Two Playful Pink

 In August 2017 the Yasmeen Godder Company will premiere Two Playful Pink– a groundbreaking female duet from 2003 which has won Godder extensive international acclaim and launched her career. The duet originally created and performed by Yasmeen Godder and her well-known collaborator Iris Erez, is restaged with two powerful performers: Dor Frank and Francesca Foscarini. Francesca Foscarini is an acclaimed Italian dancer and choreographer, whom Godder met when she commissioned her to create the solo Gut Gift, as part of the Best Performer prize at the Equilibrio Festival. Alongside her is Dor Frank, who joined the Company in 2014, as part of the cast of CLIMAX for the Petach Tikva Museum of Arts, and since has taken part in all of the following projects: Storung/HafraahCommon Emotions and Simple Action.

In Two Playful Pink two women respond to the constant gaze that inspects them. Being looked at, examined, and living up to the expectation, where the body operates as a social tool, they develop a relationship between them.  Inspired by surreal imagery and pop energy, the three different sections present different aspects of the female body and psyche, exposing a refreshing language: mysterious, funny and disturbing all at once.

The premiere shows of Two Playful Pink was presented as part of the Tel-Aviv Dance Festival on August 15 – 16 at Suzanne Dellal Center Tel-Aviv (IL) and afterward on August 26 at  B-Motion Festival Bassano del Grappa (IT), August 29 – 30 at  Festival International des Brigittines Les Brigittines, Brussels (BE)

Originally commissioned by the “Curtain Up” Festival in 2003, at the Suzanne Dellal Center, Tel-Aviv with support from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs- Department of Dance, The Pais Foundation, and the Rabinovitch Foundation for the Arts Tel-Aviv.

The reprise premiere will be on August 15-16 2017 at the Suzanne Dellal Center, as part of Tel-Aviv Dance 2017. The European Premiere will be on August  26 2017 at B-Motion Festival, Bassano del Grappa, Italy.

The 2017 restaging of Two Playful Pink was made possible by a coproduction of the Cultural Association VAN

 

“a disturbing piece about the many shapes into which women are pressed to conform. .. Inventive and sometimes disconcerting use of voice and some rather tortuous facial acrobatics provide the emotional fuel, but not at the expense of movement. Godder and her partner Iris Erez are a formidable team, often stunningly synchronized in their simultaneous solos, quick action breaks and counterbalanced duets.  Almost cinematic in texture…” (Bruce Michelson, DANCE EUROPE July 2005)

“…a fist in the stomach, thought provocative, detailed, original, and direct…a powerful experience, a tour de force.” (Gabi Aldor, Ha’Ir, Nov. 2003)

As much as Godder questions the male gaze, she also questions the female gaze, and at the same time the fundamental dynamic in the performing arts, that between artist and audience. In the middle of all this bodily, female palpability, “Two Playful Pink” is raising conceptual questions about the performing arts as a whole. The performance is permeated by intellectual pregnancy and consequentially ends with ironic elegance. (Örjan Abrahamsson,Dagens Nyheter, The Daily News, November 2005)

“The audience enjoyed her sense of humor very much, which is so serious that it looks funny… Godder uses deformity as a tool, and works it into a masterpiece – which is insatiable.” (Merav Yudolevich, YNET Culture, Nov. 2003)

“A work which leaves the audience in awe of its creativity and talent…the experience is so rich and inventive, so condensed and intense that after the show, one needs time to take in the experience and return to breathing regularly….this is a work which can be seen a few time.” (Ruth Eshel, Ha’aretz November 2003)