by Xinhua writer Chen Wenxian
JERUSALEM, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Israel tour of "Co-existence," the first modern dance co-production between China and Israel, concluded on Friday and gained huge success.
The dance is the first event among the series of "Happy Spring Festival" activities being held by Chinese Embassy in Israel, and a special program celebrating the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Israel and China as well.
Since Jan. 16, the dance, jointly produced by artists and performed by 14 dancers from the two countries, has presented four times in different cities in Israel. It is the first time for Israeli audience to see the co-existence of different culture of the two countries in the dance stage.
Cultural exchange is one important part of the innovative comprehensive partnership between China and Israel, said Chinese Ambassador to Israel Zhan Yongxin in an interview with Xinhua.
Acting as a bridge, culture exchange is helpful for people of the two countries to understand and learn each other better, he added.
Chinese embassy in Israel conducted a lot of cultural activities in Israel in 2017, including China Cultural Season, China Film Festival, and opened the China Cultural Center in Tel Aviv, and all these efforts have further pushed forward the cultural exchange for the two sides, according to Zhan.
The dance of "Co-existence" (DU-K in Hebrew) expresses in dance, song and drama the similarities and differences between two rich and dynamic cultures of China and Israel, combining tradition and innovation, a combination of Western aesthetics with Chinese elements.
The main idea of the piece "DU-K" in Hebrew means co-existence, which shows how two different nations, two different cultures can collaborate and work together even without understanding the language only from the body language, Israeli choreographer Eyal Dadon, also the director and choreographer of the dance "Co-existence," told Xinhua.
The show was inspired by the two-month residency of Dadon and his 14 Chinese and Israeli dancers in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province.
There's a lot about historical shapes, maps and structures in the piece itself, and a lot of Chinese elements in the piece as well. People can hear Chinese music, Chinese language and Hebrew together, said Dadon.
It's the first time to see Chinese and Israeli dancers dancing together on stage, and it's very special for the audience to expose them to this kind of art and this kind of collaboration, Dadon noted.
The piece was produced by the 4th Silk Road International Arts Festival in Xi'an and jointly completed by the Beijing 9 Contemporary Dance Theater with the Israeli SOL Dance Company from Be'er Sheva.
The one-hour dance performance was accorded a prolonged ovation. An Israeli girl said it was an amazing show and she was surprised to see different cultural and historical elements of Israel and China could be successfully mixed in the stage.
Last year Dodan worked in China as a guest choreographer and this year he is continuing to work with Chinese partners. He believes he would continue the collaboration next year.
