Inbal Pinto Dance Company Saturday, October 11, 8pm |
Visit oregonlive.com for a review of Inbal Pinto Dance Company's most recent performance of Shaker.
“Shaker…is so beautiful and touching, that it hurts, like a poem that strikes the right chords. It is definitely one of their best theatrical-dance works ever.”
—Jerusalem Post
Program
Shaker
About This Performance
Israeli choreographers Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak create a magical world within a snow globe in their newest work, which melds an expansive range of dance styles—from folk and ballet to acrobatics and street dance. Shaker offers a metaphor for social interaction and evolution, where the physical and theatrical collide in a flurry of humorous and poetic movement. The creators and performers shake up images and ideas, and send them whirling across the stage to the music of Chopin, Purcell, Gavin Bryars, Arvo Pärt, Swedish folk songs and Japanese pop tunes from the ‘50s. The 11 dancers and two actors of the Bessie Award-winning company are Israel’s premier dance/ theater group, led by “Israel’s new voice,” Inbal Pinto, who had her start with the acclaimed Batsheva Dance Company.
These performances are made possible in part through the generous support of the Koret Foundation and The Bernard Osher Jewish Philanthropies Foundation.
Inbal Pinto Dance Company’s performance in San Francisco has been generously supported by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Consulate General of Israel, San Francisco with the assistance of Friends of Israel Arts.
Artist Biography
The Inbal Pinto Dance Company is one of the leading Israeli contemporary dance groups. Headed by founders/creators Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak, the company has been presenting innovative, imaginative and highly professional dance productions since 1994. The uniqueness of the creators is evidenced in all the performances’ details including choreography, costume design, set design and lighting.
The Company is comprised of 11 dancers and two actors. Guided by Pinto and Pollak, who are the choreographers, directors and designers of IPDC’s productions, the company members focus on the creation of new productions, to be presented both in Israel and around the world. The different productions of IPDC are motivated by the wish to learn, develop and make connections among the various art forms onstage.
In addition to international acclaim and awards granted to the IPDC and the creators, the company is very often invited to represent the State of Israel in important festivals and cultural centers around the world. The company’s travels bring Israeli culture to many corners of the world and contribute substantially to the development of Israel’s cultural ties with the world at large.
Inbal Pinto (Artistic Director/Choreographer/Director) was born in Israel in 1969, and began her formal dance training at age 13. She studied graphic arts at the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, and worked as a graphic designer for her army service. As a dancer, she first joined the BatSheva Ensemble and was promoted to the senior Batsheva Company. In 1990, she began her career as a choreographer. She was invited to the American Dance Festival to take part in its International Choreographers Program in both 1997 and 1998. In 2000, she won a Bessie—the New York Dance and Performance Award—for her creation Wrapped.
Pinto also created the choreography for theatrical works such as The Chairs and Romeo and Juliet. In 2000, she was given Israel’s Ministry of Culture Award for Dance and the Tel Aviv Municipal Award for artistic achievements.
Avshalom Pollak (Artistic Director/Choreographer/Director) was born in Israel in 1970. The son of well-known Israeli actor Yossi Pollak, he spent time observing his father from backstage, developing an understanding early on of the commitment and drive needed to create a high-quality theatrical experience for an audience. He was trained as a classical actor and graduated from the Nissan Nativ Drama School in Tel Aviv. He has acted in a large number of films and television programs as well as many theatrical plays at the Habimah National Theater, the Cameri Theater, Gersher Theater and the Haifa Municipal Theater. Roles have included Romeo in Romeo and Juliet; Cassio in Othello; Valere in The Miser; Tuzenbach in Three Sisters and Phillips in Orpheus.
Links/Downloads
 |
 |
 |