'Come Lay Down' , transformed the performance space into a metaphorical surgery room, as well as a gallery in which the body is exhibited and transfigured. Combining movement, text, sound and objects, Noa Dar and Michal Samama explore notions such as "healthy body", "sick body" and the gap between the intimate and private experience of one’s body and the medical, bureaucratic attitude towards it.
“I came out amazed and absolutely in awe from what I saw. These two talented and daring creators conducted experiments on the living human body, breaking all barriers. This exceptional work is a hymn to man’s devotion to life, to his desire to be healed, to the willingness to suffer in order to be cured” Ruth Eshel – Dance Diaries, 19.10.2021
'Land Slugs', created for public spaces, each performance is a unique variation that responds to a particular environment. It takes place along the street and exists on the ground, at sidewalk altitude, a location that is normally visible only from the viewpoint of human feet and four-legged animals. Dar and Samama bring their entire bodies into close, intense contact with the textures and topography of the surface we usually step on without giving it a second thought. From their levelled perspective, they challenge the conventions and perceptions of the body in public space. .
"These are two mature artists who are confident both in their talent and in the integrity of their inner world. Each is a distinguished, powerful artist and still they let go of the ego to create something together that is alive and whole. ‘Land Slugs’ is bold, its images overwhelm the retina, sending themselves directly to the subconscious, aggressive and hypnotic”Anat Zecharia, Hamevakeret, 6.10.2021
Noa Dar is a choreographer and dancer whose rich body of works has been recognized for its originality, depth and inventiveness. In 1993 she established ‘The Noa Dar Dance Group’ in Tel Aviv, as a supportive framework for her artistic activity. Since then, she has created more than 30 works in collaboration with artists from different creative fields.
Always searching for new expressions of contents and forms, her works ranging from solos to large-scale productions, works for young audiences, site specific works and installations.
Dar explores the experience of the individual body when it comes into contact with his physical and social environments, often blaring boundaries between performers and spectators.
In her latest works, along with her return to performing, her own body became an arena for reexamining notions like temporality and transformation.
Dar’s creations have been commissioned and presented by leading festivals in Israel and elsewhere such as ‘The Israel Festival’,‘ Tokyo Int. Dance Biennale’, ’Oriente Occidente’, ‘Rencontres int. de danse contemporaine’, ‘Santiago de mille festival’, ‘Sziget’, ‘ Shanghai Contemporary Dance’, ‘Holland Festival’ and many more.
She has won numerous prizes, among them are the Lottery’s ‘Landau Prize’ for her artistic contribution, The ‘Rosenblum Prize’ for outstanding artists and the Ministry of Culture's ‘Creation Prize’ for her body of work.
Established in 2006, the ‘Noa Dar dance group studio’ in central TLV, serves as her creative home and a space where broad communities can meet with diverse expressions of body, movement and dance.
