Hasta Dónde…? is one of two works Compañía Sharon Fridman brings to Vancouver Oct. 12-14. (photo by Gerardo Sanz)
The work of Israeli choreographer Sharon Fridman comes to the West Coast for the first time, with a program featuring Hasta Dónde…? and All Ways. And Jewish Independent readers can win two tickets to the Oct. 14, 8 p.m., performance at Scotiabank Dance Centre – simply email editor@jewishindependent.ca by Wednesday, Oct. 4, 5 p.m., to be entered in a draw. The winner will be contacted.
Fridman has taken the dance world by storm since establishing his company in Spain in 2006: his athletic, adventurous work is rooted in contact improvisation, filtered through an innate musicality and an eye for design. Hasta Dónde…? explores the relationship between two dancers as it evolves through dependency, struggle and harmony. The endlessly fluid lifts and tumbles are propelled by a surging score. All Ways is a meditation on the multiple paths before us: seven dancers power through a physical and emotional spectrum, which ranges from fierce urgency to calm contemplation.
Hasta Dónde…? premièred in 2011 and has toured to more than 30 cities worldwide, receiving several prizes and audience awards. Fridman describes the work as: “A struggle between two sides, the inner sides we all somehow contain. How far can you transmit? How far can you pull or let yourself be pulled?.… No side is a winner.” All Ways is Fridman’s latest work, and it premièred in 2016. The company visits Halifax prior to Vancouver, in its first North American tour.
Fridman was a dancer with leading companies including the Tadmor Dance Company, the Vertigo Company and Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, before moving to Spain and forming Compañía Sharon Fridman in Madrid in 2006. His works have toured to countries including France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Colombia, South Korea and Singapore, receiving multiple awards. The work of the company is based on the language of contact improvisation, deconstructing and exploring the technique to create a dramatic language that evolves in the hands of the dancers. In addition to many works for the stage, Fridman has created large-scale, open-air, site-specific performances for as many as 70 participants. Fridman’s works are also in the repertoires of companies including Ballet Nacional de Paraguay, Vertigo Dance Company (Israel), Compagnie Jus de la Vie (Sweden) and Compañía Nacional de Danza (Spain).
Compañía Sharon Fridman’s performance is part of the Dance Centre’s Global Dance Connections series. There are shows Oct. 12-14, 8 p.m., at the centre, with a post-show talkback Oct. 13. For tickets ($32/$24), call 604-684-2787 or visit ticketstonight.ca. For a chance to win two free Oct. 14 tickets, email editor@jewishindependent.ca.