scene of violence, fear, chaos, and loss of control. A different tragedy, distant in time and place.

Adi Boutrous’s works have been characterized over the years by gestures of falling, grasping, and leaning, with movement phrases involving carrying and supporting – occurrences based on mutual trust and commitment between the dancers. Fall is, in some ways, a lament for these values. The beautiful sunset serves as a metaphorical backdrop for the decline of civilization and values, for the decline of faith in the human spirit. The solace perhaps comes from the music: a classical guitar from Paraguay or music from the rainforests of Colombia, connecting to a range of sources that cross borders and cultures.

Fall will be performed twice on the steps. As with performance works, especially those adapted to space and time, it will remain etched in the memory of those who witness it and may gain new life in the imagination of those who do not. Memory and imagination will try to revive what happened in the fresh air of a summer evening, with the daylight fading gradually, and the first lights coming on Neve Tzedek, between voices from Jaffa and Tel Aviv.