QUIET by Arkadi Zaides
A new dance production by Israeli choreographer Arkadi Zaides, co-Produced by Arts Station Foundation/ Stary Browar Nowy Taniec, Poznan, Poland.
“Quiet” arose from a real sense of emergency; in light of the growing violence and mistrust between communities in Israel, constantly subjected to states of shock, which never allow the space needed for reflection, and thus never allow for change. In such an environment it felt acute to create a platform which allows for an open and honest communication; a place where it is safe to let one’s demons out and set them free; where the irrationality of response is examined and emotions are bravely explored; where a broad perspective is sought and where trust is continuously built.
Jewish and Arabs, actors and dancers all living within the borders of Israel, the creative process was nourished and inspired by all these differences between the participant’s social realities and artistic
backgrounds. The four characters in the piece reveal a landscape, which contains aggression, compassion, confusion and yearning. In the midst of this intensity, lies a constant search for a place which is able to contain all conflicted layers – a place which is quiet.
Arkadi Zaides – Choreography and Direction, Israel
Arkadi Zaides is an independent choreographer, dancer and teacher. He was born in the Soviet Union in 1979, and immigrated to Israel in 1990. Since 2004 Arkadi has been working as a free-lance choreographer. His works have been shown in numerous international festivals in Israel, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Holland, India, Hungary, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Romania, Germany, China, Taiwan, and Japan, amongst others.
In 2008 and in 2009 Arkadi was awarded Israel’s Ministry of Culture and Sport Prize for “Young Artist of the Year ” in the field of dance. In 2006 he was one of three finalists in the third round of the “Rolex mentor and protege art initiative” in the dance category, and as a result he received financial assistance to support him in his artistic work in that same year. His video dance “Solo Siento” a collaborative project with video artist Shira Miasnik, won first prize in the “VDance” festival, the International Video Dance Festival held in Tel-Aviv in 2007. His work “adamdam” won the third prize in the international choreography competition “No Ballet”, Ludwigshafen, Germany (2008).
Embedded in Arkadi’s work is a belief that the role of art is to challenge and inspire viewers, while simultaneously it has a larger universal role to reach out and bring together different communities and different sectors of society. Arkadi is increasingly working in diverse communities, focusing primarily on the arab sector in Israel.
Since 2001 Arkadi has been teaching “gaga”, the movement language of choreographer Ohad Naharin. He teaches both dancers and non-dancers in Israel and abroad. In addition, on a regular basis, he teaches workshops, master classes, and technique classes that combine release technique, feldenkrais, yoga and other influences, which use the body in a healthy and appropriate way through movement exercises.
