The ‘industry’
Photo credit: David Rodwin
One of their continuing projects is a series of master classes, bringing together students and teachers of different disciplines, from television and film to dance, social work and opera. July and August are the months for film and choreography, with the masters — L.A. ‘industry’ folks and American choreographers coming to teach their skills to Israeli and American students in Tel Aviv.
This summer brought “Sex and the City” creator Darren Star, CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler and independent producer Gail Berman (who brought “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” to the viewing world during her time as head of Fox Studios) to the master program, which is held at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. The classes were focused and dynamic, honing in on television more than film, given recent Israeli successes on the American small screen. “In Treatment,” known in Hebrew as “B’Tipul,” is the most significant of those, as it was purchased and translated by HBO and recently won an Emmy. But there are others coming up the pike, and what the ‘masters’ like about them is that they use small budgets and lots of ingenuity, something that Israelis have in spades.
The more recent class was in choreography, held at the Suzanne Dellal Center with several American choreographers teaching their skills to studios full of young Israeli hopefuls. Two of the choreographers, Sheetal Gandhi and Jackie Lopez, were fabulous talented, and very different. Gandhi was raised in California but with Indian parents and a very strong Indian heritage, hence teaching the rudiments of classic Indian dance. Lopez was raised in central L.A., and came to her more formal dance education in a roundabout manner, although she’s now one of the go-to hiphop dancers in the region. The workshop also including a unique class with renowned choreographer Shen Wei, and a repertoire workshop with choreographer Barak Marshall.
All the masters — and students — of the two summer classes, shared an innate enthusiasm and energy for their subjects. The film students were mostly young professionals with some productions and/or scripts under their belts, while the dancers were younger, post-army and all Israeli. And because of the entire days talking about their professions, or dancing, as it were, a certain kind of intimacy arises between students and teachers, one that wouldn’t happen if they were hanging out somewhere else. The Tel Aviv air may be sticky and steamy in the summer, but it lends a certain magic.
Foto Friday – Marco Jona’s Sun & Moon
Filed under: Art, Environment, Foto Friday, General
Jerusalem-based Marco Jona is a professional photographer with a passion for nature, and a particular fascination with the heavenly bodies.
His series, entitled “The Sun and The Moon”, is a work in progress that is being created over time…
…sunrise by sunrise…
…lunar eclipse…
… by solar eclipse
…and sunset by sunset.
More of Jona’s work is on view at his website – www.marcojona.com.
Get your Israeli ‘mojo’ working
Asaf Avidan, right, and the Mojos - comin' at ya.
All that could change with the signing this week by Sony Columbia of Asaf Avidan and the Mojos. Called by one critic ‘the lost love child of Dylan & Joplin,’ Avidan’s high-pitched, impassioned vocals, poetic lyrics, and raw blues and folk-based English-language rock & roll have made waves in the last couple years locally.
According to a press release issued by the band, Sony Columbia – the home of Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen, among others – will distribute and promote the band’s records, including re-releasing their second album, 2008’s highly acclaimed The Reckoning.
Avidan, who was a successful animator in Tel Aviv after graudating from the Bezalel School of Design, is apparently aware that the label is a good fit for his indiosyncratic style
“Sony-Columbia’s legendary logo, which decorates albums by Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and countless other music icons, will now accompany our music as well,” said Avidan in the release.
”This is a dream come true for five kids from Jerusalem who grew up with great faith and love for music, and it’s almost impossible to comprehend this honor. It’s so fulfilling to see that the hard work by the band and those around it has made the impact we we’re hoping for.
”It is important to emphasize that this is but another stepping-stone in the band’s ever-building path, we have a long way to go.”
Avidan spent four years as a child in Jamaica, where his parents, both Foreign Ministry officials, were stationed, a move which he told me last year had a profound impact.
“I heard reggae all around me. I can’t say that I was influenced by it or liked it at the time. But now if you asked me my top five artists now, Bob Marley would be one of them, but not because of reggae,” he said. “It was something I realized later. What I like about art in general, it doesn’t matter the medium or the genre, is feeling that honesty, that it’s something that coming from the depths of someone’s soul. It needs to be out there – for him, not for anybody else.”
