The 28th edition of “Tanz im August” began on Friday, August 12.
Kicking off the international dance festival was “SUNNY,” a new work by the Israeli choreographer Emanuel Gat in collaboration with the musician and performer Awir Leon.

As the start of the performance at HAU Hebbel am Ufer, ten dancers gradually entered the stage. Accompanied by the music of the creative, multi-­instrumentalist composer, the piece’s ten protagonists put on a lively and rhythmic performance. Onstage, in a succession of duets, solos, and choral pieces, the dancers moved with a certain autonomy, making effective use of the stage’s different spatial levels. Free from a rigid choreography, they gave expression to their body in the language they found the most congenial, reproducing diagrams and following rules as in a choreography workshop. The changes in the piece’s register were marked by costume changes. These changes—although they took place a bit too quickly, perhaps—were effective and had a great visual impact.

Once they had returned to the scene, the dancers divided into groups of different sizes and began to move in unison. Frequently, they would fall out of this unison, only to repeat the same fragments of choreography until, after several attempts dancing the entire sequence of movements, they would attain it once again, or otherwise join a new group and restart the weary search for unison. Of particular note was the remarkable performance by Awir Leon.

Nicola Campanelli, 23 août 2016