Sibling Artists Explore Family History in New Dance Piece
Translated & summarized from Calcalist by baba
Sibling artists Ayelet and Adam Elazra are premiering a new dance performance, "Map to Mouth," inspired by their family's pre-WWII history in Slovakia. The piece blends dance and sculpture, exploring themes of resilience and artistic legacy.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Sibling artists Ayelet and Adam Elazra created a new dance piece.
- The performance "Map to Mouth" is inspired by a family photo album.
- It will be shown at the Tzavta Festival on September 17-18.
- The work explores family history and artistic legacy.
- Ayelet Elazra recently left the Batsheva Dance Company.
Choreographer and dancer Ayelet Elazra and her brother, artist Adam Elazra, are collaborating on a new performance titled "Map to Mouth" (מפה לפה). The piece, which will be presented at the Tzavta Festival at the Inbal Dance Theater on September 17-18, draws inspiration from a family photo album from the 1920s found in Žilina, Slovakia. The album depicts the family's rich cultural life before World War II.
The performance, featuring six dancers, transforms the family's history into a "larger-than-life cabaret." Ayelet described the album as a "treasure trove of insane material," revealing a life of freedom, passion, and celebration. Adam noted the theatricality in the photos, including hats and elaborate settings, and mentioned that a puppet theater, pictures, and a painting were hidden under a piano before the family was forced into a ghetto.
Artistic talent has been a family tradition. Their grandfather was a piano teacher who created puppet shows, and their great-grandmother was a dancer and piano teacher. Ayelet, 39, a dancer and choreographer who recently left the Batsheva Dance Company, inherited her passion for dance from her. Adam, 32, a multidisciplinary artist, sculptor, and painter, recently completed a master's degree in Leipzig.
This is the siblings' fifth joint project, and they acknowledge the challenges of working together. "It's a nightmare, and also amazing," Ayelet said, describing intense moments of understanding and inspiration alongside emotional volatility. They recorded their grandfather recounting family stories, including one about a portrait commissioned before his family was taken to the ghetto, serving as a lasting memory. The artists emphasize that the piece is not solely about the Holocaust but about the resilience and strength art provided their family.
Ayelet recently left Batsheva to focus on independent creation, balancing her artistic pursuits with raising two children. While she is currently not dancing in the piece, she plans to return to performing in the future.