Notes from afar: Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

Boker Tov! I am writing you all from my little kibbutz room on a Monday morning after a night of fitful sleep. I cannot tell if my lack of sleep is simply due to the fact that I went to bed to early or due to the fact that I am auditioning for my favorite company on Sunday and haven’t yet worked out the logistics of where I am going to stay and when I am going to go! I am assuming it is the later seeing as my cuticles are in terrible shape. My right pointer finger looks like it went to war with a paper cutter. Oh geeze…Other than that, I am well!

I have finally decided what exactly I am going to choreograph for the show here at the Kibbutz. I started off with the idea that I would expand a piece that I’d previously choreographed so that by the time I got back to New York, I had something hefty to present places, but seeing as we have a time limit of 5 minutes, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Then I thought I’d make a satirical commentary – through movement obviously - on kibbutz life. I certainly feel a certain way about them, but I don’t know how that would be received. So, in the end, I have decided to throw away deep meaning and am going to tell a funny and entertaining story through movement and Slavic music. This was my original idea for my senior project, so I feel good about my decision. Honestly, whenever I think of ideas for my piece I start giggling to myself and get super excited. I can’t wait to show you all the final project. I start my rehearsals tomorrow afternoon.

This past weekend I ventured to Jerusalem with a tour guide and then broke off with a few friends to continue on to Tel Aviv for another two days. I had such a fabulous time! Jerusalem is really a gorgeous city! Unfortunately, the tour guide could have been better and we all lost momentum and started dragging before the end of the first day. I decided that I definitely have to go back on my own or with a few friends and take time to soak everything in. There is so much to see, learn and appreciate that you really cannot be rushed. We managed to see the Kotel (Western Wall), walked around every Quarter, had dinner on Ben Yehuda, walked down the Mount of Olives stopping in a bunch of churches along the way down, went to the super fabulous and crowded shook (market), and finally went to the church of Jesus Christ. Very exciting, but way too much to soak in in less that two days time.

Tel Aviv was really fabulous! 6 of us checked into a small hostel on Ben Yehuda street about 3 blocks away from the beach. The weather was pretty great so we went everywhere by foot! The first day, my friend Moses took us all to a fabulous place for breakfast called Benedict. We ate like kings and consequently missed the dance class we had set out to take. We walked through the Tel Aviv shook and then I met up with Assaf – a good friend of mine from college who was visiting home for a few days. He took me to the old city and we ate lunch on the beach before he took me on a driving tour of the city and to his parent’s house. I had a little chit-chat time with his family and exercised my incredibly limited Spanish speaking skills, as his mother, Batya, spoke Spanish and Hebrew. It was really nice to be in someone’s home with family!

In the evening, we all went for yet another fabulous dinner (I had roasted goose with winter veggies) and then went to see the Inbal Pinto show in the Susan Delall center. Let me first start by saying that the Susan Delall center is incentive enough to be a dancer. When you walk up to the center, it is like you are walking onto a tropical dance island. There is this beautiful building, which holds the theater and a small café that opens up onto a courtyard with palm trees and a humble fountain. If you travel back beyond the theater, you get to a smaller courtyard with citrus trees and stucco buildings that hold dance studios for Inbal Pinto and Batsheva (and others, I think)…Anyhoo – that evening we saw the Inbal Pinto performance of Rushes. It was easily the best dance performance I have ever seen. I felt like I had crawled into Inbal’s head and lived in her dream for an hour. Everything was perfectly seamless and beautiful and though it was sometimes random, it made perfect sense – like a dream. I could watch the show over and over again and not get bored. Sometimes I felt like I was watching a perfected version of Monica Bill Barnes’ work. So amazing… After the show, I introduced myself to Inbal who looked like an older version of a hipster. I said something along the lines of, “Slichah (excuse me), My name is Marissa. I think you are fantastic. I’ll see you next weekend.” ….Well, actually I think I said something more than that, but I was a little too star-struck to say anything substantive. I did tell her I was dancing in Israel and I thought she was brilliant and I would be in the audition this up-coming weekend. Good.

The rest of the time in Tel Aviv was good too. The second day we went for yet another fabulous breakfast and then took a walk along to the beach to the old city. We explored for a little and ate even more and then walked to the train. I was home by 9 in the evening and hit my pillow instantly. It was a full weekend!

So now my roommate, Elleka, and I are planning our trip back this weekend. I am excited. Friends, family, everyone – I just want to let you know that I think I could stay here for a few years. Just getting you prepared. If the opportunity arises/I get a job over here, I think I will take it. So, that means I am happy and you can all start planning your vacations to Israel now – haha, but seriously.

Okay – off to make breakfast. Sending lots of love to all of you!