A duet: two men, one aged fifty and the other twenty-one. Two bodies, two timelines, coexisting on one stage: examining each other, imitating each other, and through the resemblance and difference, venturing into fantastic territories.
The piece emerged from a period of “afterness”: after the certainties collapsed, after the faith in stable narratives was lost, through an understanding that something new had to grow. The queerness here isn’t just a topic, but a method of work: undermining narratives of masculinity, progress, success, and peaks, and staying in unresolved situations. The creators’ personal position, their maturation as choreographers in a field that reveres youth and flexibility, and the encounter between passion for dance and the changing body are all embedded as living material and inspiration for creation.
The work is born out of an aftermath: after war, after the collapse of certainties, after the loss of faith in stable narratives. Rooted in the understanding that something new must emerge, the piece seeks to imagine a theater where the body does not strive to resolve itself, but rather to remain alive, vulnerable, and open to change. Here, queerness is not just a subject but a methodology: a subversion of narratives regarding masculinity, progress, success, and climax; a lingering in unresolved states.
The work draws on the creators’ personal journeys as both raw material and inspiration: maturing as choreographers in a field that sanctifies youth and flexibility, and navigating the encounter between their passion for dance and their changing bodies.
Tel Aviv-based choreographers Yossi Berg and Oded Graf began their creative partnership in 2005. They have since developed a reputation for boundary-pushing work that is physical, poignant, and sharply inventive. Their productions, which have earned them several prestigious awards, have toured internationally and appeared at Festival Montpellier Danse, the American Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater (NYC), Dansens Hus (Stockholm), and SIDance (South Korea), among many others. Numerous dance companies and opera houses commissioned them as guest choreographers, and their work has been studied at universities worldwide.
Since 2020, Yossi has led the Sadna Professional Dance Program at Kibbutz Ga’aton, serving as both Artistic Director and teacher. Oded directed the Curtain Up Dance Festival (2000–2024). Since 2023, has been a faculty member in the MFA program at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.
Their many honors include first prize at the Hannover Dance Competition,
the Israeli Ministry of Culture Award for Outstanding Choreographers, and the Rosenblum Prize for Artistic Excellence in the Performing Arts.
Credits:
Concept & Choreography: Yossi Berg & Oded Graf
Creating Performers: Ori Mbazbaz, Yossi Berg
Outside Eye: Yael Venezia
Lighting Design: Yair Salman
Music Consultant: Matan Daskal
Costume Design: Rosie Canaan
Stage Design: Laetitia Boulud
Photos: Asya Skorik
Website: www.yossioded.com
The work was created with Support from the Tel Aviv Municipality and
The Ministry of Culture