Currently in Germany, Avidan and the Mojos have spent much of the last year building up a following throughout Europe with their English language high-energy amalgam of folk, blues and rock. Their next album is slated for release in the fall, and if things go according to plan, you’ll hear about it, even if you aren’t in Israel.
Back to the garden
I’ve been reading various accounts of Woodstock memories, and came across a great one today, by New York Times op-ed page columnist Gail Collins. She reviewed two books about that life-altering summer rock festival, and in doing so talks about bringing her 19-year-old brother to the rained-out weekend, an act for which her mother has never quite forgiven her.
I was just turning one when Woodstock took place, and missed our own anniversary celebration here in Jerusalem. (For an account of that event, scroll down to David Brinn’s entry.) But I was turning 21 in 1989, when the town of Woodstock celebrated twenty years since the concert, and spending the summer at Camp Ramah in the Poconos, where I was running the camp radio station, WCRP. I had just returned from a year at Hebrew University, and couldn’t bear to miss a summer at camp, even though I was ‘too old’ to be a counselor and hadn’t quite yet reached the age of being a rosh edah, a division head.
Being the camp DJ, as it were, turned out to be an inspired decision. It was before the era of discs, much less iPods and MP3 players, and I had to learn to work the turntable and the rest of the equipment. I also had a $100 budget to use on augmenting the radio station’s music collection, and after decorating the ‘station’ with my Israeli concert poster collection pilfered from the bulletin boards of Hebrew University, my friends and I set out for the local record store to add the albums we deemed necessary for the campers’ musical education.
While it was twenty years since Woodstock and at least fifteen since the heyday of Crosby, Still, Nash and Young, the preferred music at camp was timeless and specific. Counselors played a lot of Grateful Dead, much of CSNY, James Taylor, Jethro Tull (his August 10 birthday was a campwide celebration) and a few choice others. Counselors’ days off were often spent schlepping to Dead shows or CSN concerts at area arenas, as shown by the concert tee-shirts worn around camp the next day.
So it was clear that since it was 20 years since Woodstock, one of the albums purchased was a Woodstock concert album. That also meant a day off spent at the reunion concert, and while I have no memory of who played at the concert, I can assure you that it wasn’t the Dead or CSN. But tee-shirts were purchased and it didn’t rain, although it was cloudy. And hey, we felt like we’d been there.
Israel touts its own little mermaid
I’ve found lots of things in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel over the years: a school of tomatoes floating ashore that had been dumped off a ship, assorted discarded rubbish, an abundance of jelly fish, and I even found a pair of my own sunglasses I had lost an hour before stuck in the sand (definitely a case of finding a needle in a liquid haystack).
But I’ve never spotted a mermaid – that mythical sea creature who I always envision to be a cross between Ariel in Little Mermaid and Daryl Hannah in Splash. And it’s a shame, because evidently I could be $1 million richer.
Whether it’s summer boredom or indeed there’s something out there, there have apparently been a number of mermaid sightings off the coast of Kiryat Haim, near Haifa. The town council is taking the rumors so seriously – or is taking the possibilities of becoming a major tourist attraction so seriously – that they’re offering the million to anyone who can provide proof as to the mermaid’s existence.
The mermaid, who is visible only at sunset, has already drawn lots of locals with cameras hoping to capture the friendly fishwoman in actions.
“Many people are telling us they are sure they’ve seen a mermaid and they are all independent of each other,” council spokesman Natti Zilberman told Sky News. “People say it is half girl, half fish, jumping like a dolphin. It does all kinds of tricks, then disappears,” Zilberman said.
The council denied its offer of a reward was a publicity stunt, but said it hoped to nurture the mermaid as something which could bring in more tourists.
Asked if the council can afford the payout, Zilberman said, “I believe, if there really is a mermaid, then so many people and tourists will come to Kiryat Yam, a lot more money will be made than $1 million.”
Whether there really is a mermaid out there, or it’s all just a fish story, it’s just another good excuse to head out to the sea on these hot August nights. Me, I’m hoping to spot Tom Hanks.
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