To hell and back: A political ballet for Israel’s age of war

"All Spirits" (Kol HaRuchot), a new political ballet, premieres at the Jerusalem Theatre on August 4 and 5 as part of the Israel Festival's 65th edition. Created by artistic directors Shani Tamari Matan and Moshe Shechter Avshalom, with choreography by Mor Shani, Ariel Cohen, Gilad Jerusalmy, Annabelle Dvir, and Michal Samama, the work is a single piece comprising six independently choreographed tableaux. Each tableau explores a different archetype or myth of war, from battlefields to refugees, with live piano accompaniment by Nitai Hershkovits. The piece is structured as a palindrome, moving forward through its scenes and then backward, reflecting "the infinite militaristic cycle in which we are trapped." The creators state, "We chose the clean, classical space of the theater to respond to a dirty, disturbed reality that sanctifies an aesthetic of violence we've been training in since birth." The work draws inspiration from Kurt Jooss's 1932 "political ballet" "The Green Table," aiming to address contemporary Israeli reality where "Life in Israel is a school for war."