AMERICAN-PUERTO RICAN
A ruthless and immoral canvas on today's period, a contemporary middle-class drama, occasionally familiar. An overview of stereotypes, of the already seen, already said, already acted on. A little theatrical farce of human misery: the body and the voice in service of a pathetic collective that resembles that of Aristophanes' The Frogs, or perhaps one of Offenbach's operettas, or, furthermore: the famous Brecht's The Threepenny Opera.
Staticity and paralysis in response to the imminent and obvious collapse. We assist with our hands tied, we acknowledge it, we simply shrug, sigh and turn our heads around again. A detailed analysis on current international situation, a research on interconnections among forms of protest taking place today - rarely in- spired by ideas on human evolution and revolution - as well as on the Enlightened historical vision that puts Arts & Culture in the heart of the change.
Omar Román De Jesús
AMERICAN-PUERTO RICAN
Omar Román De Jesús (San Juan, PR) is the founder, artistic director and choreographer of NYC-based contemporary dance company, Boca Tuya. He has danced with Yin Yue Dance Company, Ballet Hispánico, Parsons Dance, and Sleeping Beauty Dreams ft. Diana Vishneva.
Omar has been commissioned twice by Instituto de Cultura de Puerto Rico to create work as part of the International Dance Festival of Puerto Rico, where he was awarded the Ambassador of Dance medal. His work, "Daniel", was performed at The Joyce Theater as part of Parsons Dance's 2017 season. Omar has won choreographic competitions including the Joffrey Academy of Dance's 8th annual Winning Works Choreographic Competition and the Whim W’Him’s Choreographic Shindig. Omar's "Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight", was recently presented at Chop Shop: Bodies of Work in Seattle, WA.
In these times of isolation, we at MASH view our alternative Dance Week platform as an opportunity to continue establishing connections across borders and cultivating spaces for collaboration between Jerusalem dance artists and those abroad. Due to the postponement of the Jerusalem International Choreography Competition 2020, we chose to pair each artist that was selected to participate in the competition with a Jerusalem dance artist, initiating a partnership that we hope will come to fruition when they meet next year in Jerusalem.
Elad Schechter
JERUSALEM
Photo by: Natasha Shakhnes
Elad Schechter is a Jerusalem native dancer and choreographer. He is a graduate of the Jerusalem High School for the Arts, served in the IDF Theatre department, and danced in many professional companies such as Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, Charleoi Danses (Brussels), Vertigo Dance Company, and more. In 2012, he founded the c.a.t.a.m.o.n Dance Group in Jerusalem. Schechter has been creating works since 2009. He is the recipient of the silver medal at the International Choreography Competition of Beijing in July 2011. Alongside his artistic work, Schechter is developing Jerusalem-based projects that aim to develop the dance, art, and culture scene in the city. Elad founded “From Jaffa to Agripas” festival, which features dance works in the famous Machane Yehuda market. Schechter also curated and developed Alliance House, a home for creative communities including the New-Spirit Organization. From 2012-2016, Schechter was also responsible for curating “Dance in Masie” the complete dance series in Jerusalem at Beit Masia Theater. Schechter is an LGBTQ activist in Jerusalem and is a father to his son that is being raised in shared parenthood alongside two women.
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