The Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre ( he, מרכז סוזן דלל למחול ולתיאטרון) is a centre for dance in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, located in

Neve Tzedek Neve Tzedek ( he, נְוֵה צֶדֶק, נווה צדק, ''lit.'' Abode of Justice) is a neighborhood located in southwestern Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the first Judaism, Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the old city of the ancient port of ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Goals and significance

The Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre presents Israeli and international contemporary dance companies. Established in 1989, the mission of the Suzanne Dellal Centre is to cultivate, support and promote the art of contemporary dance in Israel. The Centre pursues this mission by offering diverse performances, events, festivals, and workshops from the worlds of contemporary dance, theatre and performing arts. The Suzanne Dellal Centre has two primary goals: to create world-class dance productions and engaging educational activities; and to facilitate high-quality presentation of Israeli and international choreographers. In 2010 the Suzanne Dellal Centre was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

, the country's highest cultural honour.

Resident ensembles

The Centre is home to three ensembles: *the Batsheva Dance Company * Inbal Dance Theatre *the Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak Dance Company

Location

The Centre is located in the centre of historic

, the first neighbourhood of

, located south of the Yemenite Quarter, near the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

coast.

History

The Centre was established in 1989 by the Dellal Family of

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, in honour of their daughter Suzanne, as well as the Municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo, the Tel Aviv Foundation, and the Israeli Ministry of Culture and Education. Yair Vardi was selected to lead the Centre's vision and remains the Director to this day.

Buildings

Three late-19th century school buildings, designated for preservation, were reconstructed and restored to create the performing arts centre, which was intended to give a home to contemporary dance in Israel and rejuvenate the neighborhood. The original compound held the Yechiely Girls School and the Alliance School for Boys. In 1913, Seminar Lewinsky, Tel Aviv's first teaching academy, was founded nearby. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

much of Neve Tzedek was left to decay.

Reconstruction (1980s)

In 1986 a plan was formed to revitalise the neighbourhood and rehabilitate the compound to build the Suzanne Dellal Centre, a dance centre the likes of which had not been seen in Israel. Most of the buildings were empty and in derelict condition and the Lewinsky Seminar building had collapsed. The Girls School was empty except for a theatre group run by

Oded Kotler Oded Kotler ( he, עודד קוטלר; born 5 May 1937) is an Israeli actor and theatre director. He is best known for his role in the film '' Three Days and a Child'' (1967), for which he received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor ...

and Miki Yerushalmi operating out of the second floor. In between these the buildings ran Yechieli Street. In the "backyard" was a small building where the Inbal Dance Company, founded by

Sara Levi-Tanai Sara Levi-Tanai ( he, שרה לוי-תנאי; c. 1910 – 3 October 2005) was an Israeli choreographer and song writer. She was the founder and artistic director of the Inbal Dance Theater and recipient of the Israel Prize in dance. Prizes and ...

, would practice. The intention of the construction was to preserve as much of the original buildings as possible. The main building's the façade was reinforced, the internal walls demolished and redesigned according to the needs of the future theatre. Other buildings were preserved or rebuilt as a copy of the originals. The building intended for the Batsheva Dance Company, located across from the well, is a new building, but its design was intended to create a continuation of the surrounding buildings. The construction materials, both in and around the buildings, maintain in colour and detail the historic quality and atmosphere of the location. The Suzanne Dellal complex was envisioned to allow movement with no obstruction. The entire ground floor was levelled to allow the public to move freely at all hours of the day, even when there are activities in the theatres. The project's architect, Elisha Rubin, petitioned the Tel Aviv municipality to remove Yechieli Street where it ran between the two main buildings of the compound. Once approval was granted, the walls and gates which fenced in the two schools were taken down and the buildings were brought together around one central square, which serves as an active courtyard and pedestrian walkway. The Centre was designed with a walking route which would connect Tel Aviv's

Jaffa Road Jaffa Road ( he, רחוב יפו, Rehov Yaffo; ar, شارع يافا) is one of the longest and oldest major streets in Jerusalem. It crosses the city from east to west, from the Old City walls to downtown Jerusalem, the western portal of Jer ...

from the east with the beach to the west. The path begins on Jaffa Road and continues over the bridge on Aharon Chelouche Street to Amzaleg Street, then cuts through the courtyards, past the water well (discovered during construction), across the main square and through the main building's colonnade. From the main building, the row of

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

trees directs straight to

Charles Clore Park Charles Clore Park ( he, פארק צ'ארלס קלור, ''Park Charles Clore'') is a beachfront park in southwestern Tel Aviv, Israel. Covering of public land along the Mediterranean Sea, it's named after Charles Clore, a British financier, pro ...

and the beach.

Expansion (2017–18): the Zehava and Jack Dellal Studio

In 2017–18, the Centre underwent reconstruction, which included the addition of the new Zehava and Jack Dellal Studio, named in honour of early donors. The new flexible performance-studio space was be built on the roof of the central building, above the Yerushalmi Hall. The added third floor contains a 400 square metre performance studio, with 100 seats and a glass wall opening to a large rooftop balcony. On the second floor there is an enclosed patio and a re-designed Yerushalmy Theatre.

The Israel Prize

In 2010 the Suzanne Dellal Centre was awarded the

, the country's best known cultural honour. "In its 20 years of activity in Neve Tzedek, the Suzanne Dellal Centre has succeeded in uplifting the art of dance in Israel. The great many diverse artistic endeavours of the Centre have spawned a new generation of artists, creators, and performers in the field of artistic dance. Creative excellence on the Centre’s stages has broadened, and continues to broaden, the circle of dance-lovers. The Centre opened the gates of the world’s dance stages to the Israeli dance scene and allowed Israeli dance to make its mark on the world. Since its establishment, the Suzanne Dellal Centre has become the home and anchor of all artistic endeavours in the field of contemporary dance in Israel." -

Gideon Saar Gideon Moshe Sa'ar ( he, גִּדְעוֹן סַעַר; born 9 December 1966) is an Israeli politician who has served as Minister of Justice since June 2021. Sa'ar was previously a member of the Knesset for the Likud between 2003 and 2014, as De ...

, Minister of Education, Israel's 62nd Independence Day, Jerusalem, April 20, 2010Youtube clip
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Programmes

The Suzanne Dellal Centre has initiated and hosted many of Israel's dance platforms.

"Shades in Dance"

Shades in Dance, ''Gvanim B’Machol'' in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, is a bi-annual mentorship program that pairs young choreographers with a professional artistic director to create a fully produced premiere that serves as the artist's debut into the Israeli dance scene. Many of today's top Israeli choreographers began their professional careers as part of this project, including

Barak Marshall Barak Marshall is an American-born Israeli choreographer and singer. Biography Barak Marshall was born in the United States. In 1994, after studying social theory and philosophy at Harvard University, he immigrated to Israel, where he began a suc ...

Yasmeen Godder Yasmeen Godder ( he, יסמין גודר; born 1973), is an Israeli choreographer and dancer. Biography Yasmeen was born and raised until the age of 14 in Jerusalem. As a child, she danced at Professor Hasia Levi-Agron's class, and ballet at Yaakov ...

Inbal Pinto Inbal Pinto (born 1969) (Hebrew: ענבל פינטו) is an Israeli contemporary dancer, choreographer, set and costume designer. She is the artistic director of the Inbal Pinto Dance Company. . In 1992 Pinto founded the Inbal Pinto Dance Comp ...

Emanuel Gat Emanuel Gat is an Israeli choreographer of contemporary dance. Biography Emanuel Gat was born in 1969 in Israel. He discovered dance at the age of 23, after a workshop for amateurs, led by choreographer Nir Ben Gal. He started working at this p ...

Noa Wertheim Noa or NOA may refer to: People *Noa (name) * Noa (Achinoam Nini), Israeli singer * Noa, one of the five daughters of Zelophehad (her name is spelled "Noah" in some Bible translations) Fictional * Noa (dog), a dog in ''Inubaka: Crazy for Do ...

Vertigo Dance Company Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

, and many more.

"International Exposure"

International Exposure, ''Hasifah Benleumi'' in Hebrew, is Israel's annual showcase of Israeli contemporary dance. Each year the Suzanne Dellal Centre hosts artistic directors, presenters, and curators of contemporary dance and performance from around the world. International Exposure presents a diverse program ranging from the most-established Israeli dance companies and choreographers to emerging, independent, and experimental dance artists. International Exposure is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Division of Cultural and Scientific Affairs.

Tel Aviv Dance

Tel Aviv Dance is an annual festival at the Suzanne Dellal Centre which showcases leading dance companies and choreographers from around the world. Suzanne Dellal's international stage, which began with DanceEuropa in 1999, became Tel Aviv Dance in 2003. This festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, Municipality of Tel Aviv- Yafo.

"Curtain Up"

Founded in 1989, Curtain Up (''Haramat Masach'' in Hebrew) is Israel's flagship platform for the commissioning of emerging choreographers. It has become a centrepiece of Israel's contemporary dance calendar giving financial and artistic support to choreographers to present new works on a series of performances in Tel Aviv and around Israel.

Suzanne Dellal productions

Over the years the Suzanne Dellal Centre has commissioned full-length works from selected choreographers:

Barak Marshall, ''Monger'' (2008)

A physical-theatre work for ten dancers, the language of Monger contains ethnic-contemporary motives, exploring the dynamics of hierarchy, power, dignity and the compromises one makes in order to survive.

Barak Marshall, ''Rooster'' (2010)

This work is based on I.L. Peretz's "Bontsha the Silent", Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" as well as several stories from the Bible and Yemenite folklore. A co-production of The Suzanne Dellal Centre and The

Israeli Opera The Israeli Opera, formerly known as the New Israeli Opera, is the principal opera company of Israel. It was founded in 1985 after lack of Israeli government funding led to the demise of the Israel National Opera. Since 1994 the Tel Aviv Performi ...

Renana Raz, ''The Diplomats'' (2011)

The piece disconnects national anthems from their political patriotic context and suggests a more private and emotional interpretation. The body, which during the playing of the anthem is normally required to stay still, for the first time is granted the opportunity to dance to its melody.

Barak Marshall, ''Wonderland Part 1'' (2011)

The piece follows the journey of ten souls stranded in a no-man's land, struggling to overcome forces - both personal and existential - in their attempt to create hope, find love, and find their way back home.

Itzik Galili, ''Man of the Hour'' (2016)

''Man of the Hour'' is an opus in which the individuals who are part of our society search for the glory of the moment and for a piece of memory that will create a personal and national identity in an ongoing journey from an agonising cry to peaceful serenity. A co-production of the Israeli Opera and the Suzanne Dellal Centre and the Festival of Netherlands.

Halls, studios, facilities

The Centre has a spacious multi-level campus consisting of four performance halls, rehearsal studios, restaurant and cafe, and wide plazas that host outdoor performances and events. The list of halls and studios (incomplete): *Yerushalmi Hall (full name:Yaron Yerushalmi Hall) *Dellal Hall (full name: Suzanne Dellal Hall) *Studio Zehava & Jack (full name: Zehava and Jack Dellal Studio) *(?)

References

Suzanne Dellal Centre
homepage (English)
DanceEurope 2006, Ha’Aretz

External links

Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre

Bat Sheva Dance Company

Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollack Dance Company

Inbal Dance Theatre

Orna Porat Children's Theatre

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Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre at Google Cultural Institute
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