Turning a Byzantine well near Arad into a dance stage
The current cast of “Perforated Earth” includes 14 performers and three musicians.
By ORI J. LENKINSKIWORK NEAR THE Byzantine well in the desert 10 minutes from Arad – the site of ‘Perforated Earth.’(photo credit: DAN PRABROF)
‘The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the Universe. To match your nature with Nature.”This quote by American Prof. Joseph Campbell guides choreographer and performer Iris Nais in her life and work. And so, when she arrived at the site of her newest creation, a Byzantine well in the desert 10 minutes from Arad, she took some moments to synchronize her presence with her surroundings.“The wells, which are all over the region, were dug to gather rainwater and were used to feed all of the residents of the area, humans and animals alike. It was a meeting point, a key spot in their existence,” she explains over the phone, ahead of the debut of her latest work, “Perforated Earth,” Friday (June 5).Nais, 51, is a veteran choreographer, performer and educator. She has created site-specific works throughout Israel, absorbing and conveying the natural world through choreographic interventions. Her last work, “Circle of Creation,” took place around a tree in the Botanical Garden in Kfar Monash. The participating musicians and dancers gathered with Nais to explore this location and finally, to invite audiences to observe their actions in the space.She arrived in Arad at the behest of the directors of the Arad Contemporary Art Center. The performance was meant to ring in the opening of the “Common Views: Sourcing Water” exhibition, whose opening date coincided with the beginning of the corona lockdowns.“It was just in that unclear period. We didn’t know if it would happen or not and, of course, it was postponed. I was very happy to discover that everyone who was part of this – it is a very big production – was willing to reassemble,” says Nais.The current cast of “Perforated Earth” includes 14 performers and three musicians.“In the type of work I do, the artists who arrive in the space are not all necessarily professional dancers. Some of them are people whose connection to movement comes from different spaces and they take part in workshops that I teach about creation in connection with nature and development processes.”Aside from her group, Nais was thrilled to participate in “Common Views,” as it was led by artists she admires and respects.“This project was championed by the gallery, directed by Oran Amit. My drive to participate in this multi-dimensional project had a lot to do with the leadership of artists Dan Farberoff and David Behar Perahia and curator Irit Carmon Popper.”As part of her preparation for this creation, Nais researched the history of these watering holes.“In the biblical era, when they weren’t full, they were used as prisons. I can’t explain it in words, but that fact gives a very strong feeling to the space. Today, the well we are working with is not functional. The closure eroded and the well can’t contain water, the water is soaked into the surrounding earth. I wish that these wells would come back to use following this action.”The performance will span a little over an hour and only truly came to life on Thursday, when the artists gathered for the first time in the location.“The way in which I create is in leading the performers to actions in which they are invited to blend with the space and to navigate their expression through their experience of the place. I ask the performers to touch on the deep wells of creation that exist in each one of them in this deep connection to the place, which is also soaked with ancient secrets. It’s a very strong energetic space. The gift of the coming together that I am hosting is the ability to go higher, wider and deeper than is possible otherwise,” she says.Perforated Earth will be a one-time performance today, June 5, at 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.acacarad.org.
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