Welcome to the INSIDERS Creative Lab

Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company is proud to present its first fully digital performance space, presenting personal and original works created by members of the dance company during the yearlong COVID-19 crisis.

The uncertainty and complete standstill brought about by this unsettling year became fertile ground for the dancers to work and explore, bolstered by a deep yearning to create and express themselves through art and movement. The examination of personal space, relationships, limits, emotions and the interaction between the individual and the collective are the building blocks of these works, which touch on deconstruction and assembly, the interior and the exterior, the hidden and overt.

The journey into new and exciting discoveries, combined with the limits and difficulties of the previous year, gave birth to the idea of experimenting with a new creative experience that transcends the familiar boundaries of the proscenium space, now devoid of an audience. Thus the idea was born to create and view dance from a different angle by crafting a cinematic experience which imbues the medium of dance with new layers of depth.

Members of the company, who live, train and create together at The International Dance Village in Kibbutz Ga’aton, chose to name this project INSIDERS – a representation of their internal journey as well as an expression of their sense of tribal affiliation and the unique viewpoint it offers into both the external and the internal.

Upon purchasing a ticket, viewers will be granted access to all works.

Viewers may purchase a ticket that includes an additional contribution sum that will help the dancers and the company continue to create, experiment and perform in the digital sphere as well as on the stage across Israel and the world.

About the Process

The Creators

The creative process began with the exploration of ideas and movements in a familiar and conventional format, but collaborating with the cinematic director and developing a joint language of dance and cinema served to add new facets to the work which we had not yet experienced. The new space offered a fresh and different perspective, and this interesting process, together with the way they were perceived by different members of the production team, helped shed new light on our creations.

Once the project was underway, we immediately sensed a new kind of energy. We all felt as though we were waking up from an extended hibernation. Each member of the company, the crew and the project participants was eager to collaborate, help, create, develop, inspire and give everything they could to the project’s success. Filming days, which could be incredibly long, our collaboration and open dialogue with our technical partners and the creation of lighting, stage design and musical arrangements all became inseparable from the creative work and, in these difficult times, helped restore the stirring enthusiasm and energy which we remembered from previous processes of new artistic creation and its exposure to the world.

Reacquaintance

Rami Be’er The Company’s Artistic Director

“For me there was an element of rediscovery in the dancers’ creative process. Although we spent this entire period working together on a new piece, ‘Illusion’, which is scheduled to premiere soon, it was the creative work in the digital sphere which most eloquently expressed the effect the COVID-19 crisis had on each and every dancer. It was important for me to allow an open, neutral environment in which I was a mere observer who did not direct or ingratiate himself into the process. This allowed me to discover new perspectives and understand how this year helped the dancers grow, both as individuals and as a collective. It was interesting to see their interpretation of a new medium, the collaborations they brought about and their creative spirits come to life in the planning as well as the rehearsal and performance stages. I’m proud of them for their process as much as for their product.”

Re-exploration

Amira Teomi CEO

“As soon as the suggestion arose to undertake such a massive project, I knew we had to make it a reality. This is such an important sphere on so many levels. Once we started, we felt the dancers and crew find their enthusiasm again after a long period in which the dearth of performances took a heavy emotional toll on both us and them. The ongoing discourse around COVID-19 often mentions the new possibilities and horizons it enabled. I can certainly attest that COVID-19 was, for us, a jumping off point for development and required us to think differently, try unfamiliar tools and break free of old patterns and habits. It was important to us to deeply explore the digital medium alongside our dancers, to discover new realms and opportunities that we were previously unfamiliar with.”

Weave the threads between the worlds of dance and cinema

Nadav Gal INSIDERS Project Artistic Director

“It was fascinating to lead the creative process and weave the threads between the worlds of dance and cinema. Each new day was a day of discovery and change. It was possible for us to spend days analyzing and planning a particular segment, reworking it over and over, only to discover it anew in the editing room, of all places. It was an intimate, complex, fascinating and continuous process that took shape and developed as it went along. We worked together and were open to listening, examining, changing and drawing inspiration from every one of our creative partners. At the end of the day, we all discovered a new and fascinating way to create that enabled us to share our personal message and express our joint values as creators and members of the company.”

