Vertigo- Power of Balance: "Shape On Us". Choreography: Sharon Fridman. Suzanne Dellal, TLV

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One by one, nine performers parade on Suzanne Dellal's stage and show themselves , with abilities and disabilities included.  Quiet unexpected assemblage of performers of dancers and handicapped performers.. 

 Vertigo Dance company's parallel branch: Vertigo- Power of Balance, is an ongoing project dedicated to integrated dancers and  participants with diverse disabilities, using contact improvisation technique which expands  options of engagement, by physical support and help from partners.

In fact, the first Shape On Us scene demonstrates its basic component- solidarity.  A height challenged performer is being carried from her wheelchair and seated center stage, and as soon as she leans back, an attentive group of dancers catch her up, repeatedly. Later a variation of that theme will be repeated with a different cast.  

Vertigo commissioned Sharon Fridman- a fine Israeli choreographer residing in Madrid- to choreograph this work, since he worked successfully with Vertigo before and is well versed in contact improvisation as his main tool. Furthermore on a personal angle, Fridman grew up helping to take care of his needy mother. His sensitivities made him well aware of social stigmas and he would avoid exposing performers to compromising  positions.  

Indeed, he did his utmost to give more attention to performers with limitations and mellowed the dancers' roles and reduce their stage presence. They became the enablers, which tumbled the balance we expected from a company titles "Power of Balance" and flawed the dramaturgical flow.  

Restrictions and limitation can often produce interesting and original solutions, and serve as springboard for diversity and originality. In Shape on Us there were rare moments which sparked, since Fridman held back the dancer's individual parts and partially because of structure issues. The choreography leaned towards loosely fragmented segments of short, secondary scenes and while it's attention was focused there, the seams in between were sometimes neglected. 

Regardless of the best intents, the work needed saving by more attention to the artistic large scope, and finally it had arrived almost at the last moment with a spectacular group scene.

The performers were sitting on the floor in a tight formation. For a moment all one could see was a pool of feet up moving like underwater creatures. The group tightened and all performers touched and caressed the ones next to them and with the right lighting and mild sound it was both touching and extremely beautiful. A true moment of grace.