Fear is in the air, as is the feeling that we must be brave! We tease each other instead of crying. We can be cruel. Violence is part of the game. I dream that my mom is coming, I send my arms to hug her as my hands hit the cold wall. I go back to sleep. In the morning the teacher wakes us up with a shout: “One-two-three, on your feet!” We are her little company of soldiers. Standing, like leaves on a branch, in front of a row of sinks. I brush my teeth and hear a voice. We don’t believe in God. But I still hear a voice. A voice speaks to me: “We survived another night!” – In body, voice, word and song, we return to materials from childhood life in a group, feeling our way in the darkness of place and time: The darkness of back then, the darkness of our time. Out of the joy of play and rhyme emerge the horror of the night, hidden and overt violence, contradictory ideas, and the solitude of the one, joint body. Like a compulsive thought, relentless, that is chasing sleep away as the children turn in their beds, the work is taken over by an overcharged activity, compulsiveness, disquiet and agitation.
Choreography: Michal Samama Performers: Karmit Burian, Omer Uziel, Kim Teitelbaum, Moshe Shechter Avshalom, Isaac Chocron, Keren Carmon
Artistic Advisor: Tal Yahas
Text and Vocal consultation: Hadas Pe’ery
Lighting: Tamar Orr
Costumes and Production: Darya Efrat, Michal Samama
Outside eye: Darya Efart
Camera and Video Editing: Oriana Weich
Thanks to Kibbutz Beit Nir Archive, Arnon Rabin, Yuval Kremnitzer, Samama family. The work was created with the support of: The Yehoshua Rabinovich Foundation, Stage-Center, The Choreographers’ Association, Suzanne Dellal Centre, Kibbutzim College of Education, Bikurey Ha’Itim Dance School.
Michal Samama is a choreographer and performer. She creates works at the intersection of dance, theater, and the visual arts, moving between the stage, the gallery, and the public space. She recently exhibited her artwork at the Tel-Aviv Museum of Art, ‘Batsheva Hosts’, 'Tel Aviv Dance Festival', ‘Kelim' Choreography Center, International Exposure, International Dance Week, Love Art-Make Art, The Center for Digital Art Holon, Tmuna Theater. In past years Samama presented her work at the Petach Tikva Museum of Art (Solo show), Sommer Gallery, Manofim Jerusalem Contemporary Art Festival, Curtain Up festivals, Intimadance Festivals, Diver Festivals, and many more. Her work was presented in numerous spaces in New York and Chicago, including: The Chocolate Factory Theater, Judson Church, New York Live Arts, Aspect Ratio Gallery, EXPO CHICAGO, 6018 North. Samama received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
