Description
In 2022, Shahar Binyamini became the first COLOURS Resident Choreographer and used the opportunity to create the initial steps for MORE THAN. After a period of intense reflection and refinement, this seed has blossomed into the piece NEW EARTH, which will have its German premiere at the COLOURS Festival 2025. Back in 2022, Binyamini was still considered a newcomer but found an enthusiastic audience in Stuttgart. Now, having made a name for himself worldwide, he is returning to the city as an internationally established artist.
NEW EARTH explores our deep, innate connection to the Earth in every movement. Before becoming a choreographer, Binyamini studied biology, and his stage is always also a laboratory where he examines the body and its make-up: How much of the animal is still ingrained within us, or are we souls trapped in a shell? How do emotions arise, and what do they change within our bodies? A layer of earth on the stage and the seemingly naked skin of the dancers combine in the generation of images that are almost archaic. Walking upright, these beings search for dignity or twitch in sudden excitement. Yet, in between, they entwine with each other in intense duets to the ancient sounds of strings or drums from the Mediterranean, creating moments of profound closeness. Like so many Israeli choreographers, Shahar Binyamini’s roots lie in the renowned Batsheva Company, and he is a recognized expert in Gaga. Developing on this tradition, he and his dancers seek insights their own bodies.
Shahar Binyamini's latest choreography “More Than” has something incredibly sensual about it. Regardless of how one interprets the piece, “More Than” encourages reflection on the significance of touch and sensual contact in a digital world. — Luxembourg Times
Binyamini’s gift lies in using the language of dance to pose fundamental existential questions. — Ruhrbarone.de
The way in which the piece explores the relationship between body and soul, between human and animal life, is conveyed so directly that the evening becomes an enchantingly sensual experience. — General-Anzeiger Bonn
There is a good measure of Ohad Naharin in “More than” – Binyamini, who was born in 1988, danced for a long time with Naharin’s Batsheva Dance Company and is a master of the Gaga movement language. However, compared to his colleague Sharon Eyal his perspective is less bitter, his grip less tight: he is more loving. — tanz
