Itzik Galili: "Heads or Tales"

Are my eyes open or closed? For a moment I forget my rôle as a dance critic and swim freely in the waters of reverie, my mind set adrift by beauty, entranced by a play of light. Before me an ensemble of what seem to be fireflies are engaged in a delicate choreography, extinguishing and igniting their luminescence to expose fragments of their bodies in delicate motion; twisting, turning, undulating, extending and contracting. The only light to be seen emanates from the globes held by these magical creatures.

This is Galili Dance on the evening of its 10th Jubilee celebration at the Lucent Danstheater in The Hague.

The mood was indeed celebratory, as speeches hailed Itzik Galili as an asset to Dutch dance and even the mayor of the province of Groningen – home to Galili Dance – made an appearance to extend his congratulations. After a decade of vivacious life, Galili Dance wished to present its audience with a comprehensive retrospective to highlight all those elements of style and form for which the dance company is known. I would venture to call their œuv­re: abstract, lyrical and poetic.

“Heads or Tales” is just one such work of poetry that can be read in innumerable ways. ...