Fall | 2024

 

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“Fall” by Adi Boutrous takes place at dusk, where daylight gradually turns into darkness and the day turns into night. Thirteen dancers of varying ages embody a series of living images on the terrace steps, inspired by iconic scenes, most notably the famous Odessa Steps (now known as the "Potemkin Steps" as seen in Sergei Eisenstein's film “Battleship Potemkin”).

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Adi Boutrous transports us to another time and place, referencing a film from 1925 based on events that occurred in 1905, and to the cinematic staircase scene that has left an indelible mark on cultural memory—a memorable scene of violence, fear, chaos, and loss of control. Another tragedy, distant in time and place, yet it still resonates.

Nothing in the Odessa Steps—steep and sharp, creating a misleading optical illusion—resembles the wide and low steps surrounding FeelBeit. And nothing in its geographical location—facing a port and sea—resembles the mountainous view of Jerusalem seen from the FeelBeit steps. Yet the chaotic scene, including soldiers firing and the baby carriage falling from the mother’s grasp, echoes violence, brutality, and terror everywhere.

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Adi Boutrous's works have long been characterized by movements of falling, grasping, and leaning, with kinetic phrases of weight transfer, carrying, and support—all actions based on mutual trust and commitment between the dancers. “Fall” is, in some ways, a lament for these values. The beautiful sunset serves as a symbolic backdrop for the decline of civilization and values, and the diminishing faith in the human spirit. Comfort might come from the music: excerpts from the works of Italian composer Albinoni, classical guitar from Paraguay, flute from Lebanon, or music from the rainforests of Colombia, blending to create a wide range of cross-border and cross-cultural sources.

 

“Fall” will be performed twice on the steps. As with performance works, especially those adapted to space and time, it will remain etched in the memory of those who witness it and may gain new life in the imagination of those who do not. Memory and imagination will try to revive what happened in the fresh air of a summer evening, with the daylight fading gradually, facing the Old City walls and the separation wall, and the first lights coming on Mount of Olives, in Jabel Mukaber and Abu Dis, before a landscape reflecting both misery and beauty.

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Choreography, Direction, Soundtrack design: Adi Boutrous

Dancers: Ido Barak, Neshama Bazer, Naomi Ben David, Dalia Chaimsky, Matan Daskal, Uri Dicker, Yuval Finkelshtein, Rotem Greenberg, Alma Karvat Shemesh, Elik Niv, Tamar Sonn, Stav Struz Boutrous, Nadi Yoel

Associate dramaturgist: Yael Venezia

Costume design: Stav Struz Boutrous

Photography: Efrat Mazor

 

Fall was commissioned by FeelBeit and premiered on September 7, 2024 as part of exhibition The House in the Heart of the Storm curated by Ruti Direktor.

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