Israel's Kol Demama Dance Company today celebrating two decades of achievement is unique in that it is comprised of both deaf and hearing dancers
by Simon Griver
The company (whose name is Hebrew for "sound-silence") uses a variety of techniques to assist the deaf dancers to follow the music. The dancers get their cues from the vibration of the music, which often emphasizes the bass notes, as well as by eye contact, touch (such as taps on the shoulder), the movement of others, sharp beats from off stage and lighting shifts. These elements are all woven into the choreography.
"We are two peoples living on the same planet but with different stimuli," explains Moshe Efrati, the company's founder, artistic director and choreographer. "But in our dance routines the audience can not tell who is deaf and who is hearing. Sometimes the deaf dancer will lead the hearing dancer and sometimes it is the other way around."
Efrati began working with deaf dancers in 1967 and subsequently formed the Demama Company of deaf dancers. In parallel he was working with hearing dancers and in 1978 decided to integrate the two groups to form Kol Demama, half of whose 20 members are deaf. Based in Tel Aviv, the company also has a school for deaf and hearing dancers, which teaches several hundred youngsters each year.
The dance troupe regularly performs both in Israel and at prime venues around the world. Kol Demama offers a wide range of contemporary dance including a stunning array of fresh visual images, athletic daring, polished technique and piercing emotion. The quality of Kol Demama's dancing can be gauged from the enthusiastic press reviews that the troupe receives worldwide. After a recent performance in Paris the French daily Le Figaro wrote, "The audience was open-mouthed at the astonishing beauty of the troupe. The choreography was original, very rich, very strong and above all else inspiring." The New York Times has been no less effusive. "This is what true choreography is all about," the paper's correspondent wrote. "Kol Demama's repertoire is much more diverse than that of conventional troupes. Efrati's arrangements are truly inspiring."
Moshe Efrati choreographs all of Kol Demama's dances. Born to a family which came to the Land of Israel from Spain 500 years ago, Efrati bases his language of dance on the ties between Jewish tradition and the spirit of modern Israel. Medieval Spanish rhythms combine with Middle Eastern sounds as well as with contemporary influences such as that of the American choreographer Martha Graham. Efrati blends strictly formal and classical choreography with free-form contemporary dance. Like Israel itself, Kol Demama is a synthesis of east and west, past and present.
Recent creations by Efrati include "The Ballad of Gregor and the Ballad of Aryeh" which was first performed at the opening of the Brandenburg Festival of Potsdam in Germany, and later taken on a world tour. The first part of the original arrangement "The Ballad of Gregor" takes inspiration from Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis and creates the effect of an overpowering menace. The second part, "The Ballad of Aryeh," portrays a social misfit who is fond of alcohol. Like all of Kol Demama's performances, the dancing, meant for adults, is so lively, expressive and colorful that it is also suitable for children.
Efrati's choreographic creations frequently draw from modern literature. One dance, "Mixed Media on the Stage," is inspired by Samuel Beckett's surrealism. Other sources include the Old Testament and the Jewish poets of Spain during the Muslim era. Kol Demama frequently dances to works of classical composers such as Dmitri Shostakovitch's "He That Walketh Uprightly" and Frederic Chopin's "1+3+3." One of Kol Demama's most unusual works is "Textures," in which the vocalizations of the deaf dancers are used as a sound to create a musical lead for the hearing dancers.
In Kol Demama, Efrati has taken the great traditions of contemporary dance in Israel, and added the innovative dimension of combining deaf and hearing dancers. This artistic achievement also serves as a source of hope and inspiration to people with disabilities around the world.