Special Thanks

We, the dancers of the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company and the creators of the INSIDERS project, extend our sincere thanks to everyone who helped us bring this project to life. First and foremost is Rami Be’er, the Company’s Artistic Director; Amira Teomi, its CEO; and Nadav Gal, the project’s Artistic Director. In addition, we’d also like to give a special thanks to Sharon Chen of Midtown, a Canada Israel Project, who provided support and her unique spirit from the very early planning stages; to Ora Stibbe of the Anatta Foundation, whose support helped us create our digital space; and to Galit Lifshits Melamed, who combined the parts into a great whole.

Thank you to each and every one of our partners, who aided in the creation and development of this project:

Insiders Stuff

Producer: Emil Bader
Director: Omer Ben-David
Director of Photography: Omri Barzilai
Camera Assistant: Eyas Arraf, Jonathan Mizrahi
INSIDERS Creative & Project Director: Nadav Gal
INSIDERS Concept Creator: Léa Bessoudo-Greck
INSIDERS Creative Team: Nadav Gal, Léa Bessoudo-Greck, Dylan Tedaldi, May Asor, Galit Lifshits Melamed
Technical Director: Diego Aharon Fernandes
Lighting: Alon Shazar
Wardrobe: Ofra Sharon, Nicholas Garlo
Stage Technicians: Vadim Nevencheni, Massimo Moiseev
Video Editing: Emil Bader, Omer Ben-David, Gosha Demin, Nadav Gal
Still Photography: Eyal Hirsh, Dylan Tedaldi, Eyas Arraf
Colorist: Yoav Assa
Branding and Visual Language: Avishai Lapid, Dylan Tedaldi
Website Design and Development: Imaginet Studio
Translation and Text Editing: Dorit Magidor
Creator Interviews – Caption Translation and Editing: Elrom Studios
Creator Interviews – Filming and Editing: Léa Bessoudo-Greck, Dylan Tedaldi
Public Relations: Lapidot Communications
Digital Marketing: Modus
International Marketing: Avital Arts Agency

KCDC Stuff

Artistic Director: Rami Be’er
CEO: Amira Teomi
Founder: Yehudit Arnon (1926-2013)
Chief Financial Officer: Galia Krotter, CPA
International Management: Avital Arts Agency
International Dance Village Director: Sivan Cohen
Technical Director: Diego Fernandez
Business development Director: Galit Lifshitz Melamed
Tourism & Special Events: Ayelet Ghez
Main company Director and Asst. to the Artistic Director: Nitza Gombo
Assistant Sound Editor: Eyal Dadon
Co-Directors of KCDC 2: Danny Eshel, Nadav Gal
Rehearsal Manager: David Warren Parker
Professional Director: Danielle Ohn
Administrative Director: Roni Ronen
Special Activities: Amos Baer
Director: Yael Laron
Pilates: Renana Randy
Company Teachers: Alexander Alexandrov, Gali Kalef Hayun, Yamit Kalef, Einav Levy
Bookkeeper : Iris Tesler
Procurement and Community Projects: Revital Cohen
Office Manager: Rachel Ariel
Sales & Marketing: Liraz Frankel
Telemarketing: Shirly Ring
Archivist: Yonat Rothman
Wardrobe: Ofra Sharon Heimann
Seamstress: Ludmila Romaniko
Performance and Tour Manager : Zadok Zemach
Maintenance Supervision: Sergei Nugni
Sound and Lighting Operation: Lior Cohen
Maintenance: Rayek Matanes
Housekeeping: Sabha Naim, Nasrin Naim
Pianist: Nina Kalmens
Photographer: Eyal Hirsch
Internal Auditor: Batya Kotzobay , CPA (ISR)
Technical Operations : Or Kol
Legal Consultant: Ofir Katz & Co.
Accountant BDO: Ziv Haft Accounting Firm
Graphic Design: Artmedia Ga’aton | Avishai Lapid
Public Relations: Lapidot Communications