A performance by Tamar Borer
Yamuna is the name of the black river goddess, taken from the mythology of India. Yamuna, the goddess of love and compassion, has the ability to save human beings from their deaths due to her close relationship with her brother, YAMA, the god of death.
The piece deals with the relationship we, the living, have with our beloved ones, the dead. It is a journey of a person going through a process of separation from his beloved, who has just died. A process that begins with the need to hold on to memories from their past life, continues with and a gradual coming to terms with her physical absence, and finally, finding her again in his inner life and creativity.
Along the seven chapters, the piece travels through passion, sensuality, tenderness, sadness, acceptance and reflections on death as an essential part of love.
The work is inspired by the book "Lovers' gift" written by
Rabindranath Tagore
(1861-1941), a great Bengali writer, poet, musician, and philosopher. In 1913, he became the first Asian who won the Nobel Prize for literature. Tagores' work is characterized by its spiritual and emotional depth. Tagore deals with social and political issues, based on his vision of world fraternity amongst men.
In his book "Lovers' gift" he describes his endless love and longings to his wife who has died at the prime of her life.
The book was translated to Hebrew by the poet
Puah Shalev- Toren
, whose generous contribution to the comprehension of Tagores' poems is filled with beauty and wisdom.
YAMUNA is a cooperation of poetry,dancers, a sculptor, light, and sound designers
On stage there are 3 performers, each one represents a different character:
Ran Ben- Dror - The poet,
Ayala Frenkel - The dead wife, as the poet dreams and fantasies her,
Tamar Borer - An abstract, formless presence of the dead wife, appearing as an inner voice in the poets' mind.
The 3 characters exist on 3 different spheres, at a parallel time line, as if in a dream inside a dream. The poet is the only tangible figure, while the other two exist as his altered state of consciousness.
The work takes place within a large black metal sculpture, created by the metal artist Nobuya Yamaguchi. The sculptor contains a compact circle, made of 3 tons of grained stone sand; a very dense environment which forces new rules of gravity and balance upon the dancers' bodies and movement, and thus creates a unique relationship of space and body.
The movement in this confined universe is derived from the mental state of the dancers. The form of the movement is derived from a long research of various expression possibilities of the poems' themes, and finally, condensed into a substantial structure. Every tiny gesture is the outcome of absolute attention to the moment, and thus it is spontaneously and continually changing.
The music for the work was created in collaboration with sound designer Irad Lee. The soundtrack combines electronic music, experimental acoustic music, live recordings of natural environments and the sonata for violin bwv 1003 of J.S.Bach. The sound designing work consists of amplifying and manipulating the live sounds of the performance in accordance with the sound frequencies of the soundtrack.
Light designer, Tamar Orr, created a dynamic light motion which changes the relation of the sculptor to the space, as well as a delicate light net which unfolds different landscapes within the performance space.
"Come to me across the worn out track of age… and you shall meet me again and again in your voyage of life from shore to shore."
Rabindranat Tagore
Credits
Choreography, Direction, soundtrack, costume and stage design - Tamar Borer
Performance artists / dancers- Ran Ben-Dror, Ayala Frenkel, Tamar Borer
Text- Poems by Rabindranat Tagore (from the book "Lovers' Gift")
Translation to Hebrew- puah Shalev-Toren
Sculptor- Nobuya Yamaguchi
Sound Designer- Irad Lee
Lighting Designer- Tamar Orr
Costumes- Orin Linder, Irina Myasnikof
Still photographer- Tamar Lamm
Production manager- Ran Pasternak
Bio
Tamar Borer
A performance artist, dancer, Butoh teacher and therapist.
Since 1988 Tamar creates and performs solos, duets and ensemble works in Israel and around the world. Borer was invited to perform in various festivals, including: "Curtain up"- Israel, "Montpellier international dance"- France, "Cross over Festival"- Italy," Butoh Festival"- Paris, as well as performances in theaters in Germany, Norway, New- Zealand, Mexico and more.
Tamar has won various scholarships and awards, including: "The Albert-Gaubier fund"- Switzerland- Holland, "The Buchman-Heiman fund"- Israe-USA, "The Ministry of culture and sport award"- Israel, and more
Tamar Borer teaches butoh workshops to dancers, therapists and to the open public, as well as works as a butoh and guided imagination therapist with physical and psychophysical handicapped patients.
In 2008, Tamar has founded the "Saloon Butoh performance project" in Tel Aviv, which she artistically directs since. In 2010-2011, Borer is the artistic director of "Curtain Up dance festival" in Tel- Aviv.
"In my work, I wish to explore and reveal different states of consciousness of the human beings and the possibilities of evolutionary transformations. I try to bring forth the innately generous and kind nature of the people, to stand up for human rights in Israel, and for humanity all around the world. For me, the art of dance is a gift that can envelope the great beauty of humans' heart and soul, awaken and empower our evolutionary abilities."
Tamar Borer
"I find Tamar Borers' works original, unique and esthetically refined. In addition to the great beauty that she creates with her movement, there is a rare humane aspect in her works. There are few artists who are gifted with such sensitivity and delicacy. "
Giyora Manor, Dance critique