Inbal Pinto Dance Company Review: Israeli Company performs in New York

Meryl Cates | Nov 10, 2008 | 0

Inbal Pinto Dance Company in "Shaker"

As each season changes, it brings with it a renewed vigor and a release from what has become the mundane. With fall then winter, especially, comes a crispness and beauty welcomed at the perfect time to save all that have grown weary of the summer heat.  To pull on a warm sweater and to see the first snowfall is the liveliness evoked from Inbal Pinto Dance Company's "Shaker".

The company based in Tel Aviv is comprised of actors and dancers, and combines these disciplines to present a true blend of performance art.  For the opening night performance of their two day stay at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, NY, they presented "Shaker" which made its world premiere in March 2006 at the Spring Festival in Rishon Lezion, Israel.  The Co-Artsitic Directors and Choreographers of the piece, Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak, fashioned a world inspired by the snow globes we all knew and loved as children.

Instead of plastic figurines and trees, their landscape was filled with introspective thought, humor, and a reticent playfulness.  What began with a dark, but serene winter scene covered with snow was accompanied by a silence disrupted only by the sound of squeaking and the whistling wind.  Over the course of the work, the audience was brought through a string of emotions and visuals, from slowly rolling through the snow, to vibrant dancing infused with mime.

The choreography utilized shifts in body weight, and manipulated what seemed like effortless swaying, or the inertia of the body set into motion by the push or pull of another dancer.  The work combined modern dance and ballet lines, which at times, created an interesting and visually stimulating dance vocabulary.

The company was founded in 1992 to create works that involve Pinto's graphic design and dancing background, with Pollak's acting and drama experience.  In 2000 their work "Wrapped" won a Bessie Award, and they have since gone on to win other international awards.

The stage for "Shaker" was transformed into an intimate winter setting, resembling an isolated field covered in snow, and contained three small, grey huts where the dancers entered and exited.  First costumed in either black dresses or pants, the dancers finished the performance in multi-colored unitards, which covered their faces.  

Signaled by silence and the sound of wind gusts, a man in a black and white suit and a woman in a light blue dress seemed to represent guides or hosts to the piece.  Performed by Einate Betsalel and Zvi Fishzon, they provided moments of humorous interaction, although later creating glimpses of a more intricate and solemn purpose. The humor was often accompanied by a prop, like teacups and a teapot, (which they poured in a variety of positions), or twirling tiny umbrellas, (resembling the dainty kind the ladies of the early 1900s would use to shade their faces from the sun as they strolled through town).

The work had an array of music genres, seamlessly transitioning from opera, to Chopin, to Swedish folk music, and songs performed by Japanese pop artists.  However, the dancing seemed to transcend the music, and although the song or style would change, the dancer's rhythm and movements would not,  never becoming out of sync with the tune.

Guided through a whirlwind of emotions, "Shaker" provoked instances of harmony, and others that were, perhaps, overly inflated with mystery. All in all it was a piece that will resonate for some time.

Inbal Pinto Dance Company will perform at The Joyce Theatre in New York City November 11th-16th.

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