Hillel Kogan
THISISPAIN
Sat 3.8
20:30
90 Min
Dellal Hall
80-160₪
The Work
“Western” art has been flirting with the exotic image of Spain for centuries. In THISISPAIN, Hillel Kogan – a longtime choreographer and dancer in the contemporary dance scene – visits, as a tourist, the world of flamenco, and holds a poignant dialogue with Israeli flamenco artist, Michal Natan, around questions of national identity and artistic identity: what is Spanish and what is Israeli, what is European, what is folklore, and what is high art. All this, while casting doubt on the concept of identity in itself: in the spirit of the queer theory, which holds that identity is not an essence but rather a performance, Kogan seeks to perform Spanishness.
The performance will open with a new adaptation to the piece ‘Obscene Gesture’ (2011) – a homage to Pina Bausch.
The Artist
Contemporary choreographer Hillel Kogan (b.1974) operates at the crossroads of dance and performance. His award-winning works are performed on stages in Israel and around the world. He danced with companies in Israel, Portugal, and Switzerland. He created for companies in France, Portugal, Austria and in Israel – for the Batsheva Ensemble. He directed the “Curtain Up” Festival in 2015-2016. His works combine dance, text, and music into a multi-layered visual language that moves between implicit or explicit criticism of the art world, popular culture, and contemporary society. His works, saturated with sarcastic, reflexive humor, reveal dance as a political and social agent, as he uses his performances to critically observe the ideologies hidden under the veil of aesthetics and entertainment, the craft of the artist, and the complex power relations between art and its audience.
Photo: Elie Katz, Laetitia Boulud
THISISPAIN
Choreography: Hillel Kogan
Performers: Michal Natan and Hillel Kogan
Dramaturgy: Yael Venezia
Art Direction: Laetitia Boulud
Light Design: Nadav Barnea
Musical Advisor: Yael Horwitz
Music: Isaac Albéniz, Georges Bizet, Enrique El Extremeño, José Valencia
Teaser: Oren Mansura
This show premiered on the 9th of November 2022 as part of Curtain up Festival of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
This performance was created with support by Mifal HaPais Council for the Culture and Arts.
Obscene Gesture - the flamenco version
Choreography, Text and Performance: Hillel Kogan
Music: Yuval Kaufmann
Artistic Advisors: Adi Movdat, Yael Venezia, Mijal Natan
