Poster of Sale (Photos/Courtesy of Shanghai International Dance Center)
People are faced with challenges of all sorts in contemporary life, from capitalism to consumption to individuals' behaviors and their consequences. SOL, an Israeli modern dance company, created a new dance called Sale to help people deal with these difficulties using black humor.
For the company's China tour debut, 30 young dance students from Zhengzhou, Henan Province were invited to have an interaction with six SOL dancers at Shanghai International Dance Center Wednesday.
Premiering in Israel in December 2016, Sale tries to explain consumerism with humorous body language, hilarious moves and interesting costumes. Making use of modern facilities along with household commodities including toasters, microwaves, suitcases, popcorn and even bananas, Sale looks deep into the soul of humanity.
Eyal Dadon, born in Beersheva, Israel, in 1989, founded SOL in 2016. He is also the rehearsal director and house choreographer of the renowned Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, which he joined in 2011.
Dadon created SOL to discover other layers inside of himself, reach audiences in a different way, try different ideas together with dancers and achieve new goals. According to him, he and his friends laugh for life, even for sad things.
"It is exciting for me to bring a sense of humor in to my studios with my friends," he said. "Sense of humor is one of the most important things I want in my studio and life."
Developing body language
Sian Olles, a SOL team member, said that Dadon is a humorous person. "In the process of creation, laughter keeps everyone working. It connects people."
Choreography requires creative ideas and inspiration. Dadon said that he found inspiration from the dancers he works with, learning from their energy, body language and personalities. Apart from that, music, society, family and memories are also his material library.
Most dancers start learning at a very early age, but Dadon did not until the age of 17, at the Bat-Dor Dance School in Beersheva. He dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer at the very beginning. "However, I was not able to meet the requirements of ballet as I started at a very late period," he said.
"But I found that contemporary dance is more connected to modern times and more open to different styles. I am able to develop my own body languages in it. Therefore, from the moment I started to learn, I decided to do it as a lifelong career."
Shi Heming, a 16-year-old student from Zhengzhou, started dancing when she was in primary school. She contends that modern dance is more casual and natural than other dance varieties. "I just present what I feel about life in dancing without copying and pasting one move and another," she said.
Always learning
Shi said that communication with Israeli dancers makes her understand modern dance further. "I learned that performance relies on our observance to daily life. With that, we could endow life to each and every joint."
Wang Xiyue, another student, started to learn modern dance when she was only 5 years old. She believes that modern dance will help her improve body coordination, as a perfect dance requires sound coordination of all body parts.
"I have been dreaming to be an excellent dancer. Today's event makes me feel that I have to keep learning all the time," said Wang, who has decided to make dancing her lifetime career.
According to Dadon, his team is cooperating with another team from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, on a new production called DU-k. The new work is about the coexistence between cultures, people and relationships.
