Two dancers perform on a dark stage; one lies on the floor with legs raised vertically while the other kneels, holding their legs. A spotlight highlights them against the black background.

Prep School: Balance & Imbalance

Founded in 2011 by choreographer Soon-ho Park, Bereishit is a Seoul-based dance company that approaches the Korean traditional culture from a contemporary view–keeping the fundamental value of things, as opposed to simply borrowing or transforming them. The work also explores the issues of identity and transformation and delves into multimedia, street dance, community dance work and real time interactive demonstration. It displays an amazing sensitivity towards space and rhythms and its performances are always delivered with kinesthetic clarity and power.

GET THEE TO THE LIBRARY

Recommended readings to get you in gear for the show.

  • Emily Coates and Sarah Demers, Physics and Dance. Yale University Press, 2019.
  • Stephen J. Hage, Let There Be Light: Physics, Philosophy & the Dimensional Structure of Consciousness. Algora, 2013.
  • André Lepecki, Exhausting Dance: Performance and the Politics of Movement. Routledge, 2006. 

READ ALL ABOUT IT

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

“Bereishit” is the first word of the Torah, and of the New Testament’s Gospel of John. It’s typically translated into English as the well-known phrase “in the beginning” although technically the phrase is closer to “in beginning,” and the Torah’s first section or reading is also itself called “Bereshith” and covers days 1-7 of the creation of the universe. The phrase’s transliteration to English is variously rendered – Bereshit, Bereishit, Bereshis, Bereishis, or B’reshith.


The potentiality in this name has inspired others, in addition to Bereishit Dance Company – notably, several space-bound Israeli vessels have also used the name, including “Beresheet” (2018) and “Beresheet 2” – the former, a time capsule that crash-landed on the moon, carrying cultural artifacts including a copy of Wikipedia; the latter, a planned set of voyages to the moon and to Mars.

A model of the SpaceIL lunar lander is displayed on a red platform, showing its metallic legs, solar panel, and logos of sponsors including IAI and the Kahn Foundation. Hebrew text is visible on the lander